This, however, requires admitting to themselves and their constituents that there is no cure-all for what ails the CNMI, and that the remedy requires sacrifices from everyone. Priorities must be set and real cuts must be made. Politician should cut the crap and voters should stop believing B.S.
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The main complaint against Joe Camacho’s nomination to the trial court is that it’s “political.” Now although the political choices he has made these past two years have disappointed CNMI reformists, I must also say that Joe’s a nice and smart guy whose education and credentials qualify him as a judge.
Moreover — and this may be news to some people — judicial nominations are always political and elections have consequences. A majority of CNMI voters re-elected the governor, and he has the constitutional authority to appoint judges and justices. If anyone has grave concerns about Joe’s capability and fitness to serve as judge then you should relay them to the Senate.
The senators are not opposed to the nomination. What they’re supposedly saying is that the CNMI government can’t afford to pay a new judge. The Senate, however, has been rubber-stamping gubernatorial nominees since the dawn of creation, and may be using Joe’s nomination and the ARRA contract investigation as bargaining chips for the upcoming budget deliberations.
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Senator Ayuyu has introduced a bill requiring CUC to implement a retroactive power rate cut. It’s a very popular measure. In fact, most people think that the government should “do more.” That it should reduce the prices of gasoline and power and other basic commodities. And while at it, it should also provide free education, free healthcare, free food, etc. Government exists to be their Santa Claus who will make every day Christmas.
But all this costs a lot of money. As everyone who is sane will admit, welfare also creates a culture of dependency that is bad for the entire community.
Most politicians know this so why won’t they save themselves and their constituents a lot of trouble by admitting the limits of power and government? Why can’t they educate everyone about how the utility and gasoline companies set their rates? Why can’t they ask oil companies to explain the high prices on island? Why won’t they look into the experiences of countries that tried to impose price controls? And why can’t they tell the people that government services require funds that must come from somewhere or someone?
Why indeed won’t they admit what even a 1st grader already knows — that there is no such thing as Santa Claus?
Simple. Because you won’t vote for them.
“The lessons of history, confirmed by evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence on relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of sound policy. It is a violation of the traditions of America.”
Ronald Reagan? Nope. FDR. And that was from his 1935 State of the Union Address.
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