The only people who seem to be taking our financial problems seriously are federal officials.
While a team of U.S. Housing and Urban Development officials was on its way to the V.I. to address grave problems at our Housing Authority, high-ranking officials of the V.I. government were attending horse races on the mainland.
And in the face of certain and potential cutoffs by a variety of other federal agencies, the Office of the Governor asked the Senate for an increase in its budget.
We keep comparing ourselves to other stateside jurisdictions that are also suffering due to federal budget cuts, slowdowns in the economy and the war in Iraq, but our approach to solving the problem is unique.
Nowhere have we read that in the face of looming deficits, governors elsewhere have increased budgets, hired chauffeurs, increased salaries, given expensive outside personal services contracts to cronies or bought new cars for anyone and everyone.
And all of this is on top of an already bloated government budget.
Over and over we hear senators, cabinet members and agency heads saying we don't need outsiders to tell us how to do it – we can handle our own problems.
Can we handle our own problems without federal grants and subsidies? We hope so, because the handwriting on the wall is getting clearer and clearer.
It may be business as usual in the Virgin Islands, but it isn't in Washington.

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