AS the U.S. Senate ponders the future of the CNMI, by contemplating actions on the minimum wage and other issues, it is worthwhile for everyone in the CNMI to think about the state of our economy, and how we got here.
The absence of planning strikes me as one reason why our economy continues to falter. Infrastructure planning is one way for an economy to remain viable while providing basic services to residents, businesses, visitors and new investors, and we haven’t been able coordinate or properly plan or execute projects well with the exception of a few years here and there. The CNMI cannot rely on outside organizations to plan for us.
There is also a marked absence of investment in human capital. We spend money on scholarships and grants for post secondary education, but haven’t invested properly in primary and secondary education — not just money — highly qualified and experienced administration of the schools. If the federal government did not mandate that every teacher be highly qualified in their core subject areas, we probably would have made no move to ensure that our children are taught by qualified personnel even though student achievement scores show that there is a direct link between student achievement and qualified teachers.
This is important because our economy must have the human resources to function, and right now we have an obvious lack of skilled technical and professional capacity.
Our local business community has lapsed in and out of providing input on what direction we should take as a whole, but this has thankfully changed. We should see more action that will benefit established businesses. Frankly, there has a lot of emphasis on attracting new investors and this is understandable, but not enough attention paid to existing businesses. Hopefully the executive and legislative branches understand the impact of the approaching typhoon and will take steps to ensure the continued survival of local businesses.
Everyone in the community needs to take stock of where we are, what we are doing, and where we want to go from here, where we want to be in the future. With proper planning and cooperation, and more public spirited drive, we can still build a promising future for ourselves and our children. But we cannot do this without correcting the mistakes of the past, and we have been given an opportunity to do this now. Let’s not squander it.

JUAN S. TENORIO
San Vicente, Saipan