The bankrupt government is scrounging for money, but when you double fees in a bad economy, the result is less not more revenue. Small businesses are already battered by high CUC rates, soaring gasoline prices and a power supply that is as dependable as this administration’s word. A lot of them are folding up. They are already paying a lot of fees and they simply cannot afford to pay more.
So who loses besides the government? The ordinary consumers. Fewer businesses means fewer choices. And the remaining business will have no choice but to pass on the additional costs to their customers.
Democratic disarray. The bad news for those who want to see a strong two-party system in the CNMI is that the local Democrats are once again hopelessly divided…over the issue of unity. The party should have gone ahead with its congressional delegate primary.
The good news, however, is that here is a major party ripe for a takeover — and a makeover.
Let me explain.
Enterprising businessmen like to acquire old companies that are struggling but whose products or services are well-known. Under the new owners these companies are then repackaged and given a more dynamic image.
The NMI Democratic Party is such a “company.” It has been stagnating since 1997, but it still has “brand recall.” Its leaders, moreover, are eager to see an infusion of new blood.
And this is where the We Are The Change We’ve Been Waiting For crowd can get into the picture.
They want to see an end to politics as usual. They want to see a brand of politics based on principles not patronage. They want new leaders with new ideas in this new era. They know that the traditional politicians still clinging to the failed policies of the past — e.g., this hopelessly reactionary administration — have to go.
A lot of people agree with these forward looking citizens. But writing letters to the editor, hosting forums and posting comments on Variety’s online edition are not enough. These concerned citizens must get into the political fray. They must have their own organization, a set of leaders and a platform. The decrepit NMI Democratic Party is theirs for the taking. Once they’re in, they can affiliate with the DNC and overhaul the local party.
As I’ve said before, there is a sizable liberal or — as they preferred to be called — “progressive” constituency out there. PSS teachers and other professionals, for example, and new college graduates tutored in the leftist pieties that are still all the rage on stateside campuses.
They could recast the NMI Democratic Party into their own image and make it the first local party that has more than motherhood and apple pie in its platform.
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