Busy weekend at home

It was an extraordinary weekend loaded with events, from the inauguration of President Trump to the less than hopeful tidings in poor bond ratings for a major investment here.

For all the chaos of the 2016 presidential election, the country came together in celebration of democracy. It’s our belief in something bigger than the self. Donald John Trump became the 45th president of our country!

Trump didn’t veer off his narrative to transfer power from the moneyed Washington establishment to “we the people.” His inauguration was the first day of fulfilling the expressions of Americans across the country, taking back what’s theirs—a government of the people—in wealth and jobs creation.

Said Trump: “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed.

“The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.”

U.S. policy: But what Trump seems to have missed was the American policy some 30 years ago giving manufacturing to China and Mexico while dishing the service industry to India. This shuttered manufacturing in Middle America, thus the job losses. Hope this oversight eases the tension among trading nations.

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, the largest e-commerce site in China, related that throughout the period, the top American firms made millions upon millions of dollars than all firms combined in his republic. Question: Where did that money go? Wasn’t it spent on various wars that cost Americans over $14 trillion? Was any of it spent rebuilding basic infrastructure?

Mr. Ma advocates sharing with small global businesses the benefits of the digital age. He said this should result in every business sharing in the larger global pie that grants them better opportunities to improve the livelihood of their people.

Be that as it may, Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement. His decision forces two issues to the forefront: Allied countries secretly hoping the U.S. would keep its police role in the region or may be forced to converge using shared values and commitment to continue collective trade and security. Who then would emerge as the global leader?

Bond rating: The lowering of bond rating for IPI has spread among investors. Such tiding is a red flag on investments anywhere in the world. It’s critical in the sense that financing institutions use it to guard the money of prospective investors from chancing investment losses.

It’s very unsettling what it may wreak against the local economy over the short- and long-term. Is the so-called leadership wary of these issues? Or is its eyesight calcified in the redundant excuse, “Not yet, already?”

NMC’s visionary step: NMC took the visionary step to include information technology—with specific programs as majors—the most profound shift I’ve heard in decades.

It takes one more step to establish the twin policy of “research and development center” where the NMI should be able to begin planning its future in deliberate fashion.

Policy formulation would be supported by purposeful and in-depth research work by the R&D center. It should eliminate second-guessing the crafting of policies right off the hip.

As it is, there’s nothing up the alley of meaningful investments in the near or long-term. Without the twin policies, out the window goes “wealth and jobs” creation in perpetuity.

Focusing: While I mull over the future of these isles, I happened upon a story, “Bloomberg’s Innovation Index” that “scores economies using factors including research and development spending and the concentration of high-tech public companies.”

Would you believe that nearby South Korea is the biggest winner? It topped the “international charts in R&D intensity, value-added manufacturing and patent activity and with top five rankings in high-tech density, higher education and research concentration.” The NMI’s economic salvation is in the twin policies of IT and R&D. Skipping it triggers serious familial plans to evacuate elsewhere!

“The ranking began with over 200 economies, from which those that didn’t report data for at least six of seven categories measured were eliminated, trimming the list to 78. Bloomberg released overall and category scores for the top 50 innovative economies.” It’s about the future of investments by global investors. Are there visionaries here?

Fandango: Raffy and Arnold Palacios conveniently avoided vetoing the legislation increasing the salaries of the elected elite. A shallow excuse at best, a “can’t fool the people all the time” at worst. This one won’t sit well in our minds in next year’s election.

The disparity is oceans apart—80 percent for me, myself and I or elected elite—5 percent for powerless civil servants and none for employees struggling in private industries. And so the royal misfits are at it again, tip-toeing while their so-called inaction implodes.

This BS is slammed against ordinary folks when greedy politicians ignore “doing the right thing by doing them right.” The corrupt has calcified its mindset on more negligent activities as to openly ignore the needs of villagers who have held on to their daily struggles in quiet dignity.

Raffy doubled down his grand delusion with his entourage to Washington at taxpayers’ expense—taxes you and I pay—into the local coffers. Troubling in the sense that it involved a family vacation of more than 16 people at the expense of struggling taxpayers. Is this administration realistically wary of the financial posture of the NMI or “not yet, already?”