Socialist: you see how dependent on the State we have become? Even the private companies are becoming like leeches. PP won the elections, they say based on mouth babblers promisers on the campaign trails and newspapers mis-interpreting what was written in the manifesto but then again when PNM said early on "whey yuh PP go get the money from for pension age reductions"?, no one in higher up PP during campaign, no-one came out to categorically deny that PP will reduce the pension age to 60. It was fools paradise.They played on the babbling promises.

Anyone has an option to retire earlier with reduced company pensions, say on ill health or just having had too much. But state pension age is 65. The manifesto says something about 60, but nowhere in the article, in the link, did I read that the PP promised to reduce the pensionable age from 65 to 60. They did hint that life begins at 60 but do these words give a promise of reducing the pensionable age to 60.

Its all PP's fault and PNM in Opposition will slam the PP. Promises will go: e.g Aluminium Plants (no gas mind you) and I will hate the PP for breaking this one, Sando - Mayaro highway and I am waiting for other promises to fall through. Dookeran will destroy the coalition- my prediction. He seems to shoot his mouth off like UK David Cameron, TT is in for political, economic and Energy crises, the worst you have ever seen in coming years.

I looked forward to a new politics,a government with high moral standards and integrity that is why I am going to the National Library on Tuesday and look at the Newspapers for May 19 and May 22 and see for myself what the ad said. I will know then the truth and I will vote accordingly.

I looked forward to a new politics,a government with high moral standards and integrity that is why I am going to the National Library on Tuesday and look at the Newspapers for May 19 and May 22 and see for myself what the ad said. I will know then the truth and I will vote accordingly.

Bel Air Speaker

So Mr. Logic. PP gone promising ting on the platform to fool the senior citizens to vote for them and now is PNM fault. All yuh is real spin doctor yes!! I would recommend a name change for you. You eh sounding to "logical".

Hats off to the PNM, despite a non-promise it gave us Guanapo Church. Rik Hansel

Irresponsible Opposition Politics:

The PNM just cannot get it! They failed while they were in Government, and they will fail as Opposition also.

If they were a responsible Opposition, they would come to Parliament with figures showing how much it would cost the Government to reduce the pension age to 60 years. They would explain how the Government cannot afford it and show how taxes may have to be increased, etc. Instead, they are trying to force the Government's hand, even if it means destroying the economy of the country. They know that it would be near impossible to implement because they sabotaged the treasury before they demitted office.

Why did we ever allow this PNM party to run the Government for almost 50 years???

PNM NO MORE!!!

NYfrNY is clearly silly. First of all, you complain about others not knowing how to read etc, yet, from the way you wrote, it is obvious that you have a big problem communicating your views in English or American, as the case may be.
Secondly, you promise $100.00 US to anyone who can prove that the PP made a promise to reduce the pensionable age to 60 years. What kind of proof do you want? Don't tell me you are only going to use their manifesto. Simply google relevant words, and articles come up about the promise.
Stop being an ignoramus in denial, mate. Its disgusting.

NYfrNY is clearly silly. First of all, you complain about others not knowing how to read etc, yet, from the way you wrote, it is obvious that you have a big problem communicating your views in English or American, as the case may be.
Secondly, you promise $100.00 US to anyone who can prove that the PP made a promise to reduce the pensionable age to 60 years. What kind of proof do you want? Don't tell me you are only going to use their manifesto. Simply google relevant words, and articles come up about the promise.
Stop being an ignoramus in denial, mate. Its disgusting.

patrick in the usa
Problem solved, just devalue the TT dollar, 10 to 1 to the US dollar and there will be enough money to increase pay for all, in this way you please everyone.

Allyuh forget is who we dealing with?? Yesterday is yesterday and today is today!!!
The old people in this country were fooled!! End of story.
I kinda like the spin i seeing so-called credible people put on this. one man even saying that the pnm get someone to print the ad..jokes yes.
Ask the thousands of people age 60-65 if they remember that ad and you go get the real story.
but carry on apologists..i like the humour.

magdalene2012
how quickly we forget what was promised when trying to get elected.

