Casino: There\u2019s published literature issued by the Citizens for Cleaner CNMI that had some very revealing and pertinent information all must read. You\u2019ll get a clear understanding of the invisible tentacles or events that unfolded culminating in the seemingly coincidental exclusive casino license for Best Sunshine. <\/p>\n
The depth of the material shows it was thoroughly researched and offers time for us to review and recapture what\u2019s ours in recharting the future of these isles. It\u2019s all fact-based information!<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the date when BS, a food company, declared it was moving into the gaming industry. It commanded a whopping windfall of some $1.5 billion in its stocks shown in graphic illustration. The announcement and huge gain came while there\u2019s no casino measure here as yet. It leaves the issue to speculation and suspicion. This was preceded by a visit to Hong Kong and Macau by NMI officials reportedly searching for investments. Did any of them have any inkling of the magnitude of the investments or do they know what entails investments? <\/p>\n
Can casino strengthen our cultural traditions and deeply rooted value system or wouldn\u2019t it be the single most destructive force against indigenous culture? Do you see why pro-casino legislators should have used what\u2019s known as \u201ccontextual emotional intelligence\u201d where they reflect upon the effects of long-term issues? But they ignored thoughtful review in favor of the instant soba mindset.<\/p>\n
And so a food firm was selected to run a casino operation here. Wasn\u2019t the lack of business experience (credibility issue) sufficient to raise eyebrows or call \u201ctime out\u201d? Why didn\u2019t our men of infinitesimal wisdom see this egregious anomaly? Were you folks too busy giving away our future for 30 silvers committing an omission of fiduciary responsibility? Or is it more a case of loss of neurons\u2014dead brain cells\u2014known as apoptosis?<\/p>\n
The material pointed out that every place where casino exists charges taxes, e.g., Macau, 39 percent; Manila, 25 percent; Singapore, 15 percent; Tinian\/Rota, 10-11 percent; Saipan exclusive casino, ZERO! Isn\u2019t backroom hard counting where the money is and shouldn\u2019t BS be paying at least $50 million in fees per year? It\u2019s mind numbing the purported purposeful omission of fiduciary duty on this score. It must be one superb wining and dining as to force neuron paralysis at a time public officials should be on full guard protecting the interest of these isles. They didn\u2019t!<\/p>\n
The researched figures show how the taxpayers would be subsidizing BS for the next 40 years. Is this the vision of pro-casino public officials\u2014drain the last pennies from family wallets and purses including poor food stamps recipients\u2014so it is donated to ensure the future operations of BS? <\/p>\n
Remember how the State of Delaware had to subsidize by some $8.5 million per year its casino to ensure jobs for 8,500 employees because nearby competition compromised the so-called \u201cprojected\u201d revenue? Isn\u2019t Atlantic City closing two more casinos at the end of the month because they are \u201cunprofitable?\u201d Hello! Anybody home?<\/p>\n
Masters vs. servants: \u201cWe the people\u201d know we\u2019ve elected what\u2019s ostensibly known as \u201cpublic servants.\u201d This prompted my efforts to understand the root of chaos in the review and consideration of public policy where public officials have no respect for the limits of the exercise of power.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic officials\u2014who are supposed to be our public servants\u2014routinely behave as if they are our masters. They reject the confines of the Constitution, they don\u2019t believe that our rights are inalienable, and they fail to see the dangerous path down which they are leading us.\u201d It\u2019s a sure path to an authoritarian government.<\/p>\n
The purposeful use of the cloak of ignorance and arrogance aren\u2019t a ticket to bypass the sentiment of the silent majority who, through direct representation or plebiscite, said \u201cno\u201d to casino twice. It is the silent majority with gravitas\u2014integrity\u2014who has every intention to recapturing what belongs to \u201cwe the people.\u201d Like last midterm election, \u201cwe the people\u201d would be roaring back once more! Enough is enough!<\/p>\n
You impeached a former governor for a non-existent power contract. Shouldn\u2019t you also be busying yourselves preparing multiple impeachment charges that include you? Whatever happened to your pronouncement of transparency? Isn\u2019t transparency the disinfectant for corruption? Or have you been infected by refusing treatment from your own medicine? <\/p>\n
Reality check: It\u2019s good to be optimistic of casino revenue if it is within a rock\u2019s throw of real revenue reality. MVA says the casino integrated plan could provide a whopping $1.8 billion in windfall. Excellent! Even I have included that view in my Wish List of Optimism 2015, salivating. I know it isn\u2019t forthcoming anytime soon. With infrastructure deficit, it\u2019s a pipe dream at best, longest yawn at worse!<\/p>\n
Infrastructure: Be it northern or southern Saipan, villagers will be there to give you a \u201cwake up\u201d call on robbing the community of water, power, and sewer! Is it hard understanding that in order to get to \u201cC\u201d you need to pass by \u201cB\u201d? <\/p>\n
Ironic that in subsequent pages of the same edition (Monday, Sept. 1) was a story of Atlantic City shutting down two more casinos including the loss of 5,000 jobs.<\/p>\n
Purchasing power: Forget about minimum wage and focus on the real cost of living here. This cost should realistically reflect wage and salary. In Hawaii, the strength of the dollar is about $.85. <\/p>\n
What\u2019s the strength of the dollar here where everything is about quadruple the cost of basically everything? Is it anywhere near $.10 to $.30 per dollar? What\u2019s the wisdom of giving people minimum wage jobs but had to go to NAP Office and sign up for food stamps? Are you getting my drift?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Casino: There\u2019s published literature issued by the Citizens for Cleaner CNMI that had some very…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[774,256,42,529],"class_list":["post-178714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-bs","tag-casino","tag-food","tag-macau"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178714\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}