Dear Editor,

  I read the story regarding the removal of the car wrecks organised by VROMI which is commendable, and this is surely a costly exercise at the expense of the (few) taxpayers on the island.

  It baffles my brain why Sint Maarten does not investigate to see how this gets dealt with in other parts of the world. Simple questions to government officials of overseas counterparts. How do you deal with this? In most countries , the VIN number gets checked and the owner traced and issued a towing fee and a fine for dumping the vehicle in the first place. You might say, the process to trace these people is too expensive and longwinded, but you will find that most of them have in the meantime acquired another vehicle which is registered through

the Licence department.

  Next time they come to collect their new number plates, a hefty fine will be waiting. If you want to properly dispose of your vehicle, it should be de-registered and brought to the dump. One cannot expect the government to keep on paying for things for which we as the public should take responsibility.

  Let us all do our bit to improve things on Sint Maarten, from not littering to respecting our fellow citizens and animals.

Rene Lammerse

Dear Editor,

  1. Police warn motorcyclists against dangerous behavior! When will the warnings stop and the zero tolerance of shenanigans on motorbikes kick in?

  2. Judge orders Air Traffic Controllers back to work. While the 30 or so ATControllers are part of the 200plus SXM-Airport employees, the controllers’ job performance, or lack thereof on days like this past January 2, can cause accidents and incidents with catastrophic and deadly consequences. Very few other SXM-Airport jobs (if any) carry such a burden. Airport Management might consider carving them out of the rest and dealing with their issues separately.

  3. Parliament to examine Brownbill’s credentials. Really? How about the “Honorable” replacement showing some integrity by offering to remove himself from consideration for the seat in Parliament that now is vacant, seeing his own experience with the justice system. What is the message here?

  4. USParty questions hospital agreement. Maybe the USParty would be better served questioning themselves and evaluating their campaign promise of “Integrity and proper representation.”

  5. Buncamper says serious choices to be made; reset button cannot be pushed again. While he says that the reset button cannot be pushed again (for the country), the lengthy press release on page 4 of the newspaper is either a political “magic trick” or proof that his own personal reset button was in fact pushed, so “business as usual” would kick in. Convicted by our court of law, unceremoniously removed from Parliament (while remaining on its payroll as MP #16), the MP appears to take a page out of an ex-USA-President’s playbook: Deny, deflect and assign “problems” to others, all the while hoping that posts on social media and in the mainstream press will cause the average citizen to soon forget all transgressions!

Michael J. Ferrier

Dear Editor,

  During my tenure as a police officer, I have had to scrutinize many documents of people from all layers of the world.

  That contributed to me being a little more humble. I cannot readily speak for what is happening nowadays, but in my days it would surprise us to see the humility which was exposed by people who one would not expect. Doctors, lawyers, well-to-do business people, etc. It was at times like those that I understood the meaning between vinegar and honey.

  I do not usually look at the writer before reading a letter written to you, that is to avoid anticipating anything, but I could not avoid this in the letter written to you by Alex David Rosaria, because his curriculum vitae took up one sixth of the letter. Because degrees and diplomas give one the qualification to perform, that does not necessarily mean that one is going to perform well. If what people did not do bothered me that much and I had the qualification that A.D. Rosaria has, I would offer to assist them, instead of criticizing them.

  What I know from feedback that I get from a whole lot of people is that plenty of people are willing to write to you but that even though they speak English at home it is not the same as having to write to the editor of a newspaper, knowing that their letter could be published. I never tell them that their name can be withheld, because you know my opinion on that.

  In my M.U.L.O. days we had to pass exams in four languages. We were examined in reading, writing and speaking all four languages. Once I asked why the reading examination? I was told that reading a language is not the same as speaking it. When you read a language you will have to be able to understand difficult or strange words to understand the context. When you are speaking a language you are able to use several words to explain yourself.

  I do not believe in using difficult words, (even though I intentionally use them sometimes), because when I write I take into consideration that the person on the bus does not have a dictionary at hand to be able to follow what is written. I stand to be corrected, but if I can remember well, one of the reasons for writing in Papiamento was for exactly what Mr. Rosaria is criticizing. They wanted Papiamento to be recognized worldwide. I can relate to his reasoning, but having all those accolades and criticizing without offering assistance or a solution does not tell me anything.

  Because I worked at the Immigration for a good while, I know that in the world of tourism, of which Aruba, Curaçao and, of course, St. Maarten are part , the tourists are consistently delighted in listening to the native languages. Besides that, I am sure that both the Netherlands as well as the rest of the Dutch Kingdom are always well represented in the English language when necessary. It is also so that we are constantly praised because of the size of our islands with the ability to communicate in so many foreign languages. Because I follow what is happening in MLB with our professional baseball players, I know that one of the reasons that they are the center of attraction of their teammates is because they serve as the interpreter between the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking players as well as their managers.

