“Why does democratic competition yield so few satisfied customers? Because politicians are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. The public calls them venal for failing to deliver the impossible.” — Bryan Caplan
IN each election year, many candidates will tell voters: “Our problems can be solved; you just have to vote for me.” Then the candidates will talk about their “accomplishments” and “plans” — many of which are quite similar to the previous candidates’ “accomplishments” and “plans.”
“A lot is at stake in this year’s gubernatorial election,” a campaign ad declared 29 years ago. “The collective result of the…election will determine the future of so many important issues….” Which were?
“The future of continued financial assistance from the federal government.
“Our ability to encourage investors to invest in the CNMI.
“Re-establishing confidence in the CNMI government.
“Retiring the mounting deficits incurred under the [current] administration….
“Providing infrastructure while adhering to standard procurement practices….”
In short, “It’s time to elect honest leaders.”
In the same election year, another candidate assured voters that “together we can make…changes for a better government.” He said there “are many problems and critical issues now confronting the CNMI.” He pledged to “commit and dedicate” himself “to work hard…for the benefit of the CNMI and its people.” He vowed to “support and advocate positions which will serve the indigenous people of the CNMI who proudly call this Island their home.” Make no mistake about it. “Now is the time to make…changes and to make…changes we need a strong leadership that is reasonable, responsible and sensitive.” So “please vote wisely…it’s your CHOICE.”
According to another candidate, “We should be more creative in our efforts to diversify [our economy.] We mean to replace our nonresident workers with our skilled people as soon as possible…. [W]e must build, support and maintain an economic platform which will ensure that our community and most importantly, our children are secure as we approach the next century….” The candidate promised to “extend the agricultural sector…revitalize the economy with new projects and create jobs…protect [the] environment…effectuate [a] solid waste management plan…use renewable energy…control cost of government….”
You get the picture.
Happily for democracy, many voters — here and all over the world since the invention of politics apparently — have selective amnesia. Or, in the words of economist and author Bryan Caplan, “We habitually tune out unwanted information on subjects we don’t care about.” Usually, the only time we care about politics and “the issues” is when they directly affect our or our loved one’s lives. In the welfare state that is the CNMI where the government is the main employer of voters and a major vendor of the private sector, our opinions about the government usually depend on our “interaction” with it.
And this year, the truly major problem that affects many of us, if not almost all of us, is the state of the local economy which is not generating enough revenue for the government which has so many obligations to thousands of voters and other members of the public.
Four years ago, before Yutu ravaged Saipan and Tinian, the government’s projected revenue for FY 2019 was $258.1 million of which $171.58 million was allotted for government “activities.” In this fiscal year, the projected revenue is $150.4 million of which $109.7 million is for government activities. Do the math. Soon, moreover, the CNMI will run out of ARPA funds.
This funding shortage will be a huge problem for many people — and the business community whose customers include the government itself, its employees and retirees.
“Our problems are solvable,” one of this year’s candidates assure us.
How? By raising fees, taxes and wages? Which fees and taxes, and whose wages, and by how much? Or paycuts — again, by how much? — and layoffs — how many and who are they? A reduction in medical referral services? An end to the 25% benefit for retirees?
And what are the possible economic, not to mention, political consequences of proposing any of these measures which, by the way, are among the recommendations of the 2020 Fiscal Response Summit?
The what?
Exactly.
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