Simple charms of paradise

With paralysis from persistent fiscal dystopia (budgetary shortfall), there’s nowhere else to go for solace nor do I know how to dogpaddle out of the mounting danger ahead. So I’ve taken refuge in the simple charms of these isles that offers calm, even allowing for resetting buttons, alone.

Took a glimpse of the wide open ocean, the deep blue sea lanes, the calm breeze of summer, the blue skies of paradise, ships calling from distant shores, combined with the friendliness of islanders, which should promote a special bond and mutual respect in the conduct of business.

These are quiescent reminders of the resounding majestic ambience that paves the way to calm and thoughtful reassessment of our future. It’s time to bring forth that resiliency we’re known for in both calm and storm. But does the elected elite understand this at all?

Foreign investment paradigm
We’ve lost major investments to which we haven’t seen replacement industries to fill the vacuum in major revenue losses. There emerged a lull where nothing has happened to peek into the real benefits or otherwise of foreign investments on the islands.

Whose economic barometer are we using on this score? Is the continued acceptance of the foreign investment paradigm the gospel truth? Is this just a substitution for the lack of or failed policies?

We tried defending the apparel industry but lost it. However, two vital issues emerged: Loss of control of immigration and Mt. Puerto Rico that will need some $30 million to clean up. It’s time to thoroughly review the foreign investment paradigm to secure a clearer picture if it has or hasn’t worked to scaffold the needs of the local coffers.

In his column titled “A policy of poverty,” Manuel F. Almario says: “Now a new book has been published, based on research covering three centuries since the Industrial Revolution, which asserts that the Asian countries that have emerged from poverty since World War II did so without substantial investment from wealthy countries. Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty, an economics professor at the Paris School of Economics, has been a bestseller since its publication.

“Piketty points out: ‘None of the Asian countries that have moved closer to developed countries in the West in recent years has benefited from large foreign investments, whether it be Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan and more recently China. In essence, all of these countries themselves financed the necessary investments in physical capital and, even more, in human capital [knowledge and skills], which the latest research holds to be the key to long-term economic growth.’”

It’s an issue of real challenge we must discuss in deliberative fashion with coherence so we know where do we go from here.

On high power rates
One of the hosts of the radio show Marianas Agupa struggled to justify the high cost of power Marianas-wide. Nice try!

The right answer (that was never spouted) to ease the fatally egregious power rate is to grow the economy. This hasn’t happened in the last 10 years. In fact, some 52 percent of employees are underemployed, meaning they have jobs that fall within the federal definition of poverty income level.

The huge drop in revenue generation forced the cut by 25 percent of pension pay. Piled atop this heavy cut against working families is the 40 percent increase in health premiums, including $500 to $1,000 in health deductibles we must pay for treatment at CHC.

In brief, no matter how you dice or splice it, federal court intervention on the settlement fund (retirement) and CUC is a tale of negligence and incompetence on the part of those at the helm, like it or not. So no matter the justification, all roads lead to negligence! The truth may hurt but it’s the truth!

Macau: Loss of casino revenue
The banner story in last Sunday’s Wall Street Journal (Sept. 28, 2014) talks of revenue loss in Macau by as much as 16 percent over the last three months. This is the net result of pressure being placed against “junket tours” by the government of China, the United States, and casinos themselves.

On the same page is another story of casino stocks crumbling in nearby Hong Kong. The Chinese government has begun corruption investigation into junket tours. It disallows the transfer of millions of dollars from mainland China to Macau.

The U.S. casino operations have insisted on securing information of junket tour clientele given that this is where the triad makes their money. Casinos have also put on pressure because it is competing for the same revenues with junket tours. And so the glitz of billions of dollars has somewhat taken the slow lane.

Looking ahead, wouldn’t it be harder to bring in high rollers when China now prohibits the transfer of millions of dollars? It kills junket tours that don’t bode well luring high rollers. Staying low will keep us low until our industry disappears in bankruptcy land!

Discovery!
The term “discovery” has come under critical scrutiny by contemporary history scholars, specifically its use that only suits the purpose of half-cocked historians a long time ago. It’s the maligned use of the term and the wrong information conveyed that now paddles backward for accuracy.

Did Christopher Columbus discover America? Wasn’t he looking for the West Indies in search of expensive spices? That Native Americans have been living in the U.S. for centuries, how could there be a discovery? Isn’t it more fitting to explore when did Native Americans come to America and declare such time and date the “discovery” of the new world?

When Magellan landed on the shores of Guam, was the trip a “discovery?” So why dignify an historical anomaly as “Discovery Day?” Not only did the Spaniards call the island “Ladrones,” it sold the people and island of Guam to the United States. Isn’t this the most egregious form of slavery in modern history? And please don’t tell me it’s the beginning of modern commerce in the Pacific!