Ballsy, gutsy, and a whole lot more

You’ve got to hand it to the CNMI’s Department of Commerce. Those guys and gals over there have balls. Particularly this Glen Manglona, the department’s spokesman. He came right out and said what is arguably one of the most unpopular ideas on the islands, particularly in an election year: a proposal to grant permanent residency status to foreign students, retirees, and professionals for technical and managerial occupations. Not only was this an admirable display of cojones but it was also a distinct departure from the safe stance of most politicians who curry favor from voters by playing on the predominantly xenophobic attitude toward foreign workers. I don’t know how the idea played out among the different government agencies, particularly the Executive and Legislative branches where such an idea may matter, but certainly no one can accuse the Commerce Department of timidity when it comes to putting front and center controversial ideas to help along the stagnating economy.

According to Manglona, it would redound to the benefit of the CNMI if it grants permanent residency to this select class of nonresidents, as this will transform them from mere contractual workers and temporary residents to actual stakeholders in the economy, with the incentive to put down roots, invest in the local economy, lessen the flow of outbound dollars, and provide a manpower pool of highly skilled workers who will have more reason to spend their earnings here rather than send them to their countries of origin. One must also note that these are the classes of nonresidents who have more options when it comes to deciding where to take their skills sets and money. Foreign students and retirees can certainly move elsewhere to places where they can get more bang for their buck, so to speak, while highly skilled professionals are always in demand in other parts of the world where they can command higher salaries and benefits.

Of course the proposal is doomed from the get-go. Nonresident workers and foreign students have no illusions whatsoever that this idea will have other fates other than instant death at the starting gate. With alien labor being the favorite punching bag of people who like to blame nonresidents for the high unemployment rate among residents, the idea of making some of them permanent residents will be sure to raise hackles and provoke shouting matches across the community. But THAT is exactly the beauty of it. There is a need to raise the level of debate within this community on this particular issue and it is through the exchange of ideas and opinions that the level of awareness of people is heightened. Of a surety, acrimony and prejudices will come out in the open and ignorant biases will surely take the stage but, as Toby Ziegler said in The West Wing, “One mustn’t let one’s better demons out-shout one’s better angels.” An educated discourse on what to do with the islands’ alien workers and foreign guests is high time, as the local economy enters a new flux in its evolution. The face of global trade is changing right before our eyes and the CNMI is not immune to these changes. The garment industry is reportedly a sunset industry, the tourism sector is being forced to evolve due to the many challenges it currently faces, and the U.S. government has expressed its desire to make its insular possessions more self-reliant, which means lesser federal tax dollars going our way. It is within this context that the CNMI must begin mapping out its future role on the world stage and how it plans to manage its large nonresident population will have a major part in that future roadmap.

It has been said by economic experts that the CNMI will never ever be rid of its reliance on nonresident workers because even if 100 percent of residents are employed, their number is still not enough to meet the needs of a vibrant economy. If the CNMI dreams of a self-sustaining economy, with several industries driving the engine of its growth, its need for alien skilled workers will always be omnipresent. It is this reality that must be confronted head-on by today’s policymakers and a debate on what to do with the islands’ nonresident workers now is a big step toward making sure that that vision of a self-sufficient economy will become a reality.

(The views expressed are strictly that of the author. Vallejera is the editor of the Saipan Tribune.)