Long-term capital investment is the single most powerful jobs creator anywhere in the world, according to the venerable U.S. Business Roundtable, whose member companies generate annual revenues of more than $7 trillion while employing 16 million workers.<\/p>\n
We haven\u2019t seen any major infusion of capital investment here since 2005, have we? Thus, the financial disaster found in the glaring cumulative deficit of more than $561 million. Revenue generation lags behind significantly for a paltry $126 million last fiscal year. Debts suffocate economic growth. It translates into joblessness as neglifluenza spreads among the multitude.<\/p>\n
“And make no mistake, economic growth doesn’t happen absent private investment. …Where there is investment\u2014a new factory or distribution facility being built, a new store about to open, new software being installed\u2014that is where new jobs are created,” according to a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO of AT&T and the new head of the Business Roundtable.<\/p>\n
Here at home, the CNMI suffers heavily from the lack of capital investment. The elected elite tightens its ties sitting comfortably in the land of mediocrity as \u201cdo-nothings\u201d keeping fingers crossed that a miracle falls out of the blue dome upstairs. Nah! Nothing is ever handed on a silver platter. We must work for it and earn our dues the old-fashioned way. The annual Christmas drops no longer exist. Even Santa Claus skips the islands!<\/p>\n
[B]Policy uncertainty[\/B]<\/p>\n
Politicians can no longer ignore their fiduciary duty in terms of the essence and strength of positive policies that promote economic growth, stability and certainty. <\/p>\n
For instance, no matter where you roam in these isles nothing tops the mouthwash of villagers other than CUC\u2019s high cost of utilities. It has turned families into de facto employees lining up daily to pay their dues. At the same time it has forced marginal small businesses to close their doors or put up shutters. <\/p>\n
When do we exit the usual syndrome of shooting an arrow then drawing the target around where it hits? How about some meaningful planning sessions involving the thoughtful process?<\/p>\n
The issue doesn\u2019t require rocket science to resolve, but the elected elite can\u2019t continue doing its rain and fire dance of \u201cdo-nothing,\u201d given the egregious hardship at the village level. Health premiums just went up by 40 percent (thanks to Kilili and Inos) while power rates are likely to spark like firecrackers every other full moon as we wait for another round of increases in food items.<\/p>\n
Does this make sense to our men of wisdom upstairs or do they need a dog and pony show so we illustrate real hardship throughout households everywhere? You must move your best foot forward and lower policy uncertainty on this issue. It\u2019s the way forward to instituting growth by simply lowering or removing uncertainty in this and other significant policy matters.<\/p>\n
Some arcane policies like the excise tax and other predatory policies must be revisited. Fatal ma\u00f1ana would only deepen the economic mess for families throughout these isles. <\/p>\n
[B]\u2018I don\u2019t know\u2019[\/B]<\/p>\n
As the heat of the election season picks up steam, we\u2019ve seen some familiar names being dangled as candidates. The only trouble is: these names are as exhausting when realistically measured against their lack of performance to move the lot of the multitude forward. Look at where we are today struggling in the filthy waters of horrendous cost of living. Do we repeat with the \u201cdo-nothing\u201d troops?<\/p>\n
I find it troubling as candidates grope for words when quizzed why the economic mess today. Some dismiss it as though they weren\u2019t part of it, conveniently mouthing off, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Weren\u2019t you policymakers in recent years? How could you have missed the towering drop and destruction of the local economy emanating from policies crafted within and without the NMI? <\/p>\n
Must look for candidates with decent academic competence, vision, common sense, and mindfulness. After all, the quality of life in any given country is dependent upon the quality of leadership. This should be the focus of this year\u2019s election! Sorry, not ready to repeat, \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d for it is a very clear indication you\u2019ve failed the multitude. Not ready to repeat history of failure and if you ever ask for my vote, it\u2019s simple too: \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Sorry!<\/p>\n
[B]Dysfunctional representation[\/B]<\/p>\n
When a dysfunctional government goes out of alignment, you\u2019d assume it\u2019s a huge and complex system. It isn\u2019t as complex as a human body or automobile where a malfunctioning part strains the entire system.<\/p>\n
\u201cA dysfunctional Congress corrodes the rest of the constitutional architecture. It imposes a burden on other branches to pick up the policymaking slack, and threatens to shift excessive authority outside the legislature.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimilarly, it throws off kilter the balance between the federal government and state, leaving laboratories of democracy without adequate tools and leeway to conduct their experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n
That Congress is broken may be the ultimate dog-bites-man column, but former Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ acidic assessment is as undeniable as it is quotable: “uncivil, incompetent in fulfilling basic constitutional responsibilities, micro-managerial, parochial, hypocritical, egotistical, thin-skinned, often putting self (and re-election) before country.”<\/p>\n
Have we replicated the dysfunctional fad in Washington, D.C.? About the only positive event hailing from D.C. is the Senate Intelligence Committee\u2019s report on Benghazi, the death of Americans being preventable. It does make a difference, right, Ms. Hillary Clinton? Would her reaction be lackadaisical or dismissive were a family member was included in the same group?<\/p>\n
No matter the powerful plans to upstage Hillary Clinton as the likely Democrat for 2016, the ugly ghost of Benghazi will haunt her the entire trip on the campaign trail. How does she deal with some 62 percent of Americans who no longer trust their government?<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
[I]John DelRosario Jr. is a former publisher of Saipan Tribune and a former secretary of the Department of Public Lands.[\/I]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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