No one is safe

I just wrote about how no one is safe from the politics of the present administration and the proof continues to pile up. First, it was the assault on the retirees to betray the people, then the assault of the Mariana Resort to betray a confidence in our government. Now there is an assault on cigarette smokers and MPLT to get money. I told voters we were next when it comes to being on the chopping block and, true to form, the administration has applied the ax to our incomes by placing more taxes on smokers and plans to take from MPLT.

It is just amazingly funny and sad that our Legislature and governor wants cigarette smokers to cover cost when all the tax hike does is deter cigarette smoking more than it increases income. They are fighting a good battle against smoking but expecting a big rise in income is going to be short-lived as smokers are only going to adapt and even stop from the cost increase. We need new sources of income! Stop bleeding citizens to death with taxes and increasing fees.

The governor also wants to rob MPLT’s trust fund to pay the CUC debt, just like this administration did with the Retirement Fund. The trust fund is meant specifically for the local people to use, not to pay our government’s debt—that’s why it’s a trust! He is also flirting with taking back the $10 million already promised by Best Sunshine to pay the debt. It really didn’t do any good to pass a budget when it does not get us out of financial trouble—it was just a political show because it didn’t fix anything. Whatever happened to all the cures that the casino was going to provide? Heck, if the governor had solicited the two casinos, we would have an extra $30 million to pay CUC’s debt. But no, the governor wanted what was best for Best Sunshine, not what was best for the people. So here we are, still in the same broke position we started except for the retirees who got a little relief for their vote and cheerleading.

Cigarette smokers and the beneficiaries of MPLT are now on the chopping block and heaven only knows who is next on the governor’s list to be misused. No one is safe from this administration’s desperate measures to try and make it look like they are solving problems but what they are really doing is passing the problem and solutions on to society by charging more for cigarettes and taking locals’ money from MPLT for the wrong reason. It should be clear the governor and the GOP haven’t offered one solution for all of us but they are making darn sure we all pay!

Ambrose M Bennett
Kagman, Saipan