Given this situation the logical question would be "Why would anybody be interested in living in or acquiring real estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands?" The answer is totally obvious to almost every visitor who has seen these islands as a tourist. The surrounding deep blue waters are as beautiful as any scene on the planet. The lush greenery of the island landscapes present a serenity that draws one to the striking beauty seen at every corner. Couple this with the incredible climate (no oppressive heat like Arizona or Florida), the phenomenal sailing and diving and water sports, the dreamlike atmosphere of romantic restaurants, the laid back approach to life of local people, and as a tourist it is very easy to believe you have found paradise. All of these aesthetic benefits under the judicial protection of the U.S. flag result in many a dreamer making plans for a life style change or a retirement home in these islands.
So, Why Is This An Opportunity Now?
The debt of the USVI has become so absurd that even federal authorities are now taking notice. The debt load of the Virgin Islands expressed on a per capita basis is shown below, compared to other U.S. cities whose financial situation deteriorated so badly that the cities were forced to succumb to a "Control Board" appointed by the state or by the Federal Government. It is difficult to understand how the situation could have been allowed to progress to such a point when all initiatives that can make any progress in uplifting the quality of life for the residents are curtailed by such a tragic debt load.
|
|
"Between January 2001 and September 2002 the debt of the Virgin Islands Government increased at a rate of $16 million per month. This was due to projected government shortfalls, unrestricted borrowing (via bond sales), a lack of understanding by local officials as to their financial situation, and unrestrained spending by a bloated bureaucracy. The continued absurd accumulation of debt, that has grown past the point of any sort of practical paydown, illustrates the absence of basic governmental skills in elected officials of the USVI." |
The situation in the USVI is so egregious that it is beyond the scope of any single person or territorial agency to cause the needed changes to return the USVI to a normal community situation. Now the probability of an economic collapse is almost inevitable. While ones first reaction would be that this is bad, one must realize that such a occurrence would result in a massive change to the entire process of how the territorial government operates. One way to escape a collapse, which is the equivalent of bankruptcy, would be the insertion of a federal control board. Should there be either a control board, or should there be a forced bankruptcy, the result would be a totally new approach to government in the USVI. One need only examine the success of cities like New York City, Philadelphia, or Washington DC to understand that the possibilities of governmental improvement always accompany such a superimposition of responsibility.
During the past decade residents of the USVI have faced the increasingly dysfunctional territorial government. While the mainland has experienced unparalleled economic growth, the USVI has remained totally stagnant. Even while cruise lines have expanded with the insertion of more and larger cruise ships bringing day visitors by the hundreds of thousands per year into St Thomas, the local economies, whipsawed by an anti-business bias has managed a depressing performance. This entire set of backdrops has restrained real estate values and bestowed lack luster economic conditions upon the USVI.
In December of 2002 the outgoing legislature passed an outrageous bill that raised the senators salaries from $65,000(already ludicrous) to $85,000 and it raised the governors salary from $85,000 to $135,000. By the time these elected officials collected their benefits this would have put a senators salary at $108,000 and the governors at nearly $175,000 . While it is obvious that these elected officials of this tiny 100,000 population community, have arguably done the worst job of governing of any jurisdiction under the U.S, flag, they saw fit to pay themselves way higher salaries than mainland states pay their legislators and governors. This act of outright greed finally caused the islands population, after years and years of ambivalence, to react in January of 2003 with sustained demonstrations and civil actions so that for the first time in the history of the Virgin Islands the will of the people created a spontaneous blocking action on a large scale to local politicians illogical actions. At Island News we believe that this new face, worn by VI residents, coupled with the hopeless debt of the territorial government, sets the stage for a massive overhaul of the process of governing the U.S. Virgin Islands, which we believe will spark an entirely new set of values for quality of life factors and real property values in these islands.
The November 2004 elections resulted in overwhelming support for the VI
Delegate to Congress which means that Virgin Islanders want her to continue
to push for a Financial Control Officer with Federal Government oversight
of the VI treasurey. A huge step forward for anyone considering a future
in these islands.
In 2005 the House of Representatives passed a bill that installs a Chief
Financial Office into an oversight of the US Virgin Islands. In 2006 the
Senate held hearings on the Bill and we are awaiting action even as the
Senate is drawn to topics such as immigration and U.S. Port Security
not to mention the Iraq war.
© 2005 - 2006 ISLAND NEWS