A must Battle Cry for the NMI

Local leadership must come to grips with the fact that unless we untangle strangling investment laws and regulations, there really won’t be much hope in our efforts to encourage expansion and fresh investments to the islands over the next year or millennium.

Intransigence in this area may force most of us to start selling young stolen coconuts in tour venues where tourists no longer visit. By then, it’ll be too late to return to our chambers to resuscitate a dead patient whose heart rhythm on the monitor has taken the straight line. It need not come down this low.

Instead, we must roll up our sleeves and get right to work — public and private sector alike — in the identification of strangling laws so we repeal them forthwith. It is senseless to work on the free trade zone legislation if strangling laws are still in the books. It’s an exercise in futility where we convince ourselves that it’s the single magical pill to our economic miseries and inadequacies when in fact the flip side remains our number one enemy.

The public sector has a lot of growing up to do in terms of its views of what and how investments help expand growth and create jobs for the local populace. We’re especially weak in terms of policy stability given our propensity to shift boats right in midstream. If you will, investors almost always look at a certain venue with commitment for the long haul. We too must learn to embrace and formulate lasting policy matters. Instability in whatever form doesn’t go together with investment.

Locally, there are large companies comprised of group of companies who have invested hard earned money here and throughout the region. These investments heavily rely on policy stability which we’ve seen fit to toy around with as though we’re endowed with oil fields. Make no mistake that about the only two things we have in abundance are the vast expanse of ocean water around us and the constant piling of trash at Puerto Rico Dump, no more, no less.

It behooves local leadership, therefore, to begin the painful process of learning what investments entail and how the revenues generated from these investments have helped the NMI since the inception of its constitutional government in 1978. Seriously, we really don’t have much room to hurl our sense of adolescency against investors already here who give it their damnedest to ensure that we stay afloat or solvent. This adolescent behavior must be disposed, forthwith.

In fact, we should join these investors to find out how some have ably stemmed the tide of regional currency devaluation. I know for sure that a handful of them have steadily studied the global market to determine new trends and what sort of fine tuning must they undertake in advance to ensure that their investments here don’t suffer from contraction as a direct result of pure neglect. How many of us can say that they too have done the same to keep up with new trends in the global markets?

Therefore, the public sector must begin changing its attitude and relationship with the private sector. In fact, every country throughout the free world nurtures a close working relationship between the two in order to forge more positive policies for investment so neither side suffers out of indifference and spite. In short, the public and private sectors serve as the right and left hand that constantly monitors how its drive engine (economy) performs to ensure that it doesn’t sputter to a grinding halt where the consequence translates into hardship.

For once in our lifetime we must psyche ourselves to untangle strangling laws and regulations to enable businesses to expand and fuel lasting investments into these isles. Our economic success heavily depends on how well we embrace the battle cry to make these islands the most prosperous on this side of the Pacific. It can be done and we only need to converge to begin anew what has started to turn into a sore working relationship. Let’s do it. We owe it to ourselves and those who tread behind us with visions of brighter tomorrows. Si Yuus Maase`!