‘Twas ever thus
AT a recent House Ways and Means Committee hearing, the Department of Public Lands was asked about pending homestead projects. They are pending because they require infrastructure — power and water lines, a sewer system, which cost a lot of money to build. Money that the CNMI government doesn’t have.
DPL said the estimated total cost is $88 million — about 74% of the CNMI government’s current budget for its activities (i.e., operations and personnel).
A House member assured DPL that lawmakers will look for “available federal grants.” He also indicated that CUC should chip in. The same CUC they have saddled with a costly unfunded mandate (net metering) while not appropriating enough funds to pay the government’s gargantuan utility bills. The same CUC, moreover, that is the target of legislative badgering and “oversight” whenever the FAC increases because of rising global fuel prices.
“We don’t see any progress,” the lawmaker said. What a surprise. He then assured DPL that lawmakers “don’t see any problem with [the number of your] personnel,” but they will look into “operations.”
And that’s the way it is. The government’s largest spending item is personnel, their salaries and benefits. But unless they’re perceived to be expendable or disloyal to the political coalition in power, most government employees are, more or less, untouchable. What will be on the chopping block, as usual, are the public services that are supposed to be the government’s primary mission. And if reducing services is not enough — and right now, it’s not — then expect new or higher government fees and/or more tax hike proposals, all in the name of “delivering crucial public services,” many of which can be provided more effectively and more efficiently by the private sector — or at least what’s left of it.
In a nutshell
FOR many voters, government’s primary task is to shower largess on the (voting) public. To “serve the people,” to “work for the people,” to “listen to the people” — they all mean the same thing. Provide the people with freebies, including money. As much as possible, the people should not pay for most of the services that any politician running for office say they “deserve.” The other side of the equation — the funding source — seems to be an afterthought.
As usual, it’s all about basic arithmetic, especially whenever the local economy is down. In politics, however, telling the unadulterated truth may hurt the feelings of voters. Hence, many politicians prefer to spin a morality tale with easily identifiable villains: the corrupt. If not for corruption, things would have been better or not as bad as it is now. Sure. But did the corrupt become non-corrupt back in the day when tourist arrivals were growing each month, new investors were moving into the CNMI, and the Commonwealth government’s revenue collections were more than enough to pay its many obligations, including the Retirement Fund, medical referrals, homestead infrastructure, etc.? Corruption was also an election issue back then.
The truth is, today’s government can’t timely meet most of its financial obligations because its revenue is down because the economy is down because tourist arrivals are still down compared to what they were before the pandemic. To quote former President Bill Clinton, “Arithmetic!”
From the horse’s mouth
“THE economy is dying,” said the CPA chair, a respected businessman and appointee of the governor, who has complained about the “constant negative messaging” regarding the state of the local economy. (As if the problem is calling it what it is.)
Meanwhile, at a budget hearing in the House chamber, a lawmaker (and supporter of the governor) told DPL officials, “As you know we’re in an economic crisis so [we’re] trying to be creative to make sure we provide efficient and effective services to our Commonwealth…. There seems to be a duplication of services in a lot of areas….”
Actually, redundant services are widespread throughout the government. Four years ago, the Fiscal Response Summit came up with a list of government entities that can be downsized and/or consolidated. “This is something that our Commonwealth should have done a long time ago,” said the then-lt. governor who is now the governor.
Well, to paraphrase an old saying, the best time to do it was four years ago — the second best time is now.
