PHILIPSBURG:--- The United Sint Maarten Party (USP) says voters have a right to know all the facts, especially about our country's debt situation, so that they can be well informed to make the right decision before they head to the polls next month.
"Debt according to the dictionary means something, typically money, that is owed or due. Practically all debt today comes about through loans. Loans are instruments of debts," a release from the US explained. "Despite appearances, St. Maarten is in serious debt problems as St. Maarten Government foreign debts consist of over approximately Naf 978.7 million guilders (almost one billion guilders)."
"The average person does not understand the gravity of this situation or how deep in debt the country is, because it has not been properly explained in detail and this is not their fault, it's a strategy been used by the current government to keep people in the dark while they quietly hike up taxes and cost of living to cover their tracks," the party said. "When you divide the national debt by the registered population, the calculated outcome gives you the national debt per person. So if you have four persons in your household, each would owe that calculated amount at that point in time. If the population gets smaller but the debt does not, each person in the household will inherit a greater part of the debt."
St. Maarten Government foreign debts can be broken down as follows:
Direct Government bonds – Naf 471 million
Harbour bond – Naf 270 million
Airport bond – Naf 237.6 million
GEBE loan (Generator) – Naf figure unknown
"After uncovering this," the USP said, "the quote of John Adams comes to mind; "There are two ways to enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt." Therefore today, debt equals credit and credit equals money. So today, the more credit or debt there is, the more money there is and vice versa. Because paper or digital money no longer has the gold backing limitation, credit money in theory can be created in infinity and leaders of this country need to be cognizant of that. That is why the impractical and wasteful spending needs to be curtailed. St. Maarten needs a change, a responsible team who are accountable to the people."
The US Party stands by the words of Thomas Jefferson; "I place economy among the first and most important of virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared." To preserve our independence we must not let our leaders load us with perpetual debt....If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of caring for them, we will be wise."
USP Press Release
