From archaic to a modern society

Like it or not, modernization is a natural force that we can’t ignore and must adapt too as there are serious consequences when we fail to adapt to the winds of change. Progress waits on no one!

The reset button for Legislature in 2017 has given us a chance for new beginnings. Hopefully things will get even better (more productive) on the hill as the CNMI is still in a transition mode. The governor has also pushed the reset button with his call for resignations as one can only assume and hope that he intends on making his administration more productive and responsible to the needs of the people.

Our Legislature and our governor are really doing a good job from what I can tell but there is still room for even more improvements. The governor even promised that we will have a lot of new things to look forward to in the coming year. While he didn’t elaborate, I would like to share some of my thoughts.

First and foremost we must continue to diversify our economy, expanding the base as much as we can. Being a tourist destination, it is not “who has the best swimming pool” to attract tourists. We have taken a significant step with the casino that will surely have a great “novelty effect” for some years to come but time is this industry’s biggest enemy because time brings change in people and their behavior. The need for new and repeat clientele is the key for casino destinations, which is why we saw Las Vegas move to a “family format” of attractions. Legalization will complement the casino and surely expand our tourist market (economic base) and decrease our dependency on a single industry—a lesson we should have learned from the loss of the garment industry.

Economists will tell you that a one-crop economy is extremely risky and we learned the dangers when we lost the garment industry. Our economy took a nosedive that we are just now recovering from, driven mostly by a new industry that is attracting new tourists from a different country—the casino and the Chinese. But we must still continue to diversify our economic base as our dependency upon China is “fragile” and dependent upon national and world leaders and events that we have no control over. Prudence demands that our leaders continue to work to expand our economic base and billions in the legalization industry are literally staring us in the face like a gift horse.

Legalization will surely be a move to diversify our economy that will help to rush in the modernization of our social fiber with good high paying careers for locals (only U.S. citizens can participate in the marijuana industry) while expanding our economic base. People are aware of the billions in recreational and medical marijuana but the hemp industry is the real future worth more billions than recreational and medical put together. Marijuana prices are already slowly falling from competition and yes, hemp will eventually be worth more than recreational and medical marijuana, which is why I have been pushing for hemp production to be part of our legalization law. Hemp is better than plastic, better than fiberglass and it makes better paper products, better biodegradable products like drinking bottles and fastfood containers, shopping bags, fuel, car and motorcycle fenders and a host of other products as the entire tree is used. The CNMI can become a major exporter of hemp manufactured products.

Another critical issue that I have been harping on for years that I hope can be fixed in 2017 is the establishment of an “address system,” especially now that all the streets have a name. I am already working to get someone in our Legislature to sponsor a bill that I had drafted for a member but they didn’t follow through. Addresses are the next step to creating more good local postal worker jobs with mail delivery to our door.

There is now a proposal for the Marpi area to be rezoned for tourism and if we are truly going to have a modern tourism industry it is time for an islandwide “camera system” especially in Garapan and at all tourists sites. I have been harping on this for over a decade to protect our tourists . The casino is surely going to attract criminals and a camera system will deter and virtually eliminate much of the crimes that are taking place in locations frequented by tourists. The value of camera technology is playing a critical role in law enforcement throughout America and yet we only have the archaic system of old-fashioned detective work.

Finally, will someone please repeal the “double-dipping law” if we are to maximize the local workforce. It does not make any sense to maintain this law when there is no longer a Retirement Fund! Repealing this law will also do a lot to entice locals in returning from the mainland and it will allow some retirees to really earn a decent living again while they still can work. Many agencies need these employees and their valuable experience.

Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman, Saipan