Ambrose M. Bennett
THE Truth is, the CNMI is WE can do a lot of LITTLE things with Reforms & Grants that will equal BIG changes for the economy and the quality of life. For TRUE, We are at the crossroads of the Same-O Same-O or choosing to REFORM the CNMI in order to change & improve OUR economy & quality of life. In the simplest of terms, if WE go right to conservatism (old-school to remain the same) with the GOP it will definitely lead to the Same-O! However, going left to liberalism (openminded to change) is our ONLY choice & hope for CHANGE and real progress – it’s that simple.
There is no doubt among the People, especially those who are suffering, that WE-as-a-People must come together as One People to Do Something about our Political Arena that has been failing us miserably ever since. The same is TRUE for our leaders as there is a genuine need for “oversight” on several pending economic issues that need to be REFORMED. Starting with the Cannabis Commission that’s wasting money, the Judicial Branch that has entirely too many recusals, the Casino Commission that needs to be replaced with a single Gaming Commission, and the failed slaughterhouse and other reforms too many to mention. But maybe now with beef being so costly and even eggs, It’s time to REFORM our Agriculture industry that was never given the attention it deserves for OUR needs, as there is no reason why WE need the BASIC chickens & eggs to be shipped halfway around the world – it’s a pathetic show of the lack of economic growth & planning perpetrated by poor & bad stewardship.
But WE haven’t invested in growing our Agriculture Industry as WE could virtually be “self-sufficient with many agriculture products” by now but it goes back to that simple four-letter word that has eluded previous & present administrations – no agriculture “plan.” So, PLEASE make sure there are some Agriculture Growth Grants the next time WE get Federal funding! For TRUE, Oversight & Economic Planning is needed just to get started fixing our economy so the quality of life can start to improve – it’s been too much politics & no plans. The Legislature needs to get busy with oversight on WHAT & HOW on PUA & FPUC 414 million. Arnold only gave us a “wish-list for money” & no plan without OUR (Representatives & Senators) input on how & what the money will be spent to accomplish.” WE can do a lot of little things that will yield BIG results if done responsibly.
• 231 million for economic recovery – Specify the WHAT & HOW plan for Accountability
• 120 million to strengthen public services – Specify the WHAT & HOW plan for Accountability• 55 million for strengthening public health services – Specify the WHAT & HOW plan for Accountability
• 8 million for community enhancement – Specify the WHAT & HOW plan for Accountability
WE are already experiencing the result of poor or even BAD stewardship with no economic development planning, especially in the use of Federal Give-Away Funds. Being an Economist, I can’t reiterate it enough that PLANNING is the first KEY to our economic recovery, not the Federal Begging Campaign reviving the 702 and the 902 go-arounds with no plans to execute – just begging & hoping the Feds are scared by the China threat that is REAL. There also still seems to be a lack of understanding as to “how powerful the role of Culture & Social Science plays in our Tourism politics,” as I have said on a few occasions “the Japanese & Chinese ARE NOT friends & don’t get along” which I’m sure is a major reason WHY there is no real response from the Japanese to come here anymore and they won’t tell you this fact.
FYI, the Japanese aren’t dumb, and they KNOW and can SEE & READ we are courting China. The killing-blow was the fact that the CNMI literally threw Kan Pacific out, the last Japanese Hotel Investor and best hope for sustaining Japanese Tourists. But Ralph gave it to IPI for free, which is WHY the People aren’t getting any lease money for that property. I warned about all this subterfuge, as they were killing our only hope to keep Japanese Tourists that was clearly a BIG mistake, proving Ambrose was right AGAIN! But who listens to the Economist who minored in Sociology! However, I do know for a fact that ONE DAY, if not already, there will be a lot of regrets over all the times our leaders refused to listen to the plethora of sound advice that stood on their merits offered by Ambrose M. Bennett. History has proven that “more often than not, people have rejected some of the greatest forward-thinking minds ever born on Earth and even Jesus Christ, only to realize years later “they got it wrong.” I’m just an Economist who is “ahead of the times & our leaders” which is why history-is-repeating in the CNMI when it comes to my advice – but I did my part, as I tried.
But like it or not, WE are adamantly courting the Chinese with Garapan looking more like China than Japan. But Republicans have chosen China for us like they did the casino, and I don’t have an answer other than “WE don’t have a single Chinese Tourist site, and the Chinese can’t come to the CNMI to gamble according to the Chinese government.” So go figure only time will yield the actual oversight on the Dichotomy in our Tourism efforts that was created by Ralph and continues today with no definitive solution nor a firm commitment to China nor Japan – it’s truly sad & pathetic stewardship! It should be obvious to the average citizen by now that the CNMI must change (institute REFORMS) if things are to ever get any better. The CNMI is truly at the crossroads and the People must learn to do the same thing that politicians do to us, as Arnold is clearly jumping-ship adopting to Trumpism revealing the genuine warning signs that it’s time FOR the People to also jump-ship and get away from Republicans quick, fast and in-a-hurry to avoid the Same-O. So, the People need to and must carry out their own oversight in the privacy of the voting booth if the CNMI is to change for the BETTER – FOR TRUE! One People One Direction
Ambrose M. Bennett is an Economist who minored in Sociology, a Political Scientist, a retired teacher & former CNMI Board of Education Member, a James Madison Fellow (U.S. Constitutional Scholar), a Fulbright-Hays & lifetime Humanities Scholar who resides in Kagman III in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
