St. Maarten Private Eye

OK, since you brought up the subject I didn't. Lets discuss the airport.

First world airport? It might look nice, but the management around it? Well excuse me... Why do you have carry your luggage out of the baggage claim area before you can get a baggage trolley? Why do arriving passengers have to cart their luggage across the main road to get to the parking lot. On busy arrival days the traffic jams builds up miles from the airport because of poor traffic planning. Why are French tour operators banned from the "first world international airport"? Why are they not allowed to wait inside the building? Just how mature in terms of airport management is this? Why is the taxi fare information on the airports homepage from 1993. Just how "first world" is this whole arrangement around the airport?

The entire Dutch delegation will be here next week, I am sure when they see the SUV's driving on the road even if that road has running sewage...

Well I have news for you. Americans love SUVs but the rest of the world don't see them as a sign of prosperity and progress. They are just perceived as being incredibly environmentally unfriendly. So the exhaust from the SUVs goes weil with the suage smell... Honestly, anyone looking at the island infrastructure will be more interested in the existing public transport. And the dollar bus system works quite well, considering it has not been on the top of any politicians agenda on this either side of the island. It could be a little more extended, but considering the price of a bus ride, it is working very well.

We are full! the island is densly populated

And exactly what will this densely populated island live off when you drive away the tourists? What is this island producing and exporting (except tourism)? What will the island live off once the tourists are gone? Where will the money come from?

Keep in mind that the high end home buyers who are expats are not paying any property taxes because we dont have any such tax on the Dutch side

Yes , and not introducing any kind of property or capital gains taxes ASAP is incredibly stupid in my opinion. The builders should have to contribute their share of the burden they put on infrastructure. The home owner should of course have to pay some kind of property taxes. People pay property taxes and capital gains taxes everywhere in the world, except St Maarten.

And then you wonder why we have such a lousy infrastructure and environmental challenges?

I don't wonder. I know what the problem is. No society can live on a non existant tax base. It is a wonder that things work as well as they do on a shoe string budget. We all have to pay our share. Part of the problem is politicians sitting in the laps of wealthy business people not daring to introduce taxes etc. (As if most of them even cared.) Part of the problem is the "common man" just quietly letting this happen, year after year, complaining, but not doing anything. And there isn't even a Free Press to discuss these matters in.