The poker syndrome

The “poker syndrome” is simply the reckless betting of anything without careful review. Never mind what happens later. It’s the here and now! This is the way things are done here in ad hoc fashion—no planning—sing it, “que sera, sera.”

I was expecting a more thoughtful approach especially when it comes down to shoring up the financial posture of the NMI. It should prepare the local treasury to meet fiscal duties paying for public services. At least this is the ideal thing to do. It was what we hoped for over the last year.

We’ve failed by skipping taxing Best Sunshine’s “staggering” $13.5 billion income it raked in last year. Moreover, it’s making $3.9 billion per month today and lapdogs refuse to impose taxes!

Now, it is rumored that Raffy and Republican cabal are going to borrow some $120 million to cover the needs of the settlement fund. It’s another political gimmick to lure retirees’ votes for 2018. The bond loan would take 30 years to pay off. What happens after 2018? Is it right to pass this debt or leadership failure to our young people?

You had the opportunity to collect some $675 million had you taxed BSI’s largesse of $13.5 billion. But you turned your head the other way saying, “It’s a bad time to tax.” Now you want to force a debt against our young people for the next 30 years?

The poker syndrome is egregiously irresponsible! If the solutions driven team is so hot, why force debts on the backs of the young people by another $120 million? How about using what’s known as “economic efficiency” prioritizing spending funds where it would do the most good?

But then it is rumored that most of the elected elite are paid lapdogs of a certain firm here. No wonder “it’s not the time to tax” them. Who do you represent anyway?

Moreover, have you pared down the $779 million owed the old retirement fund, the $30 million debt with CUC, land compensation and other vendor obligations?

Have you fulfilled constitutional mandate to retire NMI deficit this year? If not, isn’t this a constitutional violation? No worries, we will litigate it to force restoration of a government of laws! What’s the current and cumulative deficit of the NMI?

Wobbly industry
Some feel disturbed by Bloomberg’s stories about the casino industry here raking in “staggering” largesse. As a journalist, I trust Bloomberg’s report given that it is equipped with its own intelligence and investigative groups on issues of global interest.

Yesterday, Bloomberg carried a story about the approval of Japan’s casino plans by the Diet. Japan is set to open its own doors to “opulent gambling houses” revolving around the integrated resort concept. The “multi-billion dollar goliaths are designed to lure out-of-towners and offer them a variety of ways to spend—shows, shopping, baroque dining—beyond gambling. This model generally makes casinos more profitable, less dependent on high rollers, and better able to withstand economic ebbs and flows. It’s projected to generate $10 billion annually.

“For governments, too, it’s an appealing prospect. In theory, foreigners will drop their cash, boost the local economy and take their problems home with them. Developers can be prodded to improve local infrastructure and to include space for conferences and exhibitions. This is what Japan has in mind.

“It’s a hard dynamic to sustain. For one thing, the Asia-Pacific region is already brimming with such resorts, from Singapore to Saipan, Vietnam to Vladivostok. New ones are on the way in the Philippines and South Korea. Macau has some three-dozen and counting.

“Studies show that increased regional competition can drive down revenue for established casinos, as you might expect, and drawing out-of-towners becomes much harder when they have options closer to home. As the U.S. has lately learned, this leads to some very unhappy endings for areas that can’t compete.

“Another problem is that many of these new resorts are pursuing the same customer: the Chinese tourist. With China’s economic growth sluggish and the yuan weakening, that’s not the sure bet it once was. The Chinese government is cracking down on foreign casino companies trying to recruit local gamblers. And it is keen to discourage capital flight, which means it may further tighten rules on spending overseas.

“Even under the best conditions, moreover, casinos rarely live up to the hype. Although they can produce a short-term economic boost, on average the effect dies out quickly. Taxing gambling might seem like a painless way to bolster budgets, but casinos can actually be a net drag on public revenue when social costs are factored in. What public income they do collect tends to be regressive. Without precautions, they can lead to a host of other ills, including lower property values, increased problem gambling, higher bankruptcy rates and more crime.”

While we prematurely boast of economic “boom”, take a critical look around you and see if the Triple Wall of disinvestment isn’t going to drain scarce revenues hailing from the swamp of your shallow understanding of events unfolding near and far.

More losses: Next year, the NMI would lose Medicaid funding, SNAP, housing assistance, and grant funds for NMI agencies. As this occurs, notice that investments have started heading south. It’s the impending results of bad decision calls, contributing to our own financial demise.

We could try putting another believable mea culpa appeals but Washington isn’t going to listen and not when it knows we simply failed to tax billions of dollars in casino revenues. Imagine what the U.S. casino industry and their representatives in Congress would say about our excesses. Would other states struggling to establish jobs for their people be generous to filthy rich spoiled brats? Take a closer look at the relationship between Trump and Jinping. Halo?