Stop the political blame game

[B]By ED PROPST[/B] [I]Special to the[/I] Saipan Tribune

Now that the CNMI House of Representatives overrode his veto of the budget bill for fiscal year 2009, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has stated that his administration has no choice but to reduce personnel. Massive layoffs in an election year? Sounds like a bold move, but I am just wondering if any of the personnel Fitial plans to lay off will include any of his loyalist supporters.

I’m a bit confused right now. Is this the same governor who went on a hiring frenzy within the last three and a half years? How many non-essential employees has Governor Fitial hired just within the last three months? When a business is on the verge of collapse, the very last thing it does is hire hundreds of non-essential employees. If anything, they trim the fat and cut expenses, cut unnecessary personnel, and put a freeze on hiring. Isn’t Governor Fitial highly regarded as a business executive? Wasn’t he supposed to run the CNMI government like a business?

The truth is, real austerity measures begin with Governor Fitial. If anyone is really interested in keeping their jobs, I suggest putting “Better Times Part II” bumper stickers on their cars and on posters around their homes. Better yet, pay him a visit and tell him how you and your entire family will vote for him in November. Just be sure you have a big family name and a copy of your family tree.

If Governor Fitial really wants to trim the fat, here is a great place to begin:
[B] 1. Sue bad garment factory owners instead of the federal government. [/B]

This is a brilliant plot that could gain a great deal of sympathy and support from the same federal government which “we” are suing. Instead of spending millions of dollars on suing the federal government which gives us more than $130 million annually while protecting us from the world’s “axis of evil,” let’s get our AG’s office to sue the former garment factory owners who left swiftly and suddenly in the middle of the night, abandoning their garment employees with unpaid wages and no plane tickets home to their country of origin. Many of the stranded garment workers have been deemed unemployable because they lack special skills or can’t speak any English. Out of hunger and desperation, some of these former garment workers have had to resort to prostitution, stealing copper, or selling and distributing “ice” (crystal meth). I think Governor Fitial should get his financial gurus together and have them crunch some numbers to see how much these dastardly garment factory owners have cost the CNMI. I highly recommend Governor Fitial sue for punitive damages as well. Who knows? Maybe the federal government will give us a bigger portion of the stimulus package, and Fitial could gain some votes!

[B]2. Prepaid meters in all government buildings. [/B]

What’s more important? Keeping employees, or keeping cool? Ever walk into a government office and see employees wearing sweaters because it is so cold? Perhaps if every government office was responsible for pre-paying for the power they consume, it would no longer be like walking into a meat freezer. Perhaps the heads of every government agency would actually push for massive energy conservation efforts as well. CUC certainly would be happy, as they would be able to pay their vendors on time. We really need to ask ourselves, can we live without air conditioners? Most of us grew up without air conditioners at home or at school. If my memory serves me correctly, the only air conditioned classroom at MHS some 20 years ago was our computer classroom. The bottom line is, sweating is good for you. Government employees could sweat out body toxins, lose a little weight, and conserve power, all at the same time. Who knows? Maybe this could pull in some votes for Fitial!
[B] 3. Pay for your own power bill.[/B]

As a symbolic gesture, I think Governor Fitial should come out and tell us that he wants to pay for his own CUC bill from this day forward, because “every dollar counts.” Judging from the size of his huge mansion up on the hills of Saipan overlooking us common folk, it must cost a small fortune each month to power his palace and all its lights. Maybe this goodwill gesture will inspire many of our government employees to start paying for their own cell phone bills, to return their leased luxury automobiles and start driving their own cars, and to start paying for their own gas instead of charging it to CNMI’s taxpayers. Who knows? Maybe this will pull in some votes for Fitial!
[B] 4. End all government leases.[/B]

Whether it is a car lease or an office lease, end it immediately. Move all government offices to Capital Hill. Have office employees team up and renovate the building they will be moving in to. Sure, those offices on Capital Hill might be a bit small for large government agencies like CUC, but we can always extend the buildings with pala palas on each side. Ever been to some of the barracks here on Saipan? If hardworking guest workers can pack 20 people to a room, I am certain our government employees can manage. This austerity measure alone will save the CNMI millions annually! Who knows? Maybe this could garner Fital votes!

