Where the wind blows
THE sponsor of the internet gambling bill said they will conduct public hearings “to see if the community” supports the measure.
Here’s a better idea. Conduct public hearings not only to hear the comments of the individuals who will show up for such events, but also to learn more about the issue itself. Elected officials, after all, are not weather vanes that mindlessly follow the wind’s direction. Elected officials are supposed to have minds of their own.
For their part, ordinary citizens, especially those with families, are busy with their lives. They can’t just drop everything to study the “burning issues” of the day. That’s supposed to be the job of their elected officials. It is these officials who must learn more about any proposal by consulting acknowledged experts, and hearing from the proponents and their opponents. Elected officials should also find out whether a particular measure has already been tried in another jurisdiction or country, and assess its results. Elected officials should ponder, deliberate and make a well-informed decision, about which they can educate the public. Elected officials should help uplift the quality of public discourse, not contribute to its further coarsening. We need to prioritize respectful dialogue and thoughtful arguments over echo chamber talk and fearmongering.
Elected officials, moreover, must be honest about the policy choices they make — even if it doesn’t pay to be honest. If careful study leads you as an elected official to an “unpopular” conclusion, then say so publicly. Make a decision based on what is the “greatest good for the greatest number” — even if the intended beneficiaries refuse to acknowledge it. Speak your mind. Stand your ground. A job or a career that requires you to be a dishonest panderer or a coddler of the misinformed is not worth pursuing or keeping. Telling it like it is may cost you your elective position, but you get to keep your self-respect — and earn the respect and gratitude of future generations.
Ho ho ho-hum
A LAWMAKER has introduced a (nonbinding) resolution “urging” CNMI businesses to offer senior citizens up to 25% discount on products and services. It is a beautifully worded resolution. It is also like a glitzy Christmas money card, but with no cash inside.
There is, in any case, a more effective way to somewhat improve the lot of not only the senior citizens, but the rest of the islands’ residents as well. The CNMI’s current and deepening malaise is the outcome of a declining economy. What can reverse it is the arrival of more tourists. Prior to the pandemic, the CNMI had three tourism markets. Now only one of them is flickering with life. Current arrivals, although improving compared to the lean pandemic years, are not enough. November 2023 arrivals, for example, are 60% lower than pre-pandemic levels. And yet there has been no significant reduction in the CNMI government budget to reflect its shrinking revenue base.
Tourist arrivals must improve so that the economy can recover, and the government can collect more revenue. Hence, elected officials should focus on reviving tourism and the economy. They must find out what they could possibly do to help bring in more visitors and prevent more businesses from downsizing further or shutting down. And meanwhile, what’s to be done with the increasingly glaring mismatch between government spending and revenue collection?
Elected officials must make tough decisions — especially the ones they’re supposed to make.
