And when the OAS under a very courageous secretary general, Luis Almagro, tries to bring the organization towards recognizing that Venezuela is no longer in compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he is not getting the complete support of the timeshare hemisphere, and undoubtedly much of the Caribbean Basin has actually not accompanied that. And if you line up the votes, who voted in favor and who abstained, you average timeshare price can do a quite easy one for one contrast based upon who is a member of Petrocaribe. And so the implication of your concern I believe is spot on, you understand, and that is why I think when we speak about the Caribbean in Washington, usually we think of it in the context of, you know, island countries or programs or social development, and all of these are extremely, really crucial issues.
And the dividends settle down the road when Venezuela itself is in the spotlight of the international neighborhood. Then they have pals that they can depend on and it pays dividends for them - What is a cd in finance. So I believe that at the end of the day that is a lesson honestly that we can learn, and I think we can build towards reversing that course. Ms. Yearwood. I agree 100 percent with Eric. Venezuela actioned in at a time that was very crucial for much of the region and now the area is quite paying the price, whether it is in debt or other areas associated with votes and other requirements that they do as a result of the-- Mr.
Increased costs in energy too now. Ms. Yearwood. Sorry? Mr. Sires. A boost in the expense of energy also. Ms. Yearwood. Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And so I think to the point, we are at an important point now with the expense of energy being what it is with the U.S. energy supply increasing and the area taking a look at methods to increase sustainable energy, whether it is through natural gas or getting the region less dependent on Petrocaribe and able to make these switches to new types of energy is going to make a huge distinction. Mr. Sires. See, I do not think things occur by mishap.
The other issue that I have is the substantial increase of China in this region. You understand, we seem to be put to a lull of sleep or something because everyone Helpful hints seems to move in and after that we respond. And we don't seem to catch these things till something like this takes place, you know, like Venezuela. So regrettably, you understand, since I have been here we have been pressing-- and I understand Mr. Meeks and the other members that are here, you understand, this is a crucial area for us. It is an important area for America and we actually should focus.
They are going to go through the Panama Canal and they are available in and they throw money, you understand, at these little nations, which in truth they can't pay for not to accept the cash. So just how much of impact exists now of the Chinese? And I know it is growing, however-- Ms. Yearwood. The Chinese impact, it is really very interesting to view the method China has actually type of entered the region and the types of projects. Sometimes it is a sports stadium - How long can i finance a used car. I think the current, the Baha Mar debacle in the Bahamas, you have actually seen the Chinese Federal government come in in a method that the U.S.
If a Chinese designer enters a nation in the region they have the Chinese financing and the Chinese Government behind them. Mr. Sires. And the employees. Ms. Yearwood. And the workers. Therefore you have actually successfully got a plan that the U.S - Which of the following was eliminated as a result of 2002 campaign finance reforms?. can not-- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and all sorts of other reasons, the U.S. can not contend in regards to the kinds of financial investment that they have the ability to take in without type of having to do the due diligence behind it. And it is extremely welcome in a lot of places, but what Baha Mar has actually revealed us is that it can develop an extremely tight spot for the countries where they go.
Farnsworth. I think Sally raises an actually interesting and crucial point in this context. Which results are more likely for someone without personal finance skills? Check all that apply.. You know, the Chinese or Venezuelan model is a state-led design, so the capital of the nation, the leaders in the country can state this is what we are going to do. We are going to develop Petrocaribe or we are going to develop a sports arena or we are going to declare that we are going to develop these jobs, whereas the U.S. design is private sector-led model. And the disconnect here is that we are dealing with smaller economies, island countries, and in comparison of other financial investment chances in other countries in Latin America, much less worldwide, these are economies that usually aren't going to draw that big investment other than in a couple sectors like tourist like we have actually been discussing. What the onus needs to be is to discover methods to clear and develop a seamless economic area in between the U.S. and the Caribbean so that personal sector capital can work. There are opportunities. Finally, I would state that the Caribbean is ending up being a far more complex location due to the fact that of the modifications in policy towards Cuba, the cross-cutting trade arrangements such as CAFTA, et cetera, and we have to believe of the Caribbean now in a larger sense. In regard to Haiti, I believe really crucial is its ongoing integration with the English-speaking Caribbean, because these are well developed democracies and it is an economic location which holds chances for Haiti and there is now rather a great deal of Caribbean financial investment entering into Haiti and vice versa.