Ent PNM lorse all de elections? Ent? So it is a bunch of eleven losers making noise like little chirrens. With the state of the Treasury after PNM was forced out by the voter coup, where will the money come from?
So the 11 say PP promised. Hah! PNM, Rowley, Fadda Manning (of family who came from Bdos, jest like me), all PNM promise, promise, promise good and honest government, and look whappen. They gone an corrupt the whole system.

Buh somebody are soul will pay. One day one day Congotay! Kyah! Kyah! Khee! Khee! Mih belly! Oh Gard! Oh Lard!

Who are,
who are,
who are we?

We are the eleven
Blessed by heaven
Eleven by composition
Now forever in Opposition!

GrantAdams
Kansas

The fact of the matter still remains crystal clear.The PP never promised to reduce the pensionable age from 65 to 60.This far fetched story may have come up in the campaign trail,but it is not in their manifesto.Life begins at 60 does not mean old age pension begins at 60.The pensionable age never changed.Some politicians may have used it,but the fact remains that it was not a campaign promise.Those PNM politicians are still hanging on to straws trying to stay afloat,but only fools will buy their story.My advise to some of you bloggers,please read the manifesto.This article about pension is under social programs.I am willing to make a bet,if anyone could show me where it is written that old age pension will be reduced to age 60.,I will send them a check for $100.00 US.And I am a man of my word.NYfrNY.

Those busy body people who support pensions at 60 should also ask the question: "wey de government go get de money to pay for it"? All developed countries are now considering increasing the age of eligibility from 65 to 67 or higher. Rik Hansel

The government can dance all they want, the fact of the matter is they played politics with this for votes. This slight of hand advertising was to get old people to vote for them, there is no if's or but's with this, this is what they did.

Now that they have won the elections they have gone back on what they have promised, so standing in the house yesterday talking all about PNM corruption, once again calling all sorts of figures and names is not going to wash away the fact that they lied to the public to win a election.

What the public now has to ask is if they can lie so easily for the sake of winning, how will we now be able to distinguish if all that they are saying is true, or are they just continuing the lies to stay in power.

Acacia
People have been disenfranchised because they voted on a promise that is not going to be fulfilled and they are being told it is being fulfilled. I wonder what will happen to us if the UNC/COP remain in office for the full five years? Lord put ah hand.

This is ridiculous Old Age Pension at 60 yrs!! This is so funny how some people don't mind being called old now.

This is an issue I raised a couple months ago.I have read and re-read the PP's manifesto,and there was nothing to sbstantiate the claim that the pensionable age will be reduced to sixty.What I clearly remembered, is that in the 2007 campaign,this was a promise.However;in the May 24th election it wasn't.Dr. Amery Browne doesn't have his facts together,and he did not read the PP's manifesto.What he presented in Parliament any Tom,Dick or Harry could have paid a printer to do.What amazes me about these politicians is that they are supposed to be educated,why on earth these people can't verify their facts.Reading and writing seems to be a problem in T&T.Time and time again I have seen instances where things are taken totally out of context.It makes me wonder at times,Is this a deliberate thing or some people just can't understand what they read.Another thing I have noticed is that some reporters do not verify information before printing,this could create a mountain of problem later on.We all have to wonder aloud,is the education system in T&T helping us or is it hurting us.What I am saying could be justified by the TV interviews Manning had with a few journalist.These guys definitely came out looking like First Graders....NYfrNY..

Browne : "He said thousands of senior citizens would be disenfranchised by the proposed changes"...

How can people be disenfranchised by not receiving something they never had in the first place ?..

However much we may wish it, the reality is that the new Government simply cannot afford (at least in the short-term) to effectively reduce the retirement age to 60, when there are reports of past fiscal irresponsibility at every turn..

Election promises aside, many countries with an aging population are having to increase the retirement age - many to age 68, in order to be able to meet payments to this growing segment of the population...

