The government as a father to these islands

By Michael Deleon Guerrero

I was born and raised here in the CNMI. My heart belongs to these islands. When I graduate from college, I plan on returning to start a family of my own. I want to come back and do the same things that my dad did with me. I want to take my children to the farm or the beach every weekend. I want to send my kids to good schools to get a good education. I want my children to know their culture. I want them to know where they come from. I want these things because I had a good role model: my father. An as I grow older, I am becoming more aware of what it takes to be a good father.

You see, in my mind, there are two kinds of dads in this world. The first dad makes a lot of money, but is never home. He buys his family fancy cars, expensive clothes, and the biggest house money can buy. But no matter what he buys, there was one thing he can’t buy: love.

Then there is the other dad. This dad isn’t rich, but he’s always there for his kids. He shows up at all their games and their school plays. This dad isn’t rich enough to give his kids everything they want. But his soul is rich enough to give them what they need: love.

I tell you this because I see the CNMI government as the father of our islands. And I don’t want a father who chases after money. I want a father who loves his kids. Today our Commonwealth faces many economic challenges. And so, it is the duty of the government, as the father of the CNMI, to take responsibility and rebuild our economy. But what exactly does that mean?

Palauan President, Tommy Remengesau stated in his recent Inaugural Address: “…money has never been and should never be the primary goal. Our values have always been the pride in our culture, our nation, our community, our extended families and our elders. Our values have always been peace, harmony, respect and national pride. These are the values that will sustain us. These are the values no money can buy.”

This is good advice.

We need to balance economic development with the needs, culture, and welfare of our people. In following the footsteps of a caring father, and as we answer the questions at hand, our government should focus on human development as much as economic development.
ÿ * How will we increase governmental revenues?
ÿ * Should we cut any governmental services?
ÿ * What kind of foreign investment should we encourage?

In all of this, like the caring father, we must remember to value our people and our culture more than we value money.

To begin with, let us take a look at the first two questions: How will we increase government revenues, and should we cut any governmental services?

These two questions really point to one simple problem: Our government is too big and inefficient. Raising revenue is not the problem. Overspending is.

We all know that the CNMI government has been, by far, the largest employer in our islands. In general, the CNMI government tends to solve problems by adding programs or personnel rather than fixing or replacing what is broken.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, in 1993, our government spent about $250 million dollars to employ about 4,500 people. Ten years later in 2003, we spent almost $350 million dollars to employ about 5,500 people. That’s an extra $100 million to hire an extra 1,000 people. Not only is that too much money, but it amounts to about $100,000 per new person. That’s not only inefficient. It’s crazy!

The truth is: Activity is not the same thing as productivity. To get good results, we must work SMART in addition to working hard. How can we do this? I have three suggestions:

First, we need a systematic desk audit, which would accomplish two things: One, it would make government leaner, more efficient. Two, it would help assess the actual cost of public services. It’s quite possible that we, as taxpayers, are simply not paying enough for some public services, especially when you consider the fact that most of the taxes we pay come right back to us as rebates. Any smart business would conduct such a study before cutting personnel or increasing prices. A desk audit may help determine how much we should pay for certain public services, as well as “right-size” government to its proper size.

Second, we can privatize more government services. A good example of this is the privately operated Marpi landfill, a well-run landfill that is both efficient and cost-effective. Following that example, we can privatize other public services, such as the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. Since the 1990s, the cost of fuel has risen, but CUC’s rates have stayed the same. This is just bad business. That is why CUC is in financial trouble. If privately owned, CUC could raise rates at a reasonable rate, and stay financially afloat.

Third, we need results-oriented government. With a result-oriented government your budget based on results, not good intentions. We need to evaluate programs not for what they propose to do, but for that they actually accomplish. We can then fund programs that actually work, not ones that hope to work.

These three approaches—a desk audit, privatization, and result-oriented government—will help our government address its main weakness: overspending. We must act as the responsible father would and spend our money wisely.

This leads us to the next question posed today: What kind of foreign investment should we encourage? In answering this question, let us not allow money to blind us from what’s really important: our people.