  It will never be so that everybody in this world would be able to do everything, but when the Lord blesses you abundantly it is because you are expected to be a blessing to others.

  Now this. To that person who wanted to know if “jamming in Carnaval was also honorable”, I say, “Ask the thousands of spectators who over the years were pleasantly satisfied and approved of one of St. Maarten's finests, directing and controlling the parades in a dignified and jolly manner.”

Russell A. Simmons

Dear Chairman and Members of the Kingdom Relations Committee,

  Through the news media I was informed about the developments regarding the benchmark for subsistence security on the BES islands . A by now reasonably institutionalized construct (not to say monstrosity) to be able to define the benefits as AOV [old age pension Ed.] and “onderstand” [social security] (note: a different choice of words than the European Dutch equivalent AOW and ‘bijstand’, so that – at least legally – you can more easily say “of course the amount of this benefit is different, because it is also a ‘different’ benefit”). That in practice these benefits are again lower than the defined benchmark seems to me factually impossible and thus nonsense but with some flour in the mouth talking about both income and costs has so far succeeded in convincing the interlocutor (you!) that the calculations are made with the best intentions (read: … to give the interlocutor a run for his money).

  To the question what is the social minimum, the website of the national government gives the answer “the social minimum is the minimum amount you need to support yourself.” This minimum is usually (?) as high as a social security payment. And when I look at the UWV website for the current values of the social minimum I see a further specification by age and living situation. In any case not by region. So – by way of example – there is no different social minimum for someone living in the Randstad than for someone living in Groningen, Twente, Limburg or Zeeland.

  Note: I added the question mark. I was wondering in which cases this minimum is not as high as a social security benefit.

  With the Constitution in hand, looking at both Article 1 and Article 132a (4), I think that the construct “benchmark of subsistence security for the Dutch Caribbean” is de facto discriminatory. After all, Article 1 says “All persons in the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal cases” (the Netherlands consists of a European and a Caribbean part) and Article 132a (4) says “For these public entities rules may be laid down and other specific measures taken with a view to special circumstances that make these public entities substantially different from the European part of the Netherlands.”

  I have argued before that the discussion (probably) focuses on “the special circumstances by which the public entities are essentially different from the European Netherlands.” Do you want to see these in a narrow sense (such as a tropical climate with hurricanes versus a mild maritime climate), or is everything that is only slightly (i.e. not essentially) different a reason to proceed differently (discriminating)?

  Note: With respect to the meaning of Article 132a (4) of the Constitution, I think the Council of State should be asked for its opinion. I have argued this before, but that aside.

  In the progress report on this benchmark (the discussion on a benchmark has been going on since 2018!) dated June 14, 2021, I read that following the outcomes of the advisory report without further ado would lead to a substantial increase in the statutory minimum wage and benefits, and that could have a negative effect on labor demand, the regional competitiveness of the islands and the carrying capacity of the economy. It occurred to me “how is the social minimum actually determined in the Netherlands? Also taking into account the labor demand, the competitive position compared to other European countries and the carrying capacity of the economy?” Every new incoming Dutchman can furthermore confirm the cost level on St. Eustatius is rather high and it will be politically undesirable if the benchmark is set too high.

  My plea is based on one simple premise: “The Caribbean Netherlands is – just like the European Netherlands – one side of the same coin: the country of the Netherlands.” With the same laws (including the Constitution) and – specific to a public body – specific laws as far as the circumstances are essentially different from those in the European Netherlands. I am convinced that there will be far fewer of these than the 600 that I currently find in

https://wetten.overheid.nl with exclusive validity on the BES islands.

  Without wanting to take everything at face value, it seems to me – in the interest of all Statians, or more broadly: in the interest of all Dutch Caribbean citizens – smart, in relation to social benefits, to also use the euro as the local currency in the Dutch Caribbean (and – but that was already clear – unambiguous Dutch laws and regulations around the social minimum and the related benefits).

  And also to bring the legislation and regulations for the income tax of the Caribbean Netherlands in line with those of the European Netherlands. In the Caribbean Netherlands a so-called “flat fee” applies, while in the European Netherlands a progressive income tax rate applies. As a result, the Gini factor in the Dutch Caribbean – a measure of income inequality – is about 30 per cent higher than in the European Netherlands.

  I wish you much wisdom.

J.H.T. (Jan) Meijer