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HomeNewsArchivesLEADERS MUST SOLVE INSURANCE, ECONOMIC CRISES

LEADERS MUST SOLVE INSURANCE, ECONOMIC CRISES

Dear Editor,
For the past several years there has been an insurance crisis in the Virgin Islands where insurance rates have been going up and availability has been going down. Homeowners and business owners alike have been suffering through the predicament. Yet our so-called political leaders have refused to tackle the tough issue.
Eight hundred employees are out of work at Hovensa and the game continues. Rather than acknowledging the problem and seeking to find solutions with all those at stake, the present administration finds it convenient to blame others and to ignore the mess. [The Charles] Turnbull administration officials say it is not their problem, the James team says it knows nothing about the crisis.
And that is exactly why Michael Bornn and Arnold Golden are running for governor and lieutenant governor.
When 800 people get laid off in the Virgin Islands, it is the governor's and the lieutenant governor's problem. Leaders will sit down and find solutions, not play the blame game.
The fact that the layoffs are in St. Croix makes it even more serious. The neglect of St. Croix continues to baffle me. How can the governor sit by and watch as St. Croix loses cruise ships, crime becomes rampant, the economy is in depression and yet another 800 people are laid off? And yet these people have the nerve to ask Crucians for their votes.
Like it or not, Hovensa is the only viable economic factor on St. Croix. Rather than always blaming Hovensa, the Bornn/Golden team will work with that company and other business and labor concerns in the VI to build a robust economy.
Folks, we have an insurance crisis it is time we acknowledge it and start implementing solutions such as tort reform, tax incentives, creating a business-friendly environment and attracting insurance carriers back to the Virgin Islands.
I strongly recommend that the governor, lieutenant governor and Senate leaders sit down now with Hovensa to address the immediate crisis in obtaining insurance for Hovensa employees and stop playing the blame game.
Michael Bornn
St. Thomas
Candidate for Governor
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