Victims of see-saw federal policy

Under the Reagan and Bush presidency, the NMI was basically left alone with messengers of good tidings visiting and encouraging the local government to avail of the Headnote 3a provision in the Covenant to improve the apparel industry’s export capability. We did and the combined progress in both tourism and apparel industries gave the NMI unprecedented economic growth in the late 80s.

When the Clinton presidency came into power, they started singing a different tune of more government atop piles of governments here. Local leadership was derailed by the shift in policy from less government to more government. These are the liberal social democrats who believe that more layers of government must reside in these isles to dictate every and all policies even against our detriment.

This see-saw phenomenon in federal policy has no one else as its victim other than the governance. It is the most powerful destabilizing factor in current and future investments in this remote US soil not to mention the ravaging effects of the Asian Crisis. It isn’t an agenda strongly scaffolded by “American Values” though such has been used to prop-up the case of our detractors. It is in fact, an economic issue where the US Textile Labor Unions can’t stand the notion that the NMI’s apparel industry has become the Pacific’s “Little David”.

It’s fodder even for the national media whose credibility has sunk to an all time low for actively partaking in the maligning of the image of the NMI. I suppose when it raises a rating, they conveniently scrap social conscience in favor of sensationalism. It’s an interesting coverage in the sense that it becomes an attractive issue to cover when it is cleverly linked to the much misunderstood new media toy of “human rights”. Every journalist of stripe jumps on it as though it is in fact an earth-shaking story. Sadly and unjustly though, the national media and one local news organization have capitalized on sensationalism rather than responsible journalism.

How sad to see the use of rumors as news stories. Journalists who capitalize on rumors to fill dead air or news space have finally decided to introduce rumors as legitimate stories. Whatever happened to a must in responsible journalism of verification of information? Isn’t this supposed to be the forte of every journalist worth his salt in a profession that requires responsibility and detachment? In this business, it is our social responsibility to search out the truth and nothing but the truth!

Sure, I’ve built callous at the tip of my fingers for banging on keys on my computer to defend an industry from permanent ruination for a reason: It has provided wealth and jobs creation for the people of these isles. If Congressman George Miller or Senator Daniel Akaka wish to protect labor unions’ cause, let them do so but not at the expense of the welfare of hundreds, if not, thousands of locals now employed in the industry’s non-garment sector. And if neither can’t offer realistic economic substitute, not only must they learn to shut up, but wake up too for they have no rights to warply employ such terms as “American Values” to please their favorite special interest groups.

I am a US Citizen too, Congressman Miller and Senator Akaka, and the fact that the interest of my people (each a US Citizen) isn’t represented in the most powerful chambers on earth is not a reason for your likes to openly stampede our rights to self-government. I will defend at all cost our rights to economic freedom and how sad that while our commander-in-chief boasts of the “economic good times”, we can only salivate at the prospect of being assimilated into the greater American economic community. Nothing can be further from the truth!