Give gov’t employees extra $50K to invest, encourage early retirement — Vanterpool
Fourth District Representative Mark Vanterpool has said he believes one way to reduce the national recurrent expenditure is by encouraging early retirement among government employees.
Recurrent expenditure effectively involves ongoing government spending that does not result in the creation or acquisition of fixed assets. It includes the payment of salaries, among other things.
Based on estimates, the total recurrent budget for the upcoming 2020 fiscal year is $293.45 million.
“It’s time for us to get down to reducing or at least stall the increase in the recurrent expenditure in this country. We have to put proper initiatives to encourage civil servants to perhaps retire earlier and give them some incentive to go out and invest in their own business,” Vanterpool said during the budget debate on Friday.
“Give them a retirement package that is not just retirement alone but give them an extra $50,000 to go and invest. Encourage them to retire early. That’s $5 million a year for maybe 100 persons. Rather than putting it on the recurrent expenditure, we can have our own people invest in their own businesses.”
The Opposition legislator said the territory’s leaders must find ways to reduce the recurrent budget because “one day we won’t be able to pay those salaries at the rate they are going and we don’t know what is happening with financial services”.
Premier and Minister of Finance Andrew Fahie said revenue from financial services dropped by $30 million this year due to the challenges that the industry is currently facing.
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When you wa in power you never had any ideas all of sudden you coming up with something week in week out your ndp government was in power for the last 8 years what did you do then overun expenditure tell us about that
That’s our problem, we play politics with everything. What he is saying is the truth whether you like it or not and if you think the UK isn’t watching and waiting to give a firm directive to cut back OR ELSE, keep dreaming. Unless revenues skyrocket in the next three years, watch for the cuts. Notice how the Government is now purchasing all their heavy equipment and PWD guys are finally on the road conducting works? Do you think this is all by accident? This is a necessary evil and more cutting on the way.
I think people get more ideas when they’re on the outside looking in or have less responsibilities it seems. all those years this man was in power and couldn’t come up with solutions. roads and internet just to name a few was on his plate. yes persons would blame the 2017 hurricanes but before September 6 most of the said problems were around.
As the financial sector goes bye bye there will be a lot of early retirement and not by their own volition. The best is yet to come.
How about well off legislators, Mr. Vanterpool forego salaries? Also, retire early . Without the $50,000 investment .
Wow! All of a sudden the Action Man is a well spring of ideas. The delayed 2010 Census estimated the VI population at approximately 28,000; more recent estimates placed the population at approx 36,000. The VI workforce is approximately 13,000 with government employing a third. Like other small locales, government by necessity is a major employer.
Nonetheless, in the VI, it is an open secret that the civil service is bloated and needs to be trimmed. However, no politician on either government or opposition side will touch the topic with a 10 metre pole. For a population of approx 36,000, there are approx 3000 employees for a ratio 1 employee per 12 residents; this ratio must extended outward. The bloated workforce is not sustainable.
Consequently, the workforce needs to be trimmed, ie, through attrition, a hard hiring freeze, early retirement incentive, ie, $25K to leave early for selective employees, cut waste, increase production, avoid duplication……etc. To do all this, the economy has to be deepened , extended and diversified; technology leveraged……….etc.
Real talk. But politicians always act out of self interest ; it I say always personal interest first, not national interest. Truth be told. All of us act out of self interest. That said, no politician will bring this up or act actively on fixing it. Don’t hold your breath. You have given the authority a start point to address the problem. Instead, government I say running around doing fart that will make it a one-term entity. Within the first year, this VIP government is working hard to becoming a one-term. The leader is not the only one to blame. Tout monde baggi! Had so much hope for the VIP. During the Cyril King era in the USVI nuff workers hired but after all these years the rolls are top heavy no one can do anything. For decades, the BVI will be dealing with nonsense this government doing. Check it out.
So we must be swimming in money. Early retirement means they will get paid their pension. An additional 50000 per person where is that going to come from? Why isn’t Mark giving his employees 50000 each to invest and take early retirement?
Persons should still be given the option to retire at 60 years old.
Perhaps the option to extend persons to 65 years was ok but the compulsory at 60 years should have stayed. Based on performance agencies could well utilize the option to keep extending up to 65. Agencies hands are currently tied with some non performing people over 50 who are trying but they’re just not meeting the mark
MARK needs to “GO SIT DOWN”