The Great NMI Exodus

“The CNMI’s the Lord’s best moment,” related a friend from afar. “It’s the best place in the world to live in.” Or at least it used to be. Ooops!

These isles enjoyed a reputation as an investment Mecca for investors who hailed from Nagoya, Seoul, and other economies of scale in Asia. It was a far-out paradise for young business hipsters who wanted to make it big, confident that the CNMI is the Florida of lion and tiger countries nearby. Indeed, we were blessed with the triad of sun, sea, and sand. But something went awry somewhere.

Today, the CNMI’s fastest growing entity is government peddling as its biggest product is a bloated and overpaid bureaucracy. We love our fully nurtured mañana habit. Now, even the once happy reggae tune “Don’t worry, be happy…” is muffled by piles of problems at home. It’s no longer just sun, sea, and sand but also bankruptcy.

The deepening economic disaster at home has forced an exodus of more than 2,000 families. Relocation was a must where the setting is conducive to raising a family. Paradise has become their hellish hole. Most folks too have lost trust in their government, i.e., administration, Legislature, useless municipal governments, hospital, and the utilities corporation.

Foreign-owned businesses too have taken an exodus to the jetways of the CNMI, going home or elsewhere where they can find some safety net for return on investments. This continues as the horrendous cost of utilities force more business closures. This translates to far less jobs and wealth or revenues for these isles.

It is woefully unsettling. When would the dawn of hope shine once more on the archipelago I call home? Our government has become completely dysfunctional. But I’d heard around our livelihood may be pounded mercilessly by a cyclical shift in global economic deceleration and local leadership’s negligence. I’d like to see what curtain would descend upon these isles.

The bad times taking quick turns for the worse, I recalled the wise words of an old saintly woman who said, “Traditional farming and fishing is our security, hope, and survival in both calm and storm.” I probed her counsel to unravel whether she saw what was coming down the pike some 40 years ago. Definitely, the latter is here and we seem stuck in the filthy swamp of mañana. We simply have failed to employ foresight to organize our future.

Caveat: As soon as retirement benefits are reduced, disrupting payment of family obligations, we will see a steady and sturdy march toward chaos right here at home. When the last electronically transferred funds from the Fund to retirees’ bank accounts, therein begins the real march for change, some of which would be preceded by unruly reactions. This is where leadership must stand up and explain how hard it has worked to save the Fund and other essential programs from going belly up.

Paradise is no longer the comfortable haven nor hope for our people. The dual exodus, locals and businesses, isn’t helping a steadily sinking ship either. Well, “Let It Be.” I’m lovin’ it! It’s mediocrity at its best. A` Saina!

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For the most part, I’d skip baptismal, Holy Communion, and confirmation parties to avoid listening to the bitter expressions spewing out of the mouths of folks around the table.

These expressions turn into bigotry when alcohol is part of the gathering. This is more the reason to skip the gathering if only to maintain some sense of sanity. I already know their sentiments that doesn’t augur well with my serious dislike for redundancy.

Who are these folks? They’re mostly retirees, each of whom has an opinion, legitimate they may be. I wasn’t ready to play the unofficial referee of vicious discontent hailing from leadership’s negligence to give the Fund some seed money. And they ignored this issue for some 32 long years.

The point is: The system (Fund) was poorly designed financially. In other words, it is unsustainable from the outset. Most of what it does efficiently is crank out checks bimonthly from funds secured from the general fund. In short, nothing is coming in to brace its operations.

The only thing we also remember as retirees is the flow of checks from the Fund. We smile and even boast that the Fund administrator would be miffed if he finds out we’re working at another job. It must be the cargo cult mentality that money would rain from the skies for many moons to come. It’s now headed into the dry season.

Other than the absence of seed funding, the blue and green boys saw fit to use Fund money in the millions to loan to the Judiciary and others. Nobody saw fit to quiz what happens when the loaning agency can’t meet its monthly obligation to the Fund. We were content and happy campers for over three decades. Yep! It was “Don’t worry, be happy…”

Came tidings that the Fund would be bankrupt sooner than expected. Am I worried? Nope! Uncle Ben said not to panic. And it is when he said, “Don’t panic” that I find millions of reasons why I should be worried sick and panicky. I mean, has he found a foolproof source to pay off the administration’s debt of over $300 million? Would his proposed solutions be lasting answers or temporary ones? In other words, would the Fund be self-sustaining over the long haul? Isn’t this familiar paradigm another perfect recipe for disaster?

I’m just happy to avoid the bitter sentiment of governance on this issue. I’d gladly refer them to the blue and green boys who have ready answers to share with them. Now, I’m praying that candidates won’t brave discussing this issue publicly. I’d take you guys by the horn and show you that governance isn’t ready for anymore of your insanity and stupidity. Enough is enough!

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A highly analytical and thoughtful scholar asked what’s my prediction for this year’s midterm election? Related that it’s a bit too early to render an assessment until I see the entire slate of candidates. I know, however, that a good portion of governance would vote on the basis of policy. The wish list includes the economy, death of the Retirement Fund, lack of funds for the local hospital and public school system, among others. Hope candidates have an inkling of policy questions they need to answer forthwith. Or is this the group that is fearful of the virus of reason? Oooops! Sorry!