Apparently, the measure was enacted to spur a consolidation of lawsuits against Merrill Lynch. This was done when the Fund agreed to “turn over” to the retirees suing the Fund’s former investment advisor the pension agency’s own lawsuit. Public Law 17-51, however, also prompted the immediate termination of the Fund’s money and investment managers, actuarial experts and even deprived the pension agency of independent auditors.
Surely there must be a better way to pass legislation.
The real test
SOME lawmakers have submitted to drug tests; most have not. The real test would be if lawmakers would submit to random testing conducted by an independent group such as, say, the DEA.
Voluntary drug tests, in any case, are nice, but the lawmakers’ willingness to take them is merely an indication of public concern. These tests are voluntary and traces of drug use can be eliminated with relatively short-term abstinence, depending on the type of drug consumed.
The mayor is right
THE chairman of the Saipan municipal council is taking issue with Mayor Flores’s decision to discontinue the practice of delivering picnic tables and benches for use at rosaries and other private functions. Expecting negative feedback, the mayor asked for the public’s understanding, explaining that budget constraints necessitated this action.
It’s the right step in the right direction. This may sound harsh but using public resources for private purposes is, strictly speaking, a constitutional violation and should be discontinued. Families must now ask friends and relatives to provide whatever assistance is required for such private functions.
For a safe New Year’s Eve
THE Department of Public Safety should put out guidelines for the use of firecrackers which are already being set off at all hours of the night, well in advance of New Year’s Eve. Firecrackers are part of the annual holiday celebration, but unsupervised use can cause injury among children — and fires. Typically, their use is restricted to a few hours leading up to the New Year celebration and a few hours after. Given the number of devastating fires that have broken out in recent weeks in this dry and windy season, reasonable restrictions should be in place and enforced.
There they go again
MPLT is being tapped once again, this time to finance operations at the new “independent” corporation, CHC. According to MPLT officials, it is waiving its constitutional obligation to submit interest payments to the general fund, and diverting them for use by the hospital.
It is precisely this kind of waiver that landed the CNMI government in the colossal financial mess that it now finds itself in.
As then-governor, the head of the new hospital corporation deferred payments to the Retirement Fund. He has apparently learned little from that experience and is prepared to repeat the whole sorry pattern yet again.
One has sympathy for the task facing the current leadership of the hospital but taking from Pedro to pay Pablo isn’t the solution, as CNMI history has shown. MPLT custodians must take care not to permit the wholesale depletion of its resources in the name of an “emergency,” which is mismanagement actually.
New year, new challenges
THE commonwealth, sadly, must brace for even tougher times in 2012. The federal government cannot be relied on to bail out CNMI agencies or fill the pots of local residents. This is a scenario played out in many parts of the states — and in the rest of the world. As pointed out by a recent letter to the editor, it is now time for the commonwealth to reflect on just how it arrived at this crisis and what steps must be taken to change its course of action.
The CNMI has much to offer but it will be its residents who must offer solutions, not their government. Meanwhile, each one of us must help ourselves by maintaining health through good eating practices and exercise. We can also volunteer our time and practice charity. Above all, we must be financially prudent, now more than ever.
