Heads in the sand in the Isle of Man

isleofman.com: news – Budget Sets Island on Road to Change.

There are full details of the Isle of Man budget in the link – the budget that is meant to begin addressing the loss of VAT revenue some there blame on me.

What’s the main measure? A raid on reserves.

And massive cuts in spending.

But no significant tax rises.

That’s all heads in the sand stuff: the reserves won’t last forever, the cuts will hurt – and education is not immune despite the note I made earlier today – and tax will have to be raised.

The crisis is being deferred. But it remains a crisis all the same. And one that it is clear Alan Bell, finance minister of the Isle of Man, has no idea how to tackle.