[B]5. Pozzolan in a box. [/B]

At one point in time, the CNMI government could have potentially made billions off of selling pozzolan from Pagan. Whatever the lame excuse is, mining pozzolan on Pagan never materialized. So what is stopping the CNMI government from mining it right now? Instead of hiring more political or non-essential employees, how about Governor Fitial hire a bunch of unemployed former garment factory workers, send them up to Pagan, and have them pack cardboard boxes and bags with pozzolan. We could then market “Pagan Pozzolan” online and sell it on e-Bay! The CNMI could potentially make millions and the former garment factory workers could make more than enough money to pay for their plane ticket home. Who knows? Maybe this could bring Governor Fital votes!

[B]6. Fire all special advisers and consultants. [/B]

Let’s trim the fat by getting rid of special assistants to special assistants, “policy” advisers, and those so-called “volunteer” employees who supposedly don’t get an official paycheck yet get their lodging, food, and/or first-class travel paid for. The truth is, Governor Fitial doesn’t need all these non-essential/nonsensical employees. If he wants real advice, he should try hosting a public forum. Maybe it would give Fitial a dose of reality. Maybe he would find that sometimes in life, the best advice is free advice. Who knows? Maybe this will bring him some votes!

These are only a few ideas I came up with within the last 30 minutes. I am sure if Governor Fitial hosted his very first community forum, he will find that the best solutions to our problems come from common, everyday people who struggle to make ends meet. Our economic hardships qualify us to speak about real austerity measures because we actually practice it in our homes and in our day-to-day living. Governor Fitial needs to start listening to his constituents and stop listening to his highly-paid and highly-ineffective advisers and consultants. If this is truly a government of the people, for the people, and by the people, then shouldn’t town hall meetings and public forums be a fundamental part of good governance?

I admit, my suggestions are tongue-in-cheek, but I am sincere about the need to put an end to the political blame game between the different branches of government. Instead of blaming all of our problems and last night’s flat tire on federalization, perhaps it is high time that CNMI leaders take some responsibility for the problems the CNMI is faced with today. Perhaps if we took care of our investors and helped them instead of trying to take advantage of them, they would still be here. Perhaps if we looked into the real reasons why the CNMI went from pulling in 700,000 Japanese tourists annually not so long ago to barely 300,000 today, we would not be so dependent on maintaining the visa waiver for Russian and Chinese tourists. And last but not least, perhaps if each and every one of us took better care of ourselves and quit bad habits like smoking two packs a day, drinking a six-pack of beer every night, or eating Spam every morning, then maybe we wouldn’t be spending millions annually on treating preventable illnesses and diseases.

In an effort to end the blame game, maybe it is high time that we agree that in some way or another, we all must share the blame for our problems. When we say that we can’t report corruption or speak out against wrongdoings because we might lose our jobs, then we are to blame. When we all know that a person stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the CNMI government and we say nothing and do nothing about it, then we are to blame. When we hire a relative even though our relative is not the most qualified applicant, then we are to blame. When we choose to treat our guest workers as indentured servants rather than guests and as an extended part of our family, then we are to blame. When we believe that minimum wage should be stuck at $3 for more than a decade and that it is good enough to support a family, then we are to blame. When we make disparaging remarks about locals being lazy or fail to train our local population to get out of the government and into the private sector, then we are to blame. When we have the God-given talent and wisdom to lead the CNMI yet we are unwilling to run for office because we discovered we would be paid less than what we are currently making, then we are to blame. And when we continue to elect leaders based on friendship and family with the promise of employment, while failing to scrutinize their character, intelligence, and performance, then ultimately, we are to blame.

There is a lot of truth to the old saying, “We get the government we deserve.” If we truly want a better future for the CNMI, then we all must make a concerted and conscientious effort to fight the good fight and stand up for what we believe in, regardless of criticism or consequences. There can be no other way.

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[I]Ed Propst is the publisher of MP Magazine. Check out his blog at http://marianaspride.blogspot.com.[/I]