Reduce cost of govt to save the Fund

Let’s put our current problem with the Retirement Fund into perspective and then do the right thing.

Let’s say you employ Cousin Joe and he wants to borrow your car. He insists that he only needs it to run an errand and it will only take a day. You agree and Cousin Joe drops you to work. You call Joe at lunch and he says he’s too busy to pick you up but he reassures you he will be there after work. After work, Cousin Joe is nowhere to be found. You call and get no answer. You’re concerned about Cousin Joe. Did he get into an accident? Is he injured or worse?

You finally get a ride home from a co-worker and hope Joe is OK. The next morning you have to find a ride to work and you keep calling Joe. You finally get a hold of Joe in the afternoon and he tells you your car has been stolen. You’re concerned about Joe’s well-being and ask if he is OK. The next day you go to the police and ask for the police report on your stolen car. The police tell you there has been no report of a stolen car. You try to call Joe. No answer. You go home confused and without a car.

As the days progress you begin to find out your employee Cousin Joe has scammed you. While he was receiving paychecks from you, he stole your car by deceiving you, sold your car, and then took the money and ran away to the States.

Remember, Cousin Joe is your employee. Are you going to continue to pay Joe his paycheck or are you going to fire him? Are you going to let bygones be bygones or are you going to sue Joe and try to get your car or money back. Or are you going to blame yourself and walk to work from now on?

Let’s just change a few things in our story and see if you answer these questions the same way. Let’s say Cousin Joe is the CNMI Legislature (not individuals, the legal body as a whole), and your car is your retirement. Should we the retirees, who have had our money taken from us for 20 or more years, now have to sacrifice for the failure of the Legislature and governors? Why don’t we blame Joe (the Legislature) and get our car (retirement) back? All we need to do is transform our Legislature into a part-time body and we can instantly save over $4 million! How bad will this affect us, really? Has the Legislature passed a budget? No. Have they past any legislation to help our economy that has worked? No. Have they done anything to correctly fix retirement and honor the government’s side of the contract with you, the retiree, for which they have taken your money for 20 plus years? No.

Let’s drop the political drama and scare tactics right here, right now. Government employees still pay retirement contributions and the government does not put their money into the Retirement Fund. How can you not call that theft? (I’ll write another parable on that one). If we constitutionally put the Legislature on a restricted, part-time basis, then we can all make a little time a few weeks a year to oversee them and not allow them to destroy our retirement. Businessmen and -women will not have a monthly changing tax code ruining their business. The stability resulting in a group of lawmakers (not professional politicians) meeting once a year to pass a budget and address real concerns of the people will attract new businesses and strengthen our economy. This, and the millions saved from cutting the huge costs of a full-time Legislature, will be enough to bail out a retirement destroyed by full-time politicians.

Retirees, unite! Do not allow the same government that took your money for 20-plus years now tell you that you have to sacrifice again so they can keep their jobs, keep playing politics, and keep taking your money. Let’s get proactive and put a referendum on this next election ballot that makes our Legislature part-time, efficient, and at a greatly reduced cost, more in line with our economy and our paychecks.