‘Hotel industry, elderly being neglected!' – PEP PRO Lorie A. Rhymer
![“We seem to forget about the hotel industry [was] a thriving industry that brought this country from far and it has done well for us,” said Rhymer. Photo: bvitourism.com](https://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/cache/images/800x_r_resortsweb.jpg)
He was speaking as a part of a panel of PEP officials on that party’s radio talk show heard live on air September 29, 2014 on ZBVI 780 AM.
Commencing by making points on the hotel industry, Rhymer said that since the advent of financial services in the Territory the hotel industry has been somewhat cast aside.
“Since we began with the tourism sector in 1964 we reached a peak and then we levelled off, and after that we moved into the offshore business and so on,” he said.
“We seem to forget about the hotel industry [was] a thriving industry that brought this country from far and it has done well for us,” said Rhymer.
“It is rather dreadful to see the way we now treat this tourism product which for a number of years had managed to supply up to 80 percent of the recurrent budget of the country,” said Rhymer.
“We need to do something about that and the People’s Empowerment Party will surely do something about that. [The Party] would want to attract on its slate of candidates persons with knowledge, persons who are not afraid to speak truth to power, persons who are ready to help to move this country forward, who intend to not only talk but do something about the [hotel industry],” he said.
Further, Rhymer said that persons retiring from the hotel industry and oftentimes cast aside with no retirement monies to collect. “Whatever little savings that they might have put away they have to then use it on their own health while continuing to look after their families and households,” he said.
“They have fallen through the cracks so to speak,” he said. “This is an area that needs to be looked at urgently,” said Rhymer.
“The elderly and retired persons…do not fare well in our society. They are more or less cast aside and we want to do something about that,” he said.
“We are a country that boasts a budget of close to $300 million. Surely we can treat [our elderly] much better than we are at present,” he said.
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10 Responses to “‘Hotel industry, elderly being neglected!' – PEP PRO Lorie A. Rhymer”
Very well said NICK! People will do and use anything for political mileage under the guise of giving a s..t! Where was Lorie all the years this has been allegedly happening? What we need are people to sit with employees who may not be well versed in economic and financial issues and consult them on their options. Confusing people for political points has gone on for far too long. Making people think that because you talk loud and say certain things that you care about them, it's sickening, all for a vote and power. What we need are educational programs for ALL workers as not everyone fully understands some of the things they get themselves into. Saving for retirement is a serious issue. Understanding labor laws and expectation from employers is another issue where education is required. There are a lot of misconceptions and flat out lies being perpetuated by politicians and aspiring politicians and we need to call them out on it. If you give a s..t about the people, you need to genuinely reach out to them, hear their concerns and guide them in the right way. Electing you to the Government will not help their situation. Government is not always the answer.