Solutions

The Retirement Fund issue is clearly a social, economic, and political problem and lawyers have been asked to solve it! Given the factors and variables, I knew this issue was not going to be handled properly, which is why I got involved. The Fund’s situation is a systemic issue that is driven by social, economic, and political factors but we have lawyers at the forefront leading the issue for the Fund. On the other side, we have the NMI administration (governor), the Legislature, Commonwealth Retirement Association, DCP members, the Superior Court, and Jorgensen with lawyers attacking the Fund from all sides. It is easy to see why the Fund’s board ran for cover under bankruptcy, which I originally thought was a good idea but I must agree with the governor about the cost being too much, given the fact that a quarter of a million has already been spent by the Fund on lawyers and it looks like it may have all been a waste if the bankruptcy is denied. What was really a simple problem of collecting on the government’s debt to the Fund has now become a complex and supercharged issue, with only one definitive solution that has been offered by the governor but lawyers have us in court.

I can tell you from the history of lawyers that they will keep us tied up in court forever. That is their job—to go to court. So are they really going to offer another solution that does not involve the law and the courts? Of course not. They wouldn’t have a job. We certainly need lawyers and I’m not saying the lawyers were out to rip us off but I do think we did a lot to set ourselves up for a rip-off. There is no doubt that the lawyers gave sound legal advice and it was accepted by those seeking lawyers on both sides so it is easy to see why we are literally in court going nowhere fast and burning cash for the fuel that is not getting the $300-million plus back. So keep our eyes on the prize—the $300 million plus and not a court victory because it is going to take cold hard cash to fix the Fund, not a verdict. A verdict is moot without the cash!

Just think about it, everyone wants to sue the government and make it pay the $300 million to the Fund. Well, the first thing we should have thought about is the fact that we are in effect suing ourselves as we are the government! So the people must first ask themselves, “How are we going to repay the Fund?” It doesn’t matter if a receiver or the courts order the government to pay. We know our government is broke and will probably have to end up following the governor’s solution to sell some properties anyway. The focus should have been on how to help the governor with his solution instead of fighting each other in court. We are being sidetracked by the hype of the announcement that the Fund would die that was heightened by the bankruptcy announcement. All the stakeholders need to be working together to save the Fund because it seems everyone is now out for themselves. The non-retirees want to pull their money out, which is only going to weaken and shorten the life expectancy of the Fund—a selfish attitude but understandable when you can’t trust the powers-that-be. Some retirees don’t want their benefits cut to save the Fund, just pay them until the Fund dies, which is a quitter’s mentality and very shortsighted. Then there are those who seem to think the federal powers-that-be or whoever can somehow force the CNMI government