Indeed, there is always a disconnect between what this administration says and what it does. It wants the feds to bail out the CNMI government while threatening to sue Washington, D.C. over a law passed by the U.S. Congress…which has to approve appropriations for the islands. The administration says it took over CUC and CPA to “save” them, but they’re now in even worse shape. Who could have thought that was still possible?
CUC is charging high rates while providing lousy, inefficient and unreliable services. Hat in hand, it constantly begs for more public funds it can squander. CPA, for its part, is virtually without a leader. No one among its demoralized managers can twitch a muscle without the say-so of the governor. But what does the governor know about running an airport? He says he wants to see more tourists visiting the islands, but the airport doesn’t even have a backup generator. What will happen to a flight from Japan that has to land in the evening on the runway while there is a power outage on island?
What exactly is the administration doing about CPA’s power problem? The governor should either fix it or resign.
‘Price gouging’
LAWMAKERS can’t do anything about the law of supply and demand and its effect on the prices of commodities, but they can conduct public hearings and invite members of the community, economists as well as the representatives of oil companies and other business entities to discuss the soaring cost of living in the CNMI.
The people want to know why prices are increasing almost every week. They are in a bad mood as indicated by all this talk about “price gouging” and “corporate greed.” Some actually believe that a price control law may be a good idea. It isn’t. Someone has to explain what economics students learn on the first day of class: “Any attempt by government regulations to force prices above or below their equilibrium levels is likely to lead to shortages…to black markets in which goods are sold at illegal prices, and to a variety of other problems…. Price controls throw a monkey wrench into the market mechanism. Though the market is surely not flawless, and government interferences often have praiseworthy goals, good intentions are not enough. Any government that sets out to repair what it sees as a defect in the market mechanism runs the risk of causing even more serious damage elsewhere.”
As another economist has pointed out, “Those old enough to remember the gasoline crisis of 1979 may recall sitting in long lines of cars at filling stations, waiting — sometimes for hours — to reach the pump. This was one of the most common consequences of price control throughout history — a shortage.”
On the State of the Judiciary Address
INSTEAD of another tedious speech on the importance of the judiciary to democracy and civilization as we know it, the chief justice should tell taxpayers what the third branch of their government is doing to reduce its costs, streamline its operations and improve its services.
The economy is collapsing and the government is broke. The people do not want to hear why they have to keep overpaying their public officials.
The judiciary’s perceived PR problem, moreover, can’t be fixed by PR. The judiciary cannot be exempted from the consequences of the CNMI’s financial meltdown. It has to reduce its expenses and live within its means — just like everyone else.