We must explore and invest in industries that will benefit our people and keep our environment and culture intact. Two industries that allow for this are: tourism and education. The CNMI’s highest source of income is tourism. Tourists fly from all over to visit the beautiful islands of Saipan, Rota, and Tinian. We need to market all our islands as one package.

For example, we can charter a cruise line that allows tourists to experience the best of all our islands: The beauty of Rota, the entertainment of Tinian, the family atmosphere of Saipan, and even the adventure of the Northern Islands.

In addition, we need to take advantage of Approved Destination Status with China. There is great potential here. As Samantha Magick reports in the April 2005 issue of Pacific Magazine, “China continues to be one of the fastest growing markets for the CNMI. In January this year, 2,938 visitors arrived in CNMI from China.”

Now some say that, in order to accommodate the needs of tourists we need more facilities. These people claim that Article 12 of our Constitution prevents investors from building such facilities. However, we should not give up Article 12. Tourists come here for the beauty of our islands, a beauty that would be compromised by uncontrolled development. Article 12 is our way of controlling that development, and keeping our islands beautiful. Instead, we can provide additional tax benefits to prospective investors. But do not give away our land. Make leasing land seem like a logical choice. Investing in tourism is a clean way to invest in our islands.

But another promising industry is the education industry. According to Tomas Kandl in his report for the Department of Interior, “in 2002 more than 200,000 Asian nationals were studying in the U.S. on student visas and paid on average $12,000 in tuition and $16,000 in room and board per year…The CNMI has the unique potential to attract students from Asia due to its local control over immigration.”

Although we have had difficulties penetrating the Chinese market, the education industry is too promising to completely surrender. Investing in education as an industry is also a great way to invest in the education system of our islands. That investment, in turn, will enhance our economy.

However, our current education system is failing us. Bill Gates recently chastised education and government leaders. “When I compare our high schools to what I see when I’m traveling abroad, I am terrified for our work force for tomorrow…In the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind.”

So what should we do to improve our education system? Here are two ideas: First, the entire community, especially the business community, must get involved. One way to get everyone involved is to form an Education Council, similar to the Strategic Development Council, or the SEDC. Just as the SEDC studies the economy and explores ways to improve it, the Education Council could study our education system and explore ways to improve it as well. Just imagine: If the SEDC can revitalize Garapan, perhaps the Education Council can revitalize our education system.

Second, we must expect more from our students. Our kids are as capable as any of their counterparts in the U.S. mainland, or mainland China. According to the U.S. Department of Education, “Students expected to master more demanding curricula are more likely to persist in school, achieve higher levels, and be better prepared for the workforce after their formal education ends.” Clearly, our kids will rise to the occasion. If only we’ll give them a chance.

By forming an Education Council and expecting more from our students, we will make a meaningful investment in the education of our people. And make no mistake, investing in education is the most important investment we can make in our economy.

And when that investment pays off, it almost doesn’t matter what the minimum wage is or what jobs are available, how or even how many nonresidents are on-island. An educated workforce will attract good paying, meaningful jobs. You want proof of this? Look at Harvard’s alumni workforce.

And investing in education goes to what I mentioned earlier: That as we work on economic development, we must focus on human development. Because, at the end of the day, and at the end of my speech, that’s what really matters: human development. When we talk about investing in our economy, when we talk about brining in new industries, what we’re really talking about is investing in our people.

Recently, we all lost a visionary leader: the late Pope John Paul II. He once said that the human person “must always be an end and not a means, a subject, not an object, not a commodity of trade.” We should remember Pope John Paul II’s advise as we face the economic challenges of our day.

Like the responsible father, our government should spend its money wisely. But, like the caring father, our government should love its people more than it loves money.

What is all boils down to is this: What do we envision for our future? I know this. When I’m as old as my dad with kids of my own, this is what I hope to see:

I want to see the CNMI, my home, prosper.

I want to come back to the land that I grew up in, and where my father grew up, his father.

I want, with all my heart, to raise my children in the same peaceful and cultured environment that I grew up in.

I want there to be something to come back to.

A place to start a family.

A place to call home.

(Mount Carmel School’s Michael Deleon Guerrero delivered this speech during the AG’s Cup speech competition held on Tinian last May 6, 2005. He won that competition.)