But the question of whether or not we (the CNMI as a people) will address the problem or the solution to our economic challenges is a question we (the CNMI) needs to answer quick, fast and in a hurry! We all know the problem is our failing economy in the face of federalization which we also knew would make the challenges even greater and now it has been confirmed by the Office of Insular Affairs’ study conducted by an economic research service that our economy will suffer tremendously under federalization as it is presently proposed. The report went as far to say that our economy would be thrown back to the level it was in 1985, and in reality we haven’t done anything to build the economy since the early ‘80s when the tourism industry took off. We are on a path that is taking us right back to where we started almost 30 years ago. We also know our present situation is a result of a short-sited and irresponsible government that failed to make the decisions and take the necessary and proper steps to meet the expectations of the indigenous people who wanted to achieve a higher quality of life equal to the mainland and the expectations of the federal government to meet ALL federal standards and expectations as part of the United States.
Our leaders have lost sight of the real problem and done everything but address the question that should have been answered when the commonwealth was conceived which is how do we create a healthy and fully developed economy in the CNMI? Two industries are NOT a developed economy and we stopped trying to create healthy sustainable economic growth which is why I’m not surprised we will end up right-back where we started. The smart governors on the mainland are lining up for President-elect Obama’s economic stimulus but our focus is taking the feds to court. I’m sure common sense people can see there is something wrong with that picture and they see the immediate problem our delegate will face starting the “first day” on the job.
So do we continue to this finger pointing and trying to say the feds are the problem or are we going to focus on finding some solutions to what I would like to call the “challenge” of growing our economy in the face of federalization? Some of our leaders have been our own worst enemy by fighting to avoid federal expectation to increase wages and improving immigration practices dating back over a decade. When will our leaders start looking for solutions to federalization especially when the entire American economy is trying to reboot with the blessing of our next president and Congress. The feds are already arresting our leaders and filing lawsuits to counter our fight. You don’t have to be a political scientist to know we are going to LOSE.
The Obama administration has pledged to build our economy and we had better get on board like we see the rest of America is trying to do and we can’t do that by fighting the very Congress and president we need to help us. I am making this plea because we (the CNMI) can’t afford to send our NEW delegate to the U. S. Congress under the present conditions. We (the CNMI) CANNOT afford to let our delegate to Congress to be caught between “a rock and a hard place” on this federalization issue and the CNMI’s stance. Are we (the CNMI) going to send him to Washington with “fighting orders or compromising orders” because he can’t do both. Our delegate will surely be put on the spot in Washington to take a stance. He will need a “unified position from the government and the people with the intent of finding a solution to federalization and not a fight.” If our delegate goes to Washington fighting federalization instituted by this Congress it will result in nothing tangible for the CNMI. He may even be shunned to a certain degree and he doesn’t have a vote and he will need A LOT OF HELP!
We must send our delegate to Congress with a united support base (government and citizens). We don’t need the governor and people in the Legislature shouting at our U.S. delegate in Washington, especially when he will have to deal with the hundreds of people in the U. S. Congress. We (the CNMI) must be willing to compromise with the feds and our delegate must have the ability to compromise or we may never get any part of what we want from Congress. Compromise is one of the primary “tools” for getting things done in politics and in Washington and we must play the game by the feds rules and not ours or we won’t be playing at all.
Just to show you the power of compromise in our government, the U. S. Constitution itself was ratified ONLY because of some compromises that were even given the title of the “Great Compromises.” The NMI delegates who drafted our Constitution had to reach a compromise or it might not have been a commonwealth. I can go on an on about how compromises have proven to be the solution to many challenges facing governments but I think the people with common sense have gotten the picture. The solution to federalization and growing our economy is finding the right mixture of components to meet the expectations of the feds and the CNMI in the form of compromises but no one is looking for the answers or solutions to offer the feds other than a straight out NO which is what worries me.
The recent front page story declared the federalization taskforce as a waste of time. The taskforce needs to be doing the work to figure out this mess and determine what we need to do and how. If the job was easy we could get anyone to do it and if you can’t do it then find someone who can but we didn’t need more support for a fight from a taskforce that should have been looking for solutions, but that’s all we got. They chose to address the problem and not the solution. I seriously doubt a qualified economist or political scientist was even on the task force. We have economist like Mr. Stewart, myself and others who have the capacity to find the solution but we will never be asked because we are not apart of the “status quo club.” But just like Washington is getting a political make over we need one too — and bad. The taskforce is a collection of the same mentality that got us in the mess and we can’t fix a problem with the same mentality that created the problem, Albert Einstein.
We have our first delegate headed to Congress and we had better send him with the right message or we are DOOMED socially, economically and especially politically when it comes to our relationship with the federal government. Asking him to introduce legislation against federalization will literally be “political suicide” for the CNMI. If we had a genuine working relationship with the feds, the governor and other leaders wouldn’t be threatening to sue and shouting at the feds in the newspaper but communicating in phone calls and personal letters of collaboration. It is very clear to me that our delegate may indeed be faced with the challenge of fighting or compromising at the federal level and we can’t afford the fight.
Our delegate will already be challenged and you only need to review the records of the delegates from the other territories and the Commonwealth of the Puerto Rico to see the “extraordinary odds” of success he faces. We must be one people one direction and support our delegate to Congress for a solution and compromising with the federal government. Stubbornness and arrogance are not the answer nor will they fix our economy and our relationship with the feds. Godspeed Delegate Sablan and I pray your biggest challenge won’t be from people in the CNMI. One people one direction
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Kagman, Saipan
