Legislation and governance
ACCORDING to one of its members, the incoming Legislature wants to “fix” the CNMI’s “problems.” Sure. After all, that’s the job they signed up for. But now that the election is over, they have to be more specific. Which of the CNMI’s problems are they referring to? And how exactly can these be solved by legislation?
Here are some of the specific problems that the new administration and Legislature will face once they’re sworn in:
• Meeting government payroll.
• Making timely payments to the Settlement Fund.
• The retirees’ 25% benefit.
• Funding for medical referrals.
• Utility payments.
• Scholarships.
• Payments to vendors.
There’s more, of course. It’s a long list, and many of the items involve funding of which the government will soon run out — unless a new investor comes in and/or the tourism-based economy fully recovers in the next few months. Can you legislate either?
Lawmakers, for once, should realize two things: 1) legislating is not like waving a magic wand. (See, for example, the anti-littering law.) And 2) the history of legislation shows that many laws have been passed mainly in an attempt to clean up the mess created by previous laws. (See, for example, the CNMI government’s retirement system.)
Hence, the first thing that lawmakers should acknowledge is the limits of legislation. In governance, moreover, you usually don’t solve problems; you only choose which problems to have.
If you still believe you have to pass a bill to “solve” a “problem,” then please do your homework first. Look at the history of the problem — and the previous attempts to solve it. Conduct public hearings. Hear both sides of the argument. Ask yourself: What are the possible consequences of the proposed law? Can it be implemented? How? Is there another way? What’s the funding source?
Remember: “The call to action makes you think less critically, decide more quickly, and act now. Relax. It’s almost never true. It’s almost never that urgent, and it’s almost never an either/or.” That’s from the book “Factfulness” by Hans Rosling. Please read it.
That is the question
IN the 1972 movie, “The Candidate,” the character portrayed by Robert Redford is a “fresh faced idealist” who has, despite the odds, won the election. “What do we do now?” he asked his campaign strategist who replied, “What?”
In the CNMI, once the newly elected officials are sworn in next month, they will be in charge of running the government. Which means that they will be held responsible and accountable for the decisions they make. And this time they will know more about the problems that they, as candidates, believed they can solve. These include the legal, technical, financial and other complexities involved in implementing infrastructure projects even if they’re fully funded. This time, moreover, they will realize that the government has many competing priorities each with its own vocal constituencies — voters all.
How long can they blame their predecessors for the problems the new officials have inherited? How long before voters will clamor for “change” as if for the first time?