Remember the old adage : nothing in life is free... In order to pay a Government pension at age 60, this funding has to be taken from somewhere else. Does Dr. Browne have any suggestions on this -perhaps reducing the salaries of current MPs would be a start ?..

It's very simple. The advertisements from the PP said 60 years, but their manifesto says pensionable age.

It is very clear that they deliberately left it out of the manifesto because they had no intention of following up on that. Period.

They're probably all laughing at us and saying "Suckers!".

YUH hear lie that is lie. UNC lie, lie, lie.

Aka:fairplay.

So, is the Opposition helping with good governance by this display? As I recall, during the campaign the PNM complained that if the age were dropped then the expenditure would be too much, yet now they are forcing an issue for pure political reasons.

The Opposition spoke about dancing shoes, about "ATM card", about not going to meet Hilary Clinton, and other non-issues such that I have to wonder if the Parliament is just a rum shop.

Using ideas from a previous administration does not signify lack of performance. Firsty, getting new ideas takes time and money. Secondly, the fact that one can implement someone else's idea in less than 120 days is a great achievement (after the ideas remained on paper previously). Finally, do you create an Oval wheel because a round wheel was created by a predecessor?

“…..not a very good day for the government.”

Dr. Amery Browne gave a very good account of himself in yesterday’s (30th July) debate on the Pension Bill. He availed of every opportunity presented by the government to heap scorn and derision on it without ever having to lose his cool or raise his voice.

When Minister Warner came to rescue his party from the onslaught, the damage had already been done. He had virtually to concede that the campaign pension promises never materialized for 60 year olds and was forcibly qualified for existing recipients because the PNM had squandered the treasury, leaving little to spread around. It is a great pity that Minister Glen Ramadharsingh had not started off by apologizing for the failed promises for those reasons and had instead presented the bill as if every promise was being met.

Dr. Browne was correct also in the charges of chest beating and exaggerated claims of new initiatives that were already pioneered by his own earlier administration.

Unfortunately, the government was badly bloodied despite its claims of meeting other campaign promises apart from the failed ones recited by Dr. Browne.

The printed evidence produced by Dr. Browne was convincing in proving that major aspects of the pension commitment had not been met.

Minister Warner’s defenses were badly presented and the government sounded very much as if it were on the campaign trail rather than in office.

Earlier, from media reports one learnt that The Minister of Works had also backtracked officially from highway building. One recalls that very recently he had extolled the virtue of the proposed Sando – Mayaro highway loudly intended to link several isolated towns. He believes that hospital beds are more important, but it is difficult grasp what that has to do with his ministry’s programs.

Mr. Warner seems to indulge in rather more hype than pensiveness when proposing government action. For years the PNM neglected highways and now that the water taxis are endangered if we are to believe Mr. Warner, why are we shutting down the overdue highway construction program? The rapid rail has been understandably shelved, but the highways were never in doubt. Now with a reduction of any sort in the water taxi operations however expensive that may be, without the benefit of highways and rail and a growing vehicle population, national mobility is suddenly implosive.

Why is Mr. Warner making all these important decision pronouncements with such unrestrained abandon?

Yesterday was not a very good day for the government.

MFRahman.

Just goes to show how dishonest the PP were during their campaign for votes. The article and AD clearly states it was from 60 years old.

It would appear that the PNM political machine has now used up its power by attempts of its former senior politicans to try to refloat the sinking ship.
They have now resorted to using former middle aged and younger ministers and officials to fight a battle of survival by placing them in the limelight trying to expose false weaknesses in the new government policies.
The PNM IS WASTING ITS TIME.There is no way they will ever reclaim the lost supporters even if they prove to be right it what they reveal.
They simply cannot be trusted to handle treasury funds or establish a secure society .They talked a lot of containing and stopping the escalating crime rate,but failed to come up with any meaningful results.The people are too hurt to even think of a future with a PNM GOVERNMENT IN POWER AGAIN.

Well if this is true lets see the evidence. Prove that the new Prime Minister made this promise.Lets see and hear her doing it.There must be such audio proof around.Mr Browne should have carefully checked for evidence and hold fire before shooting from the hips.