The protracted budget debate
The NMI finds itself once more in a protracted debate over how to divide its meager resources which has shrunk from a healthy $246 million to $210 million over the last two years. The debate focuses on the obvious: the need for more money by competing government agencies which have increased annually by leaps and bounds against the receding tide of revenue generation.
In short, there’s hardly enough revenue in our coffers to spread even among the most essential government agencies: the Public School System, Departments of Health and Environmental Services and Public Safety. In fact, there’s the continuing see-saw debate over sources of funds for scholarship and medical referral programs.
Amidst the reduction in revenue generation, as a direct result of the closure of more than 2,000 tourist related businesses, there’s hardly any other means of revenue generation for the balance of this year.
Perhaps the greater approach for both the administration, in concert with the fiscal and appropriations committees of the legislature is to issue a circular well in advance to all government departments and agencies for a 20-30 percent cut in their budget submission. This circular ought to push government managers to employ real management skills in the expenditure of taxpayers money. In fact, the usual year-end spending spree by government agencies who dump piles of purchase orders at Procurement and Supply is an illustration of how well they’ve cushioned their so-called “needs” in the rush to spend taxpayers money heedlessly.
As we march to meeting new challenges of the next millennium, the central issue that will definitely require real leadership is the establishment of wealth and jobs creation. Conventional paradigms have changed or failed. There’s also the obvious need to organize our house to assist current and future investors bring in wealth that in turn translate into jobs.
In other words, we have to have people with vision and conviction who can make a difference in forging a healthy economy free of strangling laws and regulations that have discouraged expansion of current investments and the constant trumpeting of the NMI as an unstable investment venue. In short, we must overcome adolescency in feel good policies or quick fixes.
Lest this is done with resolve, purpose and organization, we’d return once more to bickering over nickels and dimes as is the case today. Let’s repeal negative policies and proactively forge policies that can in fact allow us to forge brighter tomorrows for our children in wealth and jobs creation. Si Yuus Maase`!
