Common sense and CNMI options to win

“Are we fighting a battle or a war” is the first questions we must ask on the issue of federalization. Clearly, some think it is a war with their plans for revisiting our political status. But I’m sure the common sense people will agree it is only a battle because the war is really about finding prosperity for the CNMI. Some see federalization as an obstacle; to others it is the ultimate solution and I’m one of those who believe it is the latter.

If history has taught us anything it has taught us that once the federal government makes up its mind collectively in Congress with the support of the Executive Branch, there are no powers on earth that can stop them, especially with the military buildup in Guam and the fact that we are at war with terrorists. This is a federal government that has taken down nations and dictators, yet we are talking about fighting these forces. At the same time we are begging for special economic considerations. Common sense tells me we can only do one or the other: fight or beg. The sad joke is we don’t have anything to fight with. We are also destroying the little amount of political real estate we did have in Washington over a fight we can never win.

Common sense tells me our best and only option has always been to document with facts the possible impact of federalization and place the burden of accountability on the federal government who can afford to offset the financial impact. If we retained control of immigration and the wage hike is put on hold, our government still can’t guarantee any kind of economic stimulant or support for the people and businesses. So why even fight the hand that can help when we know our government can’t deliver? It defies common sense.

In the words of the person who actually help write the first federalization bill, “We can implement the law in a way that will be beneficial to everyone or implemented in a way that is harmful.” (David Cohen). The federal government has set aside millions to help us but how does it look when we are fighting against the hand that has fed us and continues to feed us. If the CNMI has honorable intentions then there is nothing wrong with obeying the federal law and being held accountable for the federal monies we get. The oversight process of Congress will also address any shortcoming the CNMI may suffer. It should be obvious the best option for winning with the federalization issue is to follow their game plan because we don’t have one and that’s common knowledge.

Some people may not know this but federal law dictates that our state level government officials can’t make any binding agreements with foreign governments or even take any gifts from a foreign government. Our officials can only make handshake deals in the spirit of cooperation. But federalization will pave the way to give us the option to create real binding treaties with other nations. The implementation of federalization give us the badly needed leverage to work with and through the State Department to formulate plans and agreements with foreign governments, which is something the CNMI has never attempted but it has always been an option. It is far better to get the governments of Japan, Korea and other governments for investments in the CNMI. We can actually get the State Department to help us and I can only pray the old attitude of keeping the Feds out of our business and we can do it ourselves won’t get in the way of this option for winning.

We can either figure out how to use federalization to our advantage or continue to fight a hopeless battle which could cause us to lose the entire war for prosperity. Everyone who is against federalization need to ask themselves what if the federal government didn’t implement federalization and told the CNMI there would be no more money coming to the CNMI? Another question for the opposition to federalization is how much help should anyone expect when they are fighting the person trying to help?

The option our leaders have taken is to place the financial burden on the people instead of the feds who have the money. The feds give hundreds of millions away every year to help foreign countries and U.S. states with disasters and emergencies—which shows how our option of fighting is preventing us from getting federal assistance with the fuel cost at CUC, which is clearly operating under emergency conditions. State governments and citizens are getting everything from gas subsidies to disaster money to save the salmon fishing industry, yet we haven’t gotten a dime because we are too busy fighting. We have already been suffering under emergency conditions with CUC and threats of blackouts, the fees are doubling for everything from driver’s licenses to marriage licenses. The school system is begging the government to ask for federal emergency assistance or schools may close. Why make the people continue to suffer when we can get federal assistance with what is clearly an economic disaster, given our dependency on fuel for power and the disappearing act by the garment industry we sacrificed so much to help and now we are paying.

Another option for winning that I must share is landownership, which is the biggest inhibitor to economic prosperity. Being a U.S. citizen it was disappointing to hear the administration promote landownership for foreign investors when the best investors are already here—the citizens from the mainland in the CNMI who want to invest and own their home or business. But the gesture to help foreign investors before helping U.S. investors and U.S. citizens in the CNMI speaks volumes about the real problem. Instead of clearing the economic and social hurdle of Article XII, the administration created another political hurdle for us to overcome by putting foreign investors in front of the line. Where is the sense of nationalism and the civic virtue and common good for all citizens in the CNMI? Promoting landownership for foreigners before allowing American investors and all U.S. citizens their rights is just another example of why we are facing federalization and why the U.S. citizens who are not local need federalization to protect our basic rights, especially when every indigenous person enjoys these rights on the mainland. The government doesn’t have to protect the rights of the indigenous people to own the land because they already own the land. The winning option should be obvious to people with common sense.

But everyone that truly understands the power of atonement knows that the ultimate option at our disposal is the ability to turn adversity into prosperity by disposing of the past for new beginnings—a process that can only begin through atonement. Both the CNMI and the federal government have fallen short in the expectations of each other but there has never been an act of atonement to put these disappointments behind. We learn about the power of apologies at an early age yet it seems the power of apologizing hasn’t entered the political arena and our leaders have chosen to remain in denial when everyone knows we failed to meet the expectations of Washington on wages and immigration. If the pope can apologize, then certainly our politicians can apologize for failing to raise minimum wages and properly handling immigration. It would be far better and to our advantage for the CNMI to make the first step of atonement in eliminating the political hurdles of the past for a new beginning, as opposed to establishing a political status commission that will clearly be counterproductive to federalization efforts. We need to start clearing political hurdles instead of creating more hurdles. The only option we have for winning the war for prosperity and equality for everyone in the CNMI is through our cooperation with federalization.
[B] Ambrose M. Bennett[/B] [I]Kagman, Saipan[/I]