Preliminaries into 2018

Political pundits and experts have been making preliminary trips to the political landscape for 2018. The place is trashed with complacency, laziness, inertia and disgust.

It should be an interesting slugfest between incumbent governor Ralph DLG Torres against whoever emerges the high-wattage challenger. It would be a highly coveted contest of the incumbent versus a standard bearer from the Democratic Party or independent group.

Herein lies the challenge: organization down to village level networking in all three inhabited islands. It’s a highly slippery slope where support could instantly wane or disappear where unity is fragile.

On the flip side, Torres the incumbent turns into an automatic wide-open target for all the things he did or didn’t do. Alleged Lt. Gov. Biktot Hokog has inflicted irreversible collateral damage. This gives any formidable opponent a field day with materials and narrative he could fire from across the bow, unimpeded. It should prove an interesting contest of wits. In silence, it’s also a contest of sugar daddies!

Fiscal posture: Has the NMI taken stock of its fiscal posture or has this been relegated to polished vagaries where we’d end up parroting Gomer Pyle’s famous expression, “Surprise, surprise, surprise” when we’re literally bankrupt?

I raise the question in view of Puerto Rico’s $73 billion debt followed by the Virgin Island’s $6.5 billion deficit. Both are stuck in the filthy swamp of debts; money markets refuse to lend money to either territory.

A recent NYT story says, “The sudden cash crunch was a warning sign that the financial troubles that brought Puerto Rico to its knees could soon spread. All of America’s far-flung territories, among them American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands appear vulnerable.”

“I don’t think you can say it’s a crisis, but they have challenges—high debt, weak economies and unfunded pensions,” said Jim Millstein, who has reviewed the situation in Guam and the Virgin Islands. He called the combination of challenges in the territories “a recipe for trouble in the future.” Are we headed that way too?

Of power: Interesting an article about people in power. Indeed, power intoxicates and corrupts. But what happened when this single term metastasized or spreads into the person in position? The article asserts it causes brain damage where one suffers from empathy deficiency!

Now I understand the apparent apathy in the relationship between our men of wisdom and “we the people” they represent. Character and leadership stumbled in the new deficiency. The afflicted could no longer feel and understand the sentiments of the people whose interest they represent. It’s appalling how people’s issues are easily neglected.

Incumbents Raffy and GOP cabal have ignored common concerns relating to stagnant wages and loss of job opportunities, skyrocketing healthcare costs, lack of training programs for local workers, among others.

These are heavy issues sufficient to leave the incumbent and his team dazed as it attempts to map-out strategies and fitting narratives to shield negligence. Hope the slugfest doesn’t head down the path of toxic vitriol where meaningful debate is turned on its head.

In-house pharmacy: It looks like CHC would eventually run its own outpatient pharmacy in an effort to extend help to the poorest sector of the local population.

It’s a noble intent but one that warrants careful financial analysis for there’s no such a thing as a “free lunch.” Someone, somewhere is paying for it! The use of funds from a certain federal program isn’t free. It comes from U.S. taxpayers!

It should serve us right to look beyond our pug nose to figure out how much the program would cost annually. What if it is cut completely? Could we cough up sufficient funds to meet this purpose? These queries pop up while we have the social contract to help the poor, isn’t it?

Now, we spend upwards of $13 million per year on medical referral. Isn’t it time to buckle down to gradually reverting these funds improving healthcare here? It takes leadership to focus on these issues to our benefit over the long haul.

Conundrum: Millions of dollars are spent annually promoting protection of our ecosystem. Yet, we see two long line boats stuck in Tanapag Harbor definitely falling apart destroying our fragile oceanic system.

Isn’t the NMI a member of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council and what has our esteemed former delegate done to ensure the organization removes the two boats?

You see, this neglect turns teaching about our environment oxymoronic! Aren’t there 27 legislators on the hill? Or have you turned it into a conundrum?

Largesse: Legislative delegations split senatorial funds for various programs, including more public funds for disposition we the taxpayers know nothing about.

Recently, the Rota delegation divvied some $8,000 among itself that pans out to about $2,000 per legislator. Who knows how Tinian divides its share?

But these funds remain public funds and must specifically include its intended purpose under constitutional law. It can’t be treated as freebies. OPA must make ocular review how these funds are spent.

Highest bidder: Since four years ago the pro-casino troops have made it easily into their comfortable seats on the hill. A lot of their expenses were paid for by their big sugar daddy. It happened again last year where the name of the game stays the “highest bidder.”

Politicians, especially the lapdogs of the wealthiest sugar daddies here, have allowed the desecration of ancestral burial ground in favor of pennies, nickels and dimes, trashing cultural values in the process. It was done with cheap eyesight on glitz and glamour.

Did you know that the genesis of our people came from our ancestors? Isn’t this an aspect wrapped in traditional respect that you failed to honor as descendants? Is this the end of our journey as the permanent hosts of these pearly isles stampeded by dollar signs over our dignity?