By Hilbert Haar
When I heard Fernando Clark’s interview with Dr. Michel Petit my mind automatically went to a book I read some years ago, entitled Idiot America: How stupidity became a virtue in the land of the free. America is no longer alone: St. Maarten and radio host Fernando Clark joined the club recently.
Before anybody gets mad about reading the words idiot and St. Maarten in the same sentence, I want to make one thing clear: I am not calling anybody – personally – an idiot. I would be an idiot to do so. Idiot America is a concept – a term that expresses concerns about the world we live in – a world where the truth no longer matters. Holle vaten klinken het hardst – the saying goes in the Netherlands: those who have nothing meaningful to say make the most noise. That’s what this story is about.
Idiot America’s author Charles Pierce presents three premises in his highly entertaining book. The first one: any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units. The second one: Anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough. And the third premise: Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it.
Fernando Clark was probably delighted to get Petit on his show because the man promised to reveal what is going on at Social and Health Insurance SVZ. Not only was he delighted, he was also blindsided by Petit by taking every word he uttered during the interview for the Holy Grail.
If Clark had done his homework, he could have known that Petit was spinning a yarn that had nothing to do with the truth and everything with revenge.
Take for instance Petit’s claim that SZV is not allowed to invest money from the Old Age pension fund. This is simply not true. Even better: SZV – and its predecessor during the time of the Netherlands Antilles – has been investing money from this fund since 1960. This is what pension funds do: not to give away money pensioners contribute to the fund but to protect their assets and to make sure that they remain viable.
According to saving.org the $100 someone had in his pocket almost sixty years ago (in 1960) equals $854.53 in 2019. That’s what inflation is doing to our money. And with the current low interest rates on savings accounts – you’re lucky to find a bank that offers 2 percent while in many places the rate is diving towards zero – it does not make sense at all for pension funds to park their money in the bank. Over time they would go broke.
The SZV-investments in the government administration building and the new hospital have a solid return on investment of 6 percent. This is also true for the $10 million short term loan to the harbor a couple of years ago. These are not bad investments, as Petit wants people to believe, they are sensible business decisions that benefit the future of the Old Age (AOV) pension fund.
I researched the rules that apply to the AOV. One article (Article 25 of the National Ordinance AOV, – Ed.) says that a national ordinance containing general measures will establish rules for the investment of AOV-funds. That national ordinance does not exist – at least, not yet. Petit bases his claim that it is not allowed to invest AOV-funds on this so-called ‘gap in the legislation.’
The truth is however that the law does not contain a prohibition on investing AOV-money. Even better: under the Netherlands Antilles predecessor-organizations have been investing AOV-money since around 1960 when the law was first established. To protect its assets against unwise investment projects, SZV has established an investment committee that renders advice on future investments.
That Clark and Petit, almost in unison, fed their listeners the illusion that caretaker Minister Lee (by Clark incorrectly labeled as “the former minister”) and SZV manager Carty broke the law and ought to be locked up probably sounded like music to the ears of listeners who were misled into believing Petit’s claims. But in reality these listeners fell for the concept of Idiot America St. Maarten-style.
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Related articles:
Petit repeats old accusations against Minister Lee
Smear campaign comes from fear and jealousy, Minister Lee says
Opinion piece: “Mr. Integrity” by Hilbert Haar
