Raise taxes that is.

Friday past Mr. Michael Halkitis (PLP), Minister of State for Finance is reported to have said the government will not raise taxes or introduce new measures as a result of the Moody's further downgrade.

Come Monday Mr. Halkitis is looking for increased revenue from Real Property Taxes, Road Traffic and others according to press reports.

The promise not to raise taxes was in The Guardian and the suggestion to raise taxes was in The Tribune, the common thread in both interviews is the point he makes that austerity measures are out of the question.

For some reason the political class wishes to convey that austerity measures mean drastic cuts in government spending. But here's some ideas:

• How about no increases in annual budgets?
• How about a 10 percent salary cut across the board – from Ministers down? 
• How about Ministers using their personal vehicles?
• How about ensuring every dime of proposed expenditure is examined to ensure it is necessary, before the money is spent?
• How about no hiring?

Regarding the other side of the ledger, entrepreneurs need to be encouraged to open shop without fear that the minimum wage will be increased, or work weeks will be shortened or other government benefit mandates will be implemented. Uncertainty makes people risk averse.

The risk taker should be able to walk into the relative department for a shop license and walk out with it. The unnecessary delays need to stop.

As the country has to pay more to borrow with each downgrade, government revenue that would have been used for say capital expenditure will have to be diverted, so the first order of business should be to find ways to reduce deficits and debt.

No easy task to be sure. Many of us have had to tighten our belts, and we can't force people to do business with us as the government can. So we know how difficult it is and can feel some empathy. But it's also painfully obvious that we will be heading off the so called fiscal cliff too if we keep going the way we are going.

In the final, both political parties have gotten us into this predicament. And many of us are to blame that it has gotten to this stage because our silence was construed as consent. The recent circulation of the Home-Owners Protection Bill is a case in point. Bankers will anonymously bitch to the press, yet do not have the courage of their convictions to get their colleagues to speak out in unison against the stupidity of some of the Bills proposals.

I can't say it often and loud enough. Government is not there to rule us. They are there to represent us. At least that's what they tell us when they're campaigning for office.

And surely they are not there to constantly increase the debt load and the size of government so the burden becomes unbearable?

There is no escaping higher taxes if some serious changes aren't made. That we can be assured of despite the political protestations otherwise today. Just watch how their language changes as/if things get worse.