And the educators who testified against the bill are correct. The suspension is not going to be “temporary.” Senate Bill 17-68 is a virtual repeal of a program that directly benefits schools and their students. The austerity measures cannot be lifted because this government is broke. It owes way more — way way more — than it can collect, and because of its ineptitude and extravagance, it will collect even less in the next year or so. The government’s priority now is payroll first, then its other pressing obligations: fuel and bond payments.
The administration projected an additional $2 million in revenue if ETC is suspended. (It also projected $132 million in FY 2011 revenue — which turned out to be $10 million more than actual collections.) The administration will sign the bill, which it probably recommended to its legislative lackeys. Just look at the lawmakers who backed this abominable measure. They’re all in bed with the governor, and proud of it.
Next time, when they have to pass yet another awful piece of legislation, lawmakers should spare us the mound of carabao popoo they unloaded before passing B.S., I mean S.B., 17-68. They sounded like O.J. Simpson after being acquitted, vowing to “find the real killers.”
Lawmakers, you’re already shafting the public in plain public view. You shouldn’t insult the people’s intelligence as well.
But the bill’s author (or the lawyer who drafted it) declares that in these difficult times “even important policies must be limited.” Wrong. It is precisely during difficult times when important policies should be protected. Unless, of course, these lawmakers were lying when they told you they’re “pro-education.”
They also claim that suspending the ETC will mean more funding for PSS — whose local funding has been reduced by lawmakers over the years.
Without the ETC, the money that should have been donated to public schools will go directly to the general fund. In a word, payroll. Not surprisingly, PSS is against the bill.
ETC, moreover, does not just benefit schools. It also provides additional funds to the CNMI Museum, the Humanities Council and the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library.
But the government is grabbing every penny it can get to pay personnel it doesn’t need. It refuses to make real cuts and is now nibbling away at critical public services. The politicians have figured that they’re “safe” as long as most voters still have government jobs.
So far, they’re right.
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Lawmakers are also considering a measure that will create an office of transit authority “within” the governor’s office to “develop a public transportation system.” The goal is another pie in the sky, of course, but another office means more hiring of political supporters and, possibly, more federal grants.
In any case, if there is a demand for a public transportation system business-minded individuals would have created it already. Right now, almost everyone on island has a car or has access to an office vehicle. The few who have neither can always call an illegal taxi which charges $3 only. To ensure the success of a public transportation system, the government we all know and love must compel the people not to ride their vehicles. How? Probably by imposing a $10 tax per gallon of gas.
Good luck with that.
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From 2002 to 2006, lawmakers were falling all over each other in their attempt to pass the driver’s education bill. A year after it became law, they scolded DPS for not implementing it, which they described as “very important to public safety.”
Now they have decided to gut the same law because they finally realized that a driving school has to collect a fee from its students, who, together with their parents (voters all), say they can’t afford it. According to lawmakers, the $350 charged by the driving school, which is conveniently not owned by a local, is “too much.” The driving school has to rent office space, acquire a vehicle, pay for gasoline, insurance and other business costs. The owner also has to buy food and other basic necessities so he can continue teaching students.
So what is not “too much” nowadays? The salaries of government officials, including lawmakers, are certainly way too much considering the amount and quality of their work. Moreover, this latest legislative flip-flop once again shows that lawmakers don’t do their homework. Before passing the driver’s education law, they should have known that a driving school would collect tuition fees. By consulting experts, they could have estimated the amount. But the clamor back then was for the creation of a driving school. And now, it’s for its virtual abolition.
It’s not that your lawmakers don’t know the consequences of their actions. They do. For the sake of their short-term interests they will go ahead and get it done. And, of course, you will re-elect most of them.
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