PRESIDENT Harry S. Truman once said that the problem with most economists “is that they are ‘two-handed.’” They always say “on the one hand, but on the other hand.” Give me one-handed economists, the president was quoted as saying.
Well, give us one-handed pronouncements, that’s what we say to the CNMI’s new officials.
The governor, on the one hand, says that the CNMI minimum wage is too low. On the other hand, he says his plan to implement a tiered wage system will not necessarily increase the wage rate for the garment industry. “It is not meant to increase the wages for garment workers,” he told Variety. “And in fact, my theory is, it would give the industry a break. So that’s what I like to see happen.”
The administration, on the one hand, says the government has other more important priorities than hiring lobbyists. On the other hand, according to the Washington representative, the government still needs lobbyists.
Which is which?
Let us repeat this newspaper’s one-handed opinion. 1) Hiring a lobbyist should not be a priority for this cash-strapped government; and 2) If the minimum wage will be increased, then it should apply to ALL industries.
Any proposal that will lead to lower wages for the garment workers is an outrageous mockery of what this administration supposedly stands for. This administration was swept into office to end the domination of special interests––not to coddle them. If the voters wanted that then they would not have voted for the GOP slate.
Mr. Governor, your core constituency mistrusts, and rightly so, the special interest groups. Catering to their whims would not win them over; they will dump you for a more pliable politico the first chance they get (look at what they did to former Gov. Lang Tenorio), and meanwhile, your real supporters will disown you for letting them down.
Don’t let them down.
