This won't take long...
I made a remark some time ago that unless the economy, education and health care improved noticeably, current (non)governor Luis "The Larva" Fortuño would be a 4-year guy.
But that was before he took office--"took" as in "sat in"--and proceeded to open a gnarly can of DumbAss on Us. Between faltering and flip-flopping, not much got done, but then he moved on to "furgonazo" and "funding government debt" and I for one am sure We were better off when The Larva was just mulling.
But here's the thought that comes to mind: We know--because We do--that the "furgonazo" tax is a fait accompli and that it will--yes it will--screw Our pocketbooks like a satyr in a brothel. Tack on the impending doom in education and the impossibility of fixing a health care system that is suffering full systemic failure and where are We?
Don't forget that some 30,000 people are scheduled to be dropped from the government payroll, turning Puerto Rico's historical "safety net" into a potential buzzsaw. But I don't think We'll make it to 30,000: I'm positive the whole effort will grind to a resounding halt before 5,000 jobs are dropped because the employees themselves will strike.
So.
A paralyzed government where employees dig in to stop the basic process of trimming the fat We desperately need to get rid of. An excise tax that hits every freaking product that comes onto this Island and practically doubles itself out in the already-stressed marketplace. An education system that will suffer open ridicule and sanctions because of historical--dare I say traditional--administrative incompetence and fiscal weaselry. (Yes, that's a word. I just used it, didn't I?) A health care system that depends largely on government workers and disposable income to barely provide services: what will happen when both are unavailable? And an economy stalled, stagnant, incapable of addressing any viable solutions because of overly-complex bureaucracy, irrelevant special interests and long-standing idiocy?
Then look at a (non)governor whose primary supporters are not his party's executive leaders and whose support in the legislature is practically non-existent. In fact, at the presidency level in both chamber(pot)s, The Larva is nothing more than a stepping-stone. And when the whole shooting match I outline above gets serious, here's the word you'll be hearing, first as a whisper, then as an accustation and very quickly as a widely-accepted "solution"...
Impeachment.
And who will The Larva turn to then?
The Jenius Has Spoken.
3 comments:
Hey Gil let's get together and do a remake of that Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, called Grumpy Old Men. Only this time we can call it Grumpy Middle-Aged Men (The sarcasm edition).
Hmm, Impeachment. Well, I would question whether you've thought this one through, but if it's here, it's because, in your mind, it was highly probable.
But it's pretty messed up to contemplate a politician being impeached by a legislative body controlled by his own party. What's next eating babies?
I agree that as the economy gets worse we will look for a scapegoat. So why not start at the top?
I agree that if (when?) layoffs begin, there will be widespread striking from the various unions representing government employees.
But considering how "poor" we are, do you think that Rivera, Gonzalez, & Co. could build a strong enough case to organize and mobilize enough support to actually get Fortuño to leave office? It's possible, but I have difficulty following the logic chain. It has too many weak links for me to share the same level of probability.
One thing is sure, if you're right or even close to being right, the level of chaos, disorder, and disruption Puerto Rico will experience will be difficult to bear, much less witness.
Don Dees, I'd rather play a part in "Grumpy Young Brats," but that's just the evil kid in Me speaking.
You are probably closer to being right than I, re: the probability of impeachment. But here's the thumbnail version: The Larva doesn't control his own party, nor the Fools in house and senate. Both Tantrum and Gluttonny seem poised to make a run at La Fortaleza in 2016, but 2012 is wide open if the economy still sucks, education crashes, health care disappears and taxes turn the statehood party into (even more) cursed targets. Under that scenario, "lynching" a guy the party powers don't care for in order to polish a rotten apple could be a winning ploy; more for Tantrum than Gluttonny, though.
My prediction is far-fetched. But imagine how bad We'll ALL be off if it goes from "highly unlikely" to "quite possible"...
I support you Gil! Ever since that parasite got into office I realized impeachment was the only way to get rid of him and his barons. Now, how do we mobilize a broken population conquered and divided by political ideologies and usurped freedom?
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