Storm clouds: the week that was

The Marianas Variety implies that less than 1,000 "out of status" workers isn't much.

More than implies actually: "THE Department of Labor says there are less than 1,000 foreign nationals who may be overstaying in the CNMI since they arrived here over the past six years, allaying fears that the commonwealth may be harboring many illegal migrants."

Seems like a lot to me, and how are they getting by without being part of the underground economy?

Fair enough

Will there be a 'bubble' of unneeded employees because of the transition to federal control of immigration? They may be chasing ambulances a bit, but it's good advice for employers "to extend their employment contracts to buy them more time amid ambiguities and uncertainties regarding regulations that are still being drafted."

It could be a rocky transition.

CUC in a nutshell

"When you're looking at financials it tells you (you're) insolvent," Antonio Muna said. "It's difficult in accounting terms to project if it will be a growing concern, because of all of this burden of liability where debt exceeds assets. How do you cope with that?"

Shellgame in a nutshell

(Eloy Inos) added that the projected decrease in personnel outlays due to reduction in employer contribution to the NMI Retirement Fund was not achieved because the anticipated savings were "plowed back into the system and expensed by way of fuel subsidy to [the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.]."

"If that subsidy was in fact treated as payment of government utilities, [the] $2.1 million over-expenditure in utilities expense could and would have been averted," he said.

Just plain nuts

Key provisions of the budget include...

11-percent employer contribution rate to the NMI Retirement Fund;

Prohibition against reprogramming of appropriations for utility expenses;

Flight fright

It's no surprise, really, but Asiana Airlines is losing money on its Saipan route. Hmm, so is it a bad time to sue over Kumho's Laolao lease?

From the comments, there seem to be some unhappy taxpayers, but CDA proposes changes to qualifying certificate program" tells us the government is still working to provide a better deal.

The Flame Sako Resort & Spa proposal for the beach north of the Palms Resort in As Matuis seems to be getting some opposition too. There seems to be a vocal group that's questioning new development. The Dec. 9 hearing at GTC Elementary School should be particularly interesting.

Passing the buck and passing the budget

The Saipan Tribune has a counter on its front page: xx days without a government budget for FY 2009. (Click on the picture of the front page in the online edition.)

Does anyone care any more?

I've enjoyed the online Marianas Variety more since they added a 'comments' feature, though there are only a dozen or so regular users. One thing I've noticed in the last 60 days is no one comments on the budget stories; okay Friday has an exception, just to prove the rule.

Is the budget too complicated? Are people burned out because the budget is never passed on time?

People complain about crime, and about soft sentencing, but not about the Attorney General's inability to attract enough prosecutors to avoid plea bargains. Should there be enough textbooks for all of the schoolkids? How about money to keep skilled medical professionals? The list is long.

How about jobs? That should get someone's attention. There's no way departments can take a ten percent cut without reducing employment. This is an election year, of course, so the actual decisions (and blame) will apparently be foisted on the Governor-- and the Legislature will only take an 8.7 percent cut.

I'm not making this up

Rep. Victor Hocog wants to write a check to Gov. Benigno Fitial and let him decide how to spend it.

Seriously, this was actually in the Saipan Tribune and it's obviously not April Fool's Day.

Finally, a way to pass a budget on time after years of failure: do nothing.

According to Hocog, "the governor may be the best to determine how the money should be distributed to the departments and agencies."

Reductio ad absurdum

Good start, but the governor may be the best to determine how to run the departments and agencies. Who needs a legislature?. Think of the savings.

This was foreshadowed last week, when Sen. Maria Pangelinan groused about those agencies: "They cannot even respond to a simple request to confirm the positions in their department."

And, evidently, the Senate can't force them to comply.

The silly season

Now why on earth would I put Paul Wolfowitz in a blog about Saipan?

For starters, I've been saving his mosque picture for ages and he's about to become old news (until he gets his Medal of Freedom). I guess his girlfriend doesn't mend socks.

Indeed, a person who got his job because of connections and used that position to push his, umm, acquaintances into power. Bono was at least as qualified.

Reset OK, that's not it. I've been thinking that maybe the anti-federalist, anti-imperialist, anti-activist crowd was right all along. Dump the U.S. Then we can go begging to the World Bank (which has nothing to do with the U.S.) for a bailout. They would then proceed to force our government into all of the painful cost-cutting steps it is unable and unwilling to take.

Because they just don't get it. The elections are the only thing on everyone's mind and the chance to make rational cuts has passed. The Legislature and the Judiciary are crying and refusing to take a hit. (In passing, why is it those branches pay higher salaries than the Executive for the same work?) The Mayor would rather cut services so his bloated staff can remain sitting in the office. This is not rocket science, folks. If three quarters of your budget goes for personnel, you have to downsize when the money runs out. Reduction in force 'if necessary' indeed.

Reset So let's step back in time to when the budget was a similar size and set the government workforce to a similar level. That's a surefire votegetter.

Island dreams I read the news today, oh boy. Actually, it was cable; who reads these days? A woman was saying the Senate should cut gas prices. Cute, but it's the silly season so she's bound to get a taker. Maybe the guy who thinks the solution is to go out and tax all of those businesses who are making too much money.

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are. -- Larry the Cable Guy

Going south

The recent news out of Guam makes Governor Fitial look pretty good. Politicians down south are running around in circles like Guam Rails released from a cage after Standard and Poor's put them on a credit watch list.

Now the latest: according to the Marianas Variety, without an amended budget 2,222 employees must be furloughed by April 1. (Don't you wish they could have picked a better day.) Oh, and a thirty-four million dollar line of credit will still be needed, the proposed borrowing that set off S&P to begin with.

Maybe they borrowed the idea: Governor Fitial had to threaten to furlough government employees to get any results. And now, asking for more cuts during an election year is a bigger test. Some legislators just can't pay attention when they've got visions of skateparks and renamed streets dancing in their heads.

Still, Guam facing the same problems adds some perspective to the view from Saipan, and the administration comes off pretty well by comparison.

The furlough story in the Pacific Daily News is also good. I particularly like the 'Storychat' feature following the article. All those comments look pretty familiar, don't they? Just read them this week before they go into the vending-machine (archive).