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And the winner is…
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Posted on Nov 19 2005
The cynical perspective, now that Ben & Tim are going to be hanging their umbrellas at the Executive Offices, is that we will now have to learn again the working habits of new people who will be replacing those who have overstayed their welcome in this quadrennial ritual of musical chairs.
The optimistic view is that we can now hope that those whose work habits we have come to detest may be ones who will be replaced by the loyal and competent followers of the new dispensation.
Will Public Q. Citizen benefit from a change of personnel without the requisite change of cumbersome processes and archaic systems that have endured years of tolerated obsolescence?
The methods of governance, particularly the budget process, need some serious looking into. It needs some dose of efficiency. The reality of taxation without representation of the majority of the residents challenges our democratic values, and demands of us a creative response to broaden residents’ participation in the political process. The opportunistic approach to federal largesse where proposals are submitted to get grants rather than to support decided priorities bears some examination. And the general mercenary approach to government doleouts where the spirit of entitlement reigns over the intent of emergency needs must not remain in place.
Is there a winner to this last election? That is, perhaps, not a condition but a choice. Those who participated in these last election, who thought so hard about ways of pursuing the common good, and instilling among their followers and colleagues the art and discipline of civic virtue, may decide to actually do so, in or out of public office.
The arena is wide and the opportunities fertile. Why not exert efforts to ensure that the natural capital of the islands is used in a sustainable manner? Why not maximize the productive capacity of the resident human resource, local and alien? Why not diversify the products and services we produce so that the support base is heterogeneous and not easily subject to the gyrations of narrowly based economies?
We can all be winners. But we will all have to choose to be ones. Ben & Tim can lead the way. Let those who will, work along.
