Dear Editor,
First of all: I am not an expert in anything.
It seems like the people are misrepresented by their officials. The voices of mistrust are echoed by the citizens of the country. Tourism has brought millions of dollars over the years, but mismanagement and misappropriation have led the country into financial crisis. Tourism is the only hope for the country and its people. For a long time, each and everyone are fascinated by the number of motor vehicles as a driven force to economic growth and prosperity, but it has been proven differently.
Unemployment is on the rise, the cost of living is extremely high, and dollarization over-run the national currency (the guilder). Speaking of currency! What’s happening with the Antillean guilder these days? The United States dollar is slowly taking over the national guilder, a process called dollarization. As a result, huge increase in food prices, the cost of living is out of control, and many workers have been laid off. Many businesses are closing. There’s a huge increase in the national debt figure. In future this could lead to currency devaluation.
When new notes go into circulation, two important elements are considered: security reason and the old notes are worn out. This will lead to a sharp increase in prices and inflation will be on the rise. We are now into the hurricane season. All who survived Irma must give thanks to the “Almighty”. To those in authority: A lot of mistakes were made during Hurricane Irma. We must be vigilant this time around. This country may once again find itself on the world stage. Was the 550 million enough to cover the cost of destruction? How was this estimate carried out?
Before Hurricane Irma struck St. Maarten, the country had a huge balance of payments deficit. In economics term: the country didn’t have enough United States currency in reserve to back its guilder currency in circulation at the time. When this happens, a country has to borrow money to correct the deficit and correct its reserve problem. This could be one of the reasons for the IMF rescue, and the amount was considered a loan. Economics played an important role in this situation. The country could have gotten financial assistance for the devastation without a loan. It could approach a different institution at the World Bank.
IMF lends money to correct a country’s deficit problem and sells US currencies to country in need of dollars, not to fix roofs. All trading currencies of the world are measured against the United States dollar. If we want a strong guilder currency, we must keep US dollars in reserve, Do not let too much of it out of the country. Buying and selling currency can lead to an increase in revenues for the country. We are facing many global challenges: Problems such as migration issues, the problem of immigration, global trade and the environment. The country needs bilateral instead of unilateral trade. Not just importing cars, but by producing by-products to sell at home and overseas.
Put a limit on the number of migrants entering and control your intellectuals leaving. Find work for them to do in the country or this could lead to brain drain. Start introducing subsistence farming and help jump-start informal businesses. Fishing is not only a sport, but it’s also a way of life. Help fishermen market their catch. Make use of hilltop land to plant fruit trees and cultivate crops to help climate change. Let cruise lines and other vessels know we are serious about dumping garbage at sea. This will help keep the environment clean.
Cash flow is the life source of all businesses, including government: Control and manage all departments’ budget by doing so will help control and manage revenues. Stop selling property to foreign buyers; instead, have your people own them. The university here should be able to advise government on economics and financial issues affecting the country instead of bringing experts from abroad. It should introduce courses to help the politicians in Public Administration, Economics, and Costing methods. These are subjects needed to run the country.
Those with doctoral degrees should create a chair at the University of St. Martin and offer a professional diploma, bachelor, or a master degree in their chair of study. For example, someone with a doctor of philosophy (PhD) in Linguistics can create a bachelor degree in that field study at the university.
It is time for the people to do things that will benefit the community and the country.
Joseph Harvey
