Asserting our ownership

The call to assert ownership of the sea and seabed resources around the NMI makes sense although it may be a day late and a dollar short, so to speak. But it could also be argued that anything of traditional ownership that was never negotiated between two sovereign entities 33 years ago is still subject to negotiations.

The federal government is likely to point out that Section One of the agreement renders moot any further discussion pertaining to the 200-mile EEZ. I respectfully disagree. To subject the NMI into the usual federal hardball game isn’t in any form or fashion assisting the overall commitment for greater self-government of the inhabitants of these islands.

The NMI must steadfastly advocate the traditional use of the sea since five centuries ago by our ancestors to fish for big catch to support the needs of the NMI community. This angle has more teeth than the usual blather of federal “precedence” versus other coastal states and territories. That the NMI is a sea of islands states the obvious traditional connectivity between the sea and culture.

The federal government supports landownership for Native Americans if it is for the greater good of all five hundred plus tribes. The same argument could be used to accommodate the NMI on this matter given that though we may not be a tribe, but there’s the historical fact that our ancestors are seafaring people who go out as far as 500 miles to fish for larger catch.

In fact, the lack of similarities or precedent need not be used as legal excuses in this case. But there is the traditional connectivity between the sea and our ancestors. The issue relates to migratory and mineral resources within 200-mile off the coast of the NMI. They can be used collectively for the economic wellbeing of the people of these islands.

A successful harvest of our sea and seabed resources would mean far less handouts from Uncle Sam. It leads to the gradual ending eating off handouts from taxpayers across the country. It means we can move decisively to harvest resources to meet most of our financial needs down the stretch. This is more the reason why this must be taken up seriously. In it rests the future economic wellbeing of the people of these isles.
[B] Guam wrestles with status
[/B] Guam’s Gov. Eddy Calvo campaigned successfully to resolving Guam’s political future even boldly, too. And it is one longstanding issue warranting resolution with finality.

Said he, “I highly doubt the 1,744 Marines and soldiers who gave their lives in the Battle of Guam died so that the people they liberated could be colonized for eternity,” he said.

Such inalienable rights can’t be denied the Chamorus while they study how to dispose of the proposed military build-up in and outside the fence.

It’s not an enviable position to be in given that not everybody is pro-military. Yet it remains a hugely potential economic boon for a territory that also relies on the sputtering tourism industry for its survival.

The resolution of her status is a must in order for our brothers and sisters to ably plan the future of Guahan once this matter is resolved with certainty. Whether it wishes to embrace the status quo (unincorporated territory) statehood or semi-independence is really up to the people. For now, it would seem that most would seek for close ties with Uncle Sam no matter what comes down as its final answer.

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The NMI has gone into the fandago mood longer than it should. Perhaps it was our way of skirting fiduciary responsibilities to establishing strong democratic institutions. Or is in fact our silent expression of the Big Brother attitude that Uncle Sam would be here to clean after our mess and tuck us into bed once more? Well, last I heard Uncle Sam was too busy trying to rectify his financial house suffering heavily from the corrosive effects of unbridled spending. The arrogance of its leadership hasn’t moved Washington into reviewing fiscally palatable solutions.

But Uncle Sam isn’t the only one suffering from debt crisis though his share is way too large on a comparative basis. The NMI is also singing the same blues every single day. We hum and whisper it even in our sleep troubled that dawn would bring more bad tidings. TGF and here I am donning the role of an armchair titular head watching bleeps and blunders firing into the heavens on the hill. It’s lots of fun but equally troubling too. Yeap! I’m also singing the Monday morning blues, daily or even on non-Mondays if only to mull over how often we miss the target.

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The fate of the NMI Retirement Fund looks fearfully unstable. The local government owes employer’s contribution to the tune of $300 million. It needs a healthy review. But this and other issues of substance had to languish momentarily until the big guys and gals return from their grand junket to Palau (paid for by hardship-stricken taxpayers) next week.

At the same time, our government is equally disadvantaged by the fact that much needed revenues have gone way Deep South. Thus, the newly established theme of “delayed” paydays issued to non-essential employees who sigh at the inevitably bad tidings, biweekly.

The intent of the program is further compromised by cuts in work hours or termination. The hope that retirees would have saved some before retirement and supplement their pension with additional income from private industry jobs.

But the increase in basic goods, fuel and other familial obligations has forced the use of savings to make ends meet. Most have been forcibly depleted. It makes retirement pension the single Holy Grail to brace families as they wrestle with the demands of assorted increases triggered by the upward spiral of the price of fossil fuel.

This doesn’t include the spiraling cost of health care. Some are fortunate as Medicare or Medicaid recipients. However, most others had to rely on health insurance through their retirement or some other means especially for those who opted out of such plan. It’s one tough issue to navigate. The hard times has forced sober thoughts on almost everything we pursue in hopes of offering real solutions over quick fixes.

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[I] Delrosario is a regular contributor to the [/I]Saipan Tribune’[I]s Opinion Section.[/I]