Mind the (wealth) gap

As Jayne Ozanne says in her column today, ‘We have some of the richest people in the world living alongside those who are trying somehow to exist on a minimum wage’.

In Guernsey, this situation seems to have been exacerbated by the generous salaries offered by the finance industry and civil service, with which many employed in other sectors are simply unable to compete, no matter how hard they work.

The island’s tax status makes it an attractive place to relocate to for those with the deepest of pockets. Meanwhile many locals are forced to leave because they can no longer afford to live here.

The situation has not been helped in recent years by the pandemic, the rise in the cost of living and the shortage of affordable housing.

While local house prices, and even rents, have soared, most people’s incomes have not, and the aspiration of becoming a homeowner is increasingly out of reach for many islanders.

Jayne believes that ‘the bubble is bursting’ and this economic inequality has led to a growing sense of unrest in Guernsey.

The question is whether her suggestion that we look at ‘fresh ways of asking those with the broadest shoulders to shoulder more of the financial responsibility’ could work –or whether it would merely lead to an exodus of our wealthiest residents, along with the taxes we all rely on.