The front page of the economic section of the El Caribe newspaper carries the story of the steady increase in government expenditures on salaried employees. For the past three years the government has spent more than has been budgeted in salaries for its employees. In 2000, the first year of the Mejia administration, the budget called for RD$15.54 billion to be paid out in salaries. However the final figure was RD$16.47 billion. The trend continued in 2001, when RD$15.14 billion was budgeted but RD$19,24 billion was spent. Nothing changed in 2002, despite the announcement to the contrary by President Mejia himself. The budget for salaried employees was RD$19.33 billion and RD$21.16 billion was spent.
El Caribe also reports on the nine luxury Toyota Prado SUVs recently imported by the Central Electoral Board, the government body in charge of organizing the presidential election, for its new judges, with a cost to taxpayers of RD$10.4 million. The previous judges had SUVs already allotted to them. The government recently signed a pact with the business community committing to austerity.