What is the point of having a vote if everyone "must" vote in favor? That's not how a democracy works!

Minnis and his handful of minions have gone power mad. Those that vote no should form their own party now to begin the process of the 3rd option in 2022!

Just wait until 12% VAT causes more business closures increasing unemployment and further slowing the economy. This is the tip of an iceberg. People cannot be expected to "live on nothing". We will have more robberies and murder to contend with.

If the government had an ounce of sense, they would follow Canada and other countries and legalize cannabis as a way of immediately adding meaningful stimulus to the economy, simultaneously putting an end to these drug-related turf war murders which are escalating as the economy continues to falter.

They've offered no other alternatives, and are too self-righteous to do the one obvious thing that would be a saving grace.

Stupid does as stupid is!

Why is it that attorney General Carl Bethel cannot “vigorously address” underground gambling activities in the Haitian community?

Haitians have had huge thriving underground numbers and chicken fight gambling rackets for decades and nobody says a peep about it!

Why do Haitians always get a free pass to break all our laws with impunity?

Zhivargo Laing either really believes everybody is ignorant red and gold shirt tribal fools, or he is truly dumb enough to think "there is no difference between 49% and 51%"!

Obviously, since his FNM administration made major infrastructural improvements, salary increases etc, funds had to come from "somewhere" to satisfy the increased expenditure. Without raising taxes, the only solution for the government to cover the new debt is to borrow more and more money, which is exactly the reason the country has a $7B deficit and is in big trouble today!

Former finance ministers Pindling, Ingraham, and Christie knew damn well they were borrowing more than the country could afford. They should all be charged with misfeasance for deliberately running the country into the ditch.

The VAT increase will definitely have a negative effect on the economy. The government needs to stop dodging the elephant in the country and get rid of non essential expat blue-collar workers and free up those jobs for Bahamians, which will relieve downward pressure on foreign reserves and give the country an immediate financial boost as more Bahamians spend in the local economy.

They also need to focus on growing the economy by incentivizing partnerships in the tourism sector by inviting successful investors from resort cities in North America to expand their theme parks and other tourist-related fun amenities here. The Bahamas is a great place but there's still nothing do here compared to North American resort destinations.

Taxing us to death will only force more business closures, increase unemployment, and make life that much harder for a larger portion of people.

For the FNM to suddenly raise VAT from 7.5% all the way up to 12% is totally ludicrous! Especially since it is only the small man that will carry this burden.

Why not simply follow IMF suggestions and implement an income tax so those with more income can pay their fair share of taxes?

PM Minnis is all over the place talking about making hard choices and more pain promised for Bahamians. Why not share the "pain" equally so expat blue-collar workers can also feel some of the pain in the country?

Dominicans, Haitians, Latinos, Filipinos, Asians, Africans, Jamaicans etc' continue getting a free ride, laughing all the way to the money transfer companies, while Bahamians must suffer another financial shock setting us back to an unsustainable position.

PLP to FNM and nothing has changed. Foreign workers remain untouchable while locals get screwed!

PM Minnis needs to stop the horse shyt, ass-kissing, and bull-shyting and implement a national lottery which would benefit the whole country.

For starters, get the dam RBDF boats out of harbors and staff off their lazy ass's and set them out on patrols. What good are they moored?

Secondly, strategically positioning RBDF vessels under anchor enabling them to "see" any boat coming in can't be that difficult!

Where the hell did the $100m Tourism Boost Via 18% Stopover Rise disappear? I certainly haven't benefited from it!

A few hundred more Haitians for PM Minnis to "show love to" while they bury their feet deep in his ass dancing the Yanvalou!

These damn parasitic Haitians are as vexing as cockroaches. How many more pregnant Haitian women and school-aged children must **we** now pay for? How many more jobs will taken from Bahamians? How many guns, munitions, and drugs did they bring with them to "trade"?

RBDF classifies overcast skies and drizzling rain as "adverse weather conditions"? What kind of fooking marines are they? If the damn Haitians can sail an overloaded, open sloop in these
"adverse weather conditions" why the fook can't RBDF sail an air-conditioned, cushy multi-million dollar yacht in it?

Absolute asinine steaming horse shyt, and totally unacceptable!!

@ Aegeon......Wake up, stop talking bull-shyt, and face the facts. Haitians run an entirely separate and parallel economy, engage in everything illegal, run circles around RBPF and RBDF, ignore our laws, and take away the names and birthright of Bahamians and you jackass's standing around talking dumb shyt bout "we sound hateful"?

When the hell will you fools grow some balls and stand up for Bahamians and the Bahamas? What other country allows an invading neighbor to get away this sort of nonsense? The Dominicans had to take an unpopular stand against these disgusting Haitian invaders to protect their country, why the hell can't we find the balls do the same?

Maybe AFTER the FNM tell us again **we better learn Creole** and we have **another** Haitian prime minister and a full slate of Haitian candidates you idiots might wake up!

It will be way to late by then to try saving our country for future generations of Bahamians.

You fools better wake up!!