"Mr Wilson last night told Tribune Business that the proposed reforms are “very important to stabilise our public finances, very important” given that in six years’ time they could potentially represent a further $3.5bn in unfunded liabilities in addition to the present $11.5bn national debt.
“This is probably the top risk to our public finances, pensions,” he reiterated. “The greatest risk is pensions, and the state pension deficit. It has to be dealt with as soon as possible.” The “risk”, which is akin to a ticking fiscal, economic and social time bomb, has been known for more than a decade given that KPMG’s first study was conducted in 2013, but successive administrations elected to pass on dealing with it.
No, Mr Wilson, the greatest risk is not pensions.
The greatest risk to the country's finances are the so-called leaders in this country. As you state, these numbers have been known for well over a decade.
The true danger to this country is the present incompetence of our political class. They have shown themselves to be ignorant, immoral,and thieving little people. Millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, have been stolen from NIB in order to cover for our inability to do simple math, to be honest, and to hire educated managers. Instead, we have filled these important positions with those who merely kiss the asses of the brain dead politicians and show clearly that the only ones they choose to help is themselves and their family members.
This is merely the beginning of the end.
Our foreign debt is unsustainable. The Bahamas is borrowing money to pay the interest on our other loans. The chickens are coming home to roost. Even the most educated in Bahamian society are mute, perhaps hopeful, but more likely ignorant to the true facts on the ground.
The ticking time bomb that Mr. Wilson alludes to has already gone off. The ticking has stopped and now we are witnessing the explosion.
The ticking time bomb has been ticking everyday for 50 years and our political class has either been too stupid or too corrupt to do anything about it.
Mr Wilson, your words are falling on the ears of people who seem not to care that their country is being destroyed from within.
You Mr. Wilson, are firmly in the class that has helped destroy this once promising nation.
Any honest financial expert can see the writing on the wall. If they work for government, and speak the truth, they will lose their jobs.
Everyone just pretends that we are not witnessing hundreds of millions of dollars leave these shores each year in interest payments alone. What really, do we have to show for it?
As a nation, we seem proud of how dumbed down we have become. Tell me how many hundreds of millions of dollars each year go straight into the pockets of the web shop owners, the liquor stores and corrupt politicians?

A funny article in that we have been plagued by this behaviour and criminality for how many decades now?
And we are still kicking the can down the road?
Bahamian Leadership?
Where?

It seems we have lost competence in every area possible in this country.
A ship without a rudder, an engine, a captain.
This country is adrift and we are forced listen to chickens squawk.
Adrift, without a clue where to go.

Fish rots from head down.

It is all a Ponzi scheme.
Every "financial expert" that sets foot on these shores is paid to "produce" numbers for political reasons. No "financial expert" would ever run their households like we run a country. Their 6 figure salaries guarantee that they will not spill the beans. If they are even capable of seeing the beans.
We should focus on education and keeping the power on. Brilliant!
Why didn't anyone else think of that?
The Bahamas is awash in pervasive and endemic corruption, a serious lack of understanding and scholarship, a national political scene that is all smoke and mirrors, rising crime, well dressed idiots who claim to govern.
The children of this country should to be looking elsewhere for a future.
If a reasonably educated person cannot see the extent of our dilemma, they are not being honest.
We carry on as if we are not in dire straits.
We are broke.
Heavily in debt.
Our infrastructure is crumbling.
Our government is useless and killing The People.
Our productivity is embarrassing.
Our leadership is terminally lost.
And, in 20- 30 years there will be utter chaos as the sea level rises.
Why are we always behind the curve in understanding and planning?
Even hurricanes seem to catch us by surprise, like they did a century ago.
Why do we have our hand out, traveling the world, wanting others to pay for our lack of foresight and preparedness?
Our "leaders" seem bound and determined to keep us exactly where we are, in adolescence, as a nation of children.

Why do we keep looking at the results, thinking they are the reason?
This latest murder is a culmination of decades of social rot.
It starts at the head, and then the rest of the body rots.
From local government to central government, the culture of criminality is the same.
Dishonesty, theft, nepotism, pay to play, slack employees, contracts for the political darlings.
This administration is among the worst.
The Bahamian people vote for these results time and time again.
Maybe this is the best we have to offer in politicians, our so-called "leaders":.
Maybe there really is no alternative, within our borders.
Is the clergy any better?
Wonder why our schools are failing?
Since adults seem to care so little for education, why would we expect a different future?
We keep forgetting the maxim, "If you have nothing, you have nothing to lose."
So long as our country continues to place the national economic burden, the result of a corrupt ruling class, firmly on the backs of the working class and poor, we should expect things to get worse.
Nobody likes to talk about economic inequality, but the truth is out there folks.
Now, let's go back to our phones and computers.

May Mr. Saunders rest in peace.
"Capital punishment should not be off the table"
Perhaps this mentality is why we are here in the first place.
We're not big on learning, are we?

Ask the U.S. to stop producing so many guns.
Their War on Drugs failed miserably too, right? They bombed a lot of countries and killed a lot of people, but the drugs keep on, hey?
Stopping guns from entering The Bahamas is also a fool's errand.
Just like prohibition. If there is a demand, someone will supply.
Without prohibition, and the drug trade, where would The Bahamas be now?
How many lawyers made millions representing drug dealers?
How many Bahamian families became prosperous during prohibition?
Instead of focusing on long term social solutions to all of our problems, we continue to use the failed policies of an iron fist.
How many decades does this need to go on before we use our brains and do the research about what works and what doesn't?
Clearly, we shun using our brains and want to use a police force that has never been known for their intellectual aptitude.
Thus, we continue to get failure after failure in so-called law enforcement.
But, someone is making tons of money on guns, bullets, tasers, bullet proof vests, new armoured vehicles, and the latest high tech gear that they can then sell to power hungry little men who beat up and bully those not wearing a police uniform.
Now, they are jailing people who protest and speak out.
I know what I worry about.
I worry about the power hungry politicians who have continually failed at governing, have no leadership skills, no vision, no moral fortitude, but have done a great job of enriching themselves. On taxpayer money
The secret is out people.
If Haiti was not destroyed by foreign interests, the U.S. chief among them, Haitians, like all people, would not be leaving their homes.
If there was not the extreme disparities in wealth, we would have much less drug use, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse and gambling.
These problems are almost all policy decisions.
We can listen to the professors, or we can continue to listen to the police and pastors and politicians.
I heard that in the U.S. if you score too high on your intelligence test they will not admit you to the police academy.
They only want obedience. No thinking. Just obedience.
From the looks of it, we use the same criteria for our politicians, police and pastors here.
How many decades do we keep wondering why we are failing and then continue to double down on the same failed policies?
What we have failed most miserably at, is educating our people. From top to bottom.

Your last 4 words sum it up best, birdie.

Unless there is another reason why we wish to stay firmly on the mucky bottom of the list.