Boats, votes and grape juice

[B]These grapes are rotten[/B]

Just a reminder that Dr. Muhammad Delano is still out there, spending our hard earned tax money in Camacho, California. Why he would reside in Delano, that hotbed of activity, we don’t know. If you are unfamiliar, Delano is a community of 38,000 folks, some 70 percent of whom are Mexican farm workers picking and tending the local crops in this rural area of California. Maybe grapes and lettuce are going to replace tourism and garments as Saipan’s newest strategic cash industry. Maybe THAT is the special skill set he is selling us for $50,000. Some 68 ways to use grape juice around the house. Hmmmmm. Lettuce proceed to find ways to make a salad interesting.

Now if only we had lots of flat land and productive soil instead of rocky hills. All we need is much less rain, much cooler weather and much more arable land plus about 30,000 Mexican laborers to pick the grape and lettuce crops and we would be back on the road to prosperity here on Saipan. Thanks doc. Great idea.

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[B]The tradition of canoes on the beach[/B]

Several folks have contacted me since last week’s Sour Grapes column regarding small outrigger canoes pulled up on our shores. Most had an intriguing slant on the matter. In the spirit of fairness I sought out the motivations and opinions of Mr. John Joyner, director of Coastal Resources Management as well. There follows some thoughts from both sides of this somewhat controversial issue.

Maybe we should start with the basic questions: Why is CRM even concerned? What problems are the small boats causing? According to Mr. Joyner the overriding consideration is the litter aspect. He only needs to be convinced that these craft are not “litter” (meaning that each has an owner responsible for the craft), and that they are not simply abandoned there. Beyond that he maintains he and his agency have no axe to grind.

The concept of equal enforcement seems to be a sticking point. As an example, are we to assume that the paddling canoe club boats which are occupying similar beach spaces down by Kilili are to be likewise asked to leave? That made me wonder if all the “hotel” catamarans/kayaks/jet skis pulled up on the beach are also in violation? And what about local residential beach front, will they be allowed to beach their own boats? Will this edict be enforced on all beaches or just some? Which ones? This will be a difficult issue, as Mr. Joyner notes, to wade through.

Definitions of the affected items are also hard to come by. Mr. Joyner’s key issue is with “litter” and his mandate to remove it. But how do we define that term? One man’s litter turns out to be the next man’s valued table lamp. What is the definition of a beach? Mean high and low tide? Above mean high tide? And how far from where? I believe that all below the mean high tide line is public and that would include beaches around hotels, etc. What about the time dimension? What if someone took his boat from Smiling Cove and beached it out at Managaha or some other public beach. How long could he party or camp out before the Sand Police came to evict him? Do we put up “No Boat Parking” signs all over the place? Talk about eyesores.

Tradition here should be taken into account before acting hastily in this matter. For thousands of years local culture has been tied to the sea. Boats pulled up on the beach are a sign of prosperity, not of litter. How to balance these two interests? Mr. Charles Cepeda, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said in his workforce speech just the other day that we need to maintain our “face of tradition” in order to differentiate ourselves from other tourist destinations. Boats on the beach may be a vital part of that concept.

One possible compromise offered by Mr. Joyner is a designated parking place for all the small boats. Again the problems of implementation will make his job a difficult one. Where ? When? Exemptions? For whom? I’m just glad I’m not the one on the front line of this skirmish. The likelihood of “collateral damage” is great. The chances of a pat on the back when it is all over are slim.

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[B]Help us Obi Wan Kanobe[/B]

You are our only hope. Much as in that [I]Star Wars[/I] quote, we have only one option to help mollify the pain of the coming forced wage increase to $7 plus per hour. We must enact a new set of labor laws that reflect this new set of circumstances. Legislators, please think about this important issue and pass a new set of labor laws and guidelines.

First, drop the requirement that employers act as the nannies, parents and guardians of these contract workers. Let them pay for their own housing, their own medical expenses, and fly themselves to and from their country of origin on their own money instead of on the backs of their employers. Let them pay for their own transportation and meals.

Next, contract workers should pay for their own labor and immigration processing, all of it. All the fees, and bonding and insurance and medical exams and other accoutrements that add up to a staggering $500 to $600 per employee must be transferred to the employees’ wallet, not that of the hiring employer if you want companies to stay in business so they can fill your government coffers with taxes.

Lastly, make these workers hire-able and fire-able as in the real world of labor/management relations. We must stop forcing our local companies to be stuck with a bad employee for a year or more due to contract restrictions. Companies and employees must have the flexibility to come and go as the market place demands, not as some arbitrary regulation dictates. Flexibility is good for both parties.

Since government cannot afford to significantly reduce the fees in these days of austerity, at least recognize that when the cost of labor more than doubles, only two courses are possible for private business: push the expensive burden of labor fees back to those who benefit—the contract employees themselves—and reduce the burdensome restrictions on length of employment and preapproved contract terms of employment. The other option is mass business closures.

Without these reforms, there will simply not be enough businesses left to provide the government with the funds to continue running and paying the payroll. I’m pretty sure the voters are not going to like that. Please legislators, save your nation.

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[B]Quote of the week:[/B] We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. —Martin Luther King

[I](Bruce A. Bateman writes Sour Grapes when the moon is full and the mood strikes. Stay tuned for each exciting episode. “Yes, he is opinionated.” bbateman@pticom.com.)[/I]