Feast and Famine
Hezel, Francis X. (2001-06-18). Feast and Famine. Micronesian Counselor (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Micronesian Seminar. pp. 1–6.
- Has attachment: File:JUCZMHNB.pdf
Abstract: We all know that negotiations are in progress for those parts of the Compact that expire this year. If these negotiations are not concluded by the end of the fifteenth year of the Compact–that is, November 3, 2001–the Compact allows for an additional two years to complete the negotiations. “During this additional period of negotiations,” the Compact stipulates, the US “shall continue its assistance...at a level which is the average of the amounts granted.” Under the Compact, US funding decreased in three nearly equal steps from the implementation of the Compact in 1986 to the present. Thus, for the next two years of continuing negotiations, FSM can expect to receive from the US the same amount of yearly assistance adjusted for inflation as it was receiving during 1992-1996, before the last funding step-down in 1996.
Despite the best efforts of those who directed them, these fishing industries remain a major financial burden on the state. There is a biblical parable about a vineyard that is unproductive even after being fertilized and watered and pruned one year after another. The passage closes with the warning that if the plants do not produce fruit they will be cut down and the vineyard closed. Yet, the state government today seems no closer to cutting their losses and closing down these businesses than they ever were. Fortunately, this waste of resources is far from common in the nation. The FSM may not have wasted the money, but the nation is still open to criticism if it fails to provide for the times of scarcity that are sure to come...
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DOI: 10.1038/scientificamerican0920-23 PMID: 39014680 CorpusID: 269738322 OpenAlex: W4396795007
