Dear Chairman and Members of the SZW and KR Committees of the First and Second Chambers of the Dutch Parliament,
“Never waste a good crisis” is a saying attributed to Winston Churchill where he was referring to the founding of the United Nations which would never have happened without World War II.
In the domain of SZW and KR, I would like to assign the current benefits affair the role of “crisis” from which lessons could then be drawn for a less error- and fraud-prone future. I am thinking of the following.
Abolish (all) allowances and supplements, including those on reaching retirement age, and at the same time introduce basic income for all Dutch citizens whereby the basic income for minors will depend on their age.
So instead of all “rolls special” with variables like “age” and “how many children,” just one guaranteed and condition-free basic income.
And if we are going to simplify and standardize, then implement this measure immediately for the Caribbean Netherlands (i.e. Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) and not just for the European Netherlands.
The advantage is obvious: no more fraud-sensitive information that could lead to wrongly or incompletely granted allowances or benefits and furthermore a huge control apparatus will be released because this guaranteed basic income simply applies to all Dutch citizens.
The question of whether working more also yields more – after all, I recently read in a newspaper that this self-evidence is somewhat undermined by the allowances – becomes clearly visible again. If one chooses to work (extra) for income, over and above the guaranteed basic income, one will always have more left over “below the line”. And that is fair and explainable.
Some calculations will undoubtedly have to be made, but I am convinced that a business case for the introduction of this policy will always be positive. A possible additional positive consequence could be that people would like to work more, which could eliminate a labor shortage.
I would like to see this proposal on the agenda of your meeting and then it is up to you to put the government on this revolutionary path.
Kind regards,
J.H.T. (Jan) Meijer
This letter is for government towards all ministers:
The neediest have high expectations there should be a food programme – help for the people – between November or December 2022 with this world price inflation.
I kept telling NA party members there is poverty on the island. The minimum wage and police salary are a shame.
It will be good and highly appreciated if Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs gives the needy some money or groceries soon.
Cuthbert Bannis
Dear Editor,
Just like the police officer when a person enters the political arena and is elected to office, that person becomes an open game. Hopefully, the reaction to that person’s behaviour is positive rather than otherwise. For the last twelve years, there is little that positive that can be said of those who occupied different governmental positions. It will take writing a book if I would have to specify all the not-so-nice moments in government since 10-10-’10, and I will only need half of a page to put the positive things about the barrage of governments since 10-10-’10 on paper.
Currently the government again is in some kind of a predicament. When I read and listen to the way our people in government go about the business of the people, it reminds me of when we used to play marbles as a youngster and we would have a “marble fight”.
Because I am convinced that everything that we go through in life is written in the Bible, I usually refer to the Bible for authenticity. In this case I found what I think can be a vital cause of what has been happening during the past twelve years in our governments, in Proverbs 11:13. Because of this I think I can candidly say that those who want their lives to display faithfulness and authenticity make choices based on what is true rather than what is expedient. Because it has been twelve years and all the heads and most of the members of the political parties have been involved in government since 10-10-’10, I feel that none of them can point a finger at the other.
The proof is in the pudding. So would make the excuse “you have to be among them to know what is going on”, but what about calling them out on it when you find out what is going on. Because of what has happened in the past and what is continuing to happen I believe that I can safely say that the receiver is just as bad as the thief. “Two peas in a pod”, or “six of one, half a dozen of the other”.
When I was growing up, I used to be a member of the Benevolent Improvement Association. (sister organization to the P.M.I.A.) and our motto was “Let decency be your guide”. I Googled the word “decency” which states “behaviour that conforms to accepted standards of morality or respectability”.
Russell Simmons
Dear Editor,
I quote a press release that appeared Monday afternoon 10/31/22:
“‘OM discontinues investigation ‘Aquamarine’ against lawyer due to (formal) errors.’
“Philipsburg--The Aquamarine investigation was launched in September 2016 and runs under the responsibility of the Central Team of the Prosecutor's Office of Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba. The investigation was conducted by the Recherche Samenwerkings Team [Kingdom Detective Cooperation Team – Ed.] (RST). …
“The prosecution believes that the mistakes made by the Prosecutor’s Office, the RC cabinet and RST are so serious that the Prosecutor’s Office considers itself inadmissible in the further prosecution of (P.A.)B. The criminal case against B. has therefore been dismissed,” stated a press release from the OM/TBO on Monday. Unquote.
So in other words, has another one possibly gotten away with a big grin (and who knows how fat a bank account) because of failure and/or incompetence on the part of those we are asked to trust to make a difference in the level of integrity in St. Maarten? And, have we gotten the bill for this 6-year-long RST investigation? If the answer to both is “yes,” all I can say is: What a shame and what a waste!
Michael J. Ferrier
Dear Editor,
From 10/10/10, NA, US Party and DP have been fighting the UP party and the Dutch do not have blind eyes and deaf ears, seeing and hearing how great and important Theo is for St. Maarten, the Caribbean and the rest of the world.
SPM, SPA, now NA party’s performance as opposition in the past was very poor and every time they get a little dig in, something negative always happens in St. Maarten, even such as hurricanes and more.
The Dutch can pardon Theo. The Dutch know d**n well this is St. Maarteners’ dream to see Theo Prime Minister of St. Maarten. Read my lips: do you want Cookie as the next president?
Cuthbert Bannis
