Absolutely disgraceful behavior, Mr. Lockhart looked like he was under the influence from a far more potent drug than marijuana or alcohol. Indicative of a corrupt person using their influence to demean persons they feel are inferior to them because of their position. He should be thoroughly ashamed of himself and simply apologize.

The officer on the other hand handled himself admirably. If Mr. Lockhart had a shred of decency or class he would contact this officer and those involved and apologize.

It truly shows what he thinks of Bahamians. He is not quite so stupid as to act this way going through u.s. airport security.

Yes we needed to increase government revenue but we also needed to reduce government expenditure. The reality is we have too much government expense, we have more government than we can afford. Where are the cuts in expenditure? This is why it is paradoxically better if we did turn to the IMF. They would have loaned funds much cheaper than we can get in financial markets but with the caveat that government reduced the size of the civil service and sell/ offload Loss making government corporations. Yes we needed increased taxes but the FNM did the easy lazy move, they failed to govern by not reducing govt spending. It is unconscionable that government expenditure on salaries increased 40% in 6 years! cut expenditure.

Sorry to hear about the loss of jobs, but glad to hear more webshops locations are closing. They are a non- productive blight on our society. Hopefully most will close on Long Island, they have been bleeding this island dry.

No it is not selling or privatizing it. This deal simply concerns the generation side of power, the distribution will still be in govt’s hands, still dealing with this terroristic union that constantly threatens to place the Bahamas in darkness whenever there is a dispute. These BEC union leaders are criminals who threaten to sabotage and in the past have sabotaged and turned off power to meet their own ends. Bahamians are tired of this shit, you seem to love the status quo. We need BEC totally privatized to crush this union and remove this threat to the Bahamian people. Even if this FNM govt reduces staff size which we will be paying another $20 million to do, which we will BORROW, then subsequent govts will simply dole out jobs again and we are right back where we started. Only way to fix this is to privatize BEC totally, forever.

Actually there are many entities that would like to buy BEC and Even Bahamasair. It all depends on how the sale is structured. We would have to assume the pension liabilities and other outstanding debt ( which we have to pay anyway) and practically give them away but at least they will not be a drain on the treasury for infinity and might actually be run profitably in the private sector. But that means losing political patronage ( dishing out jobs to supporters) and taking on the unions and no govt even this one has the guts to do that.

This is the big issue I have with the budget. I hate taxes and loathe vat increasing to 12% but I appreciate we are in a dire fiscal situation, primarily because of corrupt and wasteful PLP administrations. Just look at Barbados which suspended foreign debts payments and have gone cap in hand to the IMF and see where we can be in a few short years. My problem is that we should have cut back on government expenditures, it can not simply be increasing govt revenues through higher taxes. We need to sell even at a loss, these govt ministries that perennially lose money. Bahamasair has lost half a billion dollars since independence and the minister just announced plans to expand routes and buy more planes? It is madness, every dumbass politician comes into power and thinks they can run these corporations efficiently and profitably. No one ever has! Can not name a single govt Corp that is profitable. We need to divest ourselves from these sinking ships now and forever. Sell them off to prevent further administrations from continuing to run them in the ground. Then NHI, we are BROKE so why the hell are we budgeting 40 mill to continue something we can not afford. It is a wonderful hope but we need to cut back on services and the size of govt. we can not simply tax our way to a balanced budget.

We have a very simple problem, since independence we have been living beyond our means and it is better to address this debt sooner rather than later. We have more government than we can afford and this budget has done little to cut expenditures. Yes, we need to increase tax revenue but our bloated inefficient civil service needs to be cut and we need to sell even at a loss these govt corporations that year after year bleed the treasury dry. Can not simply be every budget increasing taxes, there is a limit to what the country can bear.

Should have taken the $7,000 and paid the lunch vendors.

There would have been a much better acceptance by the public if there were meaningful reductions in government spending, particularly in the size of the civil service. Yes, our debt is high and revenue had to be increased but expenditures could have been reduced. It is ridiculous that the cost of the civil service increased 40% in 6 years. Yes it is very hard to reduce the public service but the cold reality is we have more government than we can afford. The government should have announced plans to sell some Loss making govt corporations if only to stop the drain on taxpayers in subsequent years, even if we had to give them away. Then the private sector could right size the number of employees and run these corporations efficiently as oonly the private sector can. These unions have a stranglehold on the government and basically hold the entire country hostage. So rather than make tough, needed cuts this FNM government took the easy, lazy way out and just increased taxes. Very disappointing and a betrayal of the voters who voted for real change.

I agree with you completely. Almost all govt schools operate tuck shops where with the exception of water nothing but junk food is sold to our children. Many children buy a chocolate bar and a soda for lunch. Wow, imagine the impact on our children. And what message does it send our children that our schools are peddling and profiting of of selling such crap. It is setting them up for obesity and preventable chronic diseases and subsequently an early death. Sodas and all junk food need to be banned from being sold on campuses..period. And yes Dr. Sands is a terrible disappointment. He seems incapable of making even the most basic good health decisions for our people. All vegetables and fruits and nuts should be vat free immediately.