Current government employees who have worked and contributed between nine and 15 years will be given a very limited time to withdraw their contributions only. This makes political sense. Whittle down the problem, carve out employees who are willing to accept less, giving relief to both the Fund and employees while diminishing the government’s overall obligation. Government employees in these categories, and even the Fund, appear to support the measure.
Indeed, it is surprising that lawmakers have not passed the bill as quickly as they have approved — sometimes without even knowing what they are — countless other measures, including P.L.17-51, the derivative law that allows everyone to sue anyone, resulting in the termination of all financial advisory services to the Fund, which badly needs them.
There are, in any case, many ways for the politically savvy to wreak havoc on the system, serving only their own interests. Some retirees now believe that there is a deliberate move to drive the Fund into the ground so that well-connected receivers can be appointed to receive big paychecks for a long time while well-connected lawyers make millions of dollars from settlement or litigation efforts.
The public, especially the retirees, must remain vigilant.
Move on, please
THE Senate president is right. A second Marianas Political Status Commission is not a priority at this time. Except for a handful of TT-era politicians who are under the illusion that they can “get more” from the economically challenged U.S. of A., no one takes this proposal seriously. The local people have already exercised their right to self-determination. Almost, if not all of them, are happy to have U.S. passports and to be citizens of the world’s most powerful nation. Even those who voted against the Covenant — the governor among them — have happily embraced the benefits of American citizenship. However, it seems that their “problem” is that they don’t like the obligations that go along with it. They can, of course, renounce their U.S. citizenship and move to any of the Freely Associated States — but, alas, they’re all dependent on Uncle Sam, too, and are now facing significant cuts in U.S. assistance.
Meanwhile, the CNMI is burdened with monumental problems. If this political status bill is a ploy to distract the public from more urgent and critical issues then it has failed.
Postponing the inevitable
RATHER than eliminate duplicative government services altogether, the administration is shuffling offices from one department to another by executive order. There is no savings and no greater efficiency — merely a consolidation of power.
President Obama, for his part, has announced another stimulus package that extends many of the federal programs that have kept the CNMI and many states afloat. This reprieve would keep the CNMI from sinking like a lead balloon, but it will also postpone the day of reckoning — and the debate that is essential to saving the Retirement Fund, health and other critical public services.
