IN this Pacific jurisdiction, the widespread belief among the people is that the government should do everything, but “someone else should pay” for the services it provides. The result is “subsidy dependence or an entitlement mentality.” Not surprisingly, the government’s budget “can only finance around 60 percent of current expenditures and no capital expenditures.” Moreover, elected officials “voting on or discussing matters that directly affect businesses where they have a direct or indirect interest are too common in government,” particularly in its legislative branch. The “foreign investment regime is highly restrictive, protective, anti-competitive and open to abuse” and “discretion in the approval process provides scope for abuse of the system.”
These were among the findings of John Fallon, an Australian doctor of economics, who conducted a 10-month study on the economy of…Palau. He could have been writing about the CNMI as two recent news stories would — sadly — attest.
Story no. 1: A municipal council member says the governor should declare the fight against diabetes an “emergency.” Why? Because, the councilman says, “the increase of diabetes in the CNMI is a reflection of the government’s failure to address the problem.” He wants the diabetes prevention program included in the school curriculum “to minimize cases of diabetes in the commonwealth.”
Story no. 2: A senator says the number of Rota high school students who cannot decide whether to pursue a college degree is increasing because they don’t have a school counselor. According to the senator, Rota students should be guided properly regarding their career and other educational opportunities.
The problem with the councilman’s theory is that, to begin with, the government is not telling us to eat unhealthy food items. It is not advising us not to exercise or not to lead a healthy lifestyle. On the contrary, the Department of Public Health, PSS, NMC-CREES and other agencies are constantly educating the people about diabetes prevention. And we can’t blame Spam and Calrose rice either. No one’s shoving large quantities of them down our throats. We’re doing it ourselves — even though we know we shouldn’t.
And although no one can deny the importance of school counselors, our first question should be: Where are the parents of these students? Public schools, as far as I know, are not 24-hour day-care centers where we just dump our kids and see them on graduation day.
But that is exactly how we regard government. It must do everything for us. It should make us richer, smarter, taller and pay for our cable TV, too.
This belief that government is Santa Claus and everyday is Christmas is not unique to the Pacific. Politicians who promise to do things for voters are a dime a dozen wherever government exists. But the dismal consequences of the welfare state are starker in small communities.
In the CNMI, citizens have to land a job in the government so they can afford to live. Citizens are voters. Hence, as the population of voters increases, the government has to expand, regardless of the amount of revenue it collects. Businesses, which pay for the salaries of these government jobs, are always at the mercy of whoever the governor is. Woe to any company who displeases the powers that be. Recall what the previous administration did to PTI and what its successor is now doing to JG Sablan.
The result is inefficiency, waste and plenty opportunities for graft.
But this editorial is not about promoting an anti-government ideology. Government can expand individual liberty. It can help ensure equality of opportunity, maintain public order and strengthen the institutions of civil society.
The mischief starts when government is considered a self-replenishing buffet table and an open bar — for free.
Government doesn’t give away free money. It gets funds from taxpayers. Someone has to pay for the services it provides.
There must be, in any case, something better than the kind of politics that has already bankrupted the CNMI government and turned its citizens into wards.
Send feedback to zdtion@lycos.com or editor@mvariety.com
