"This country is screwed!"

[NewsWhore]

The A.M. column on page two of today's Diario Libre has a dramatic title. Editorialist Adriano Miguel Tejada says that this is the phrase that is most often heard in the streets every time a government official or politician makes an announcement. Tejada says that if it ever existed at all, the concept of priorities has been lost, and this is the main criticism that intelligent people make about politicians and their activities. The editor says that this country has undeniable needs that require solutions, but that money appears for everything except these needs. Take the case of the hospitals. He asks whether there is any excuse in the world that justifies the state they are in. The latest excuse is the social security issue, while previous excuses were the lack of a budget for repairs that cost pennies compared to the amount of money that is spent on any political absurdity here. Or, he asks, can one justify the stoppage of a hospital remodeling job for RD$50 or RD$60 million when the political parties spent three or four times this amount on their primaries? Tejada continues by saying that the deputies are swimming in money for what he calls "electoral philanthropy" that does no resolve even one of our problems, but instead only increases people's dependence on government assistance and the paternalism of our political system. Finally, the editor, who is a lawyer by profession, says that politicians have it made, since they can legislate in their own favor, with no law to stop them, while the citizen finds it harder and harder to hang on. "The primacy of public spending will take this country towards a revolution, and the ostentation of wealth by politicians will lead to a social upheaval of huge proportions". He ends by saying that he hopes it is not too late.

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