Editorials

The opposite of progress IN his State of the Commonwealth Address, the governor said he is “not repeating the mistakes of the past by resorting to quick fixes that might work in the short term for just a few but fail in the long term for the people of the Commonwealth.” He should have been more spe…

Crickets LET’S take the governor’s reason for abolishing the Commonwealth Casino Commission at face value. “Trying economic times,” he says, “necessitate consolidation of duplicative government instrumentalities to ensure that the Commonwealth’s limited fiscal resources are allocated to provision o…

It’s getting better. No, really. THE CNMI Constitution states that the governor “shall report at least annually” to the Legislature “regarding the affairs of the Commonwealth and new measures that are necessary and desirable.” That report, more commonly known as the State of the Commonwealth Addres…

A timeless piece of advice WHEN private businesses incur losses, they cut costs. When the government incurs losses, it tries to impose additional costs on private businesses. This is yet another reason why government can’t be run like a business — and why government officials, for once, should stop…

Politicians say the darndest things WE want to believe that the governor’s (hefty) funding requests to the feds are not the basis of his proposed budget and its revenue projections — both of which this administration seems to believe are immune from the deepening local economic malaise. To hear the…

Do as they say, not as they do NOT too long ago, an administration official lashed out at CPA for — of all things — hiring a lobbyist, which was described as a “costly engagement,” the funding for which could have been “better spent” on more worthwhile expenses. Recently, we learned that the govern…

Worst ‘economic strategy’ ever TOURISM arrivals are so dismal that even MVA — which is tasked to improve tourism numbers — doesn’t want to talk about them. Not too long ago, the governor sounded gung-ho about the “new markets” that MVA could “tap into,” while ignoring the concerns of the local busi…

Advice to youth senators BEFORE anything else, you must find out how this government obtains the funding for its operations, programs and personnel. You will realize that the government does not “generate revenues.” It gets them by taking other people’s money through taxes and fees. (As for federal…

Budget questions SOMEONE in the Legislature should ask the administration why it believes its proposed budget for FY 2026 adds up. Actually, it is the Legislature’s job to do so. The government missed its first-quarter revenue projection by $2.7 million. Visitor arrivals and hotel occupancy rates a…

For starters THE governor’s cover letter for his FY 2026 budget submission gives us the impression that there are two sets of CNMI realities: one for this administration, and the other for the rest of us. The administration wants to frame the issue entirely as one of “narratives.” As if the persist…