President Obama, in his inaugural address, talked about the power of cooperation and common purpose, and the importance of responsibility in all spheres of life. For the commonwealth government this means passing a budget that funds operations necessary to provide essential services, medicine, doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers, judges, customs and immigration officers.
That the administration continues to hire non-essential personnel is irresponsible. The hospital cannot deliver public health services without medicine, equipment, doctors, nurses, therapists and other professional staff. But the government can do without more secretaries, copy and errand clerks and grass cutters.
Sadly, many House members voted with the administration and against a new budget in exchange for political favors, placing the government and the community at further risk. This is disgraceful. These are difficult times and legislators have an obligation to cast their votes in support of programs that will ensure the security and health of all citizens, not just of a few. The hardships, however, will continue to add up as government officials continue to make decisions to satisfy some short-term objectives.
The FY 2009 budget bill is now on the governor’s desk. He will veto it. Lawmakers must override that veto.
MILLIONS in federal dollars sit idle because program managers are not able to comply with grant terms or write and submit grants on a timely basis. Yet it is more important to employ politically connected employees than those who can do the job. And so the commonwealth suffers as a result.
With President Obama comes a new federal commitment to cut off funding to jurisdictions that do not spend it. The CNMI can count on it.
Meanwhile, the stock market continues to tank and the Retirement Fund portfolio continues to lose value — but CNMI government officials are doing nothing. Pensioners, too, are apparently unaware of how tenuous their Retirement Fund is, and are doing nothing. Taxpayers will end up paying for a bailout bond because the social and economic consequences of failure are too grim to consider — but taxpayers, too, are saying nothing.
In the end, although the government must act appropriately there is also individual responsibility and this rests with each resident of the commonwealth. If you are worried about the Fund, you must speak up and support actions that protect the Fund. If you object to political hiring, you must indicate your disagreement by writing to your legislators. Do not remain silent. Offering constructive criticism or suggestions on how to improve the quality of life in the CNMI, bringing attention to these important issues, and working together to address them is an individual and collective responsibility.
