Show, don’t tell
SINCE January 2023, lawmakers with different views on the casino license in particular and casino gaming in general have been in leadership positions in both houses of the Legislature. As can be seen in the way the House passed tax and fee hikes measures with undue haste, they can pretty much approve, ASAP, the bills they believe are “urgent.”
So where are the bills to “fix” the Saipan casino legalization law?
A lawmaker said there should be an “economic feasibility study” on casino gaming. Sure. But it should be the interested investor who should pay for it, not the CNMI government. As we’ve stated before, if the intended “point” of a feasibility study is to show, once and for all, that casino gaming is not viable on Saipan, why not cut to the chase and scrap the casino legalization law? Some insist that it was “rammed down the people’s throat.” So what are the “concerned” lawmakers in leadership positions waiting for? Repeal it already. And while they’re at it, they should also pass a bill to ban poker arcades and, just to be consistent, all forms of gambling in the CNMI. Perhaps next on the list: tobacco products, betel nut and lime, alcohol, sugary drinks, processed meat, junk food in general, fossil fuels, and people who don’t believe in rainbow-tooting unicorns.
Afterward, the Legislature and the administration should identify the significant budget cuts they have to make to reflect the significant reduction in revenue collection that will surely follow. Or maybe, with less than five months before the election, they can introduce more tax and fee hike measures. Let’s see how that goes.
Where you stand depends on where you sit
SOME lawmakers used to complain — loudly if not theatrically — whenever it was reported that the government had spent more than it could collect. But that was when their political group wasn’t in charge. Now they are — for the past 17 months, in fact. Tourism arrivals are still below the pre-pandemic levels. The government’s revenue collection is down. Businesses are either downsizing or shutting down, including the Hyatt and, now, Asiana’s local office. Workers are experiencing pay cuts or, worse, joblessness. More and more people are leaving the islands.
What is to be done? According to the administration and its legislative allies, it’s the previous administration’s fault so we should keep blaming it. OK. What else? There’s “pivot” because, you know, “China” and “geopolitics.” And there’s begging for a federal bailout. Meanwhile, the governor said, we should “make wise choices about how we invest our resources.” But what is wise about proposing tax and fee hikes in a depressed economy or ignoring what used to be the CNMI’s second largest tourism market? And what resources, other than federal alms, can we “invest”?
Meanwhile, the administration, with the approval of its legislative allies, is still running the government based on revenue projections that continue to miss their targets.
“This is something that our Commonwealth should have done a long time ago,” the then-lt. governor and future governor said four years ago during the Fiscal Response Summit. He was referring to the cost-cutting proposals they came up with, including the reduction in the size of the Legislature, and the consolidation of departments and agencies such as Commerce and Labor; Parks & Rec and the mayor’s office; Youth Affairs and DYS; Fire, Public Safety and Corrections; DLNR and DPL, etc.
Where are the bills to implement these badly needed measures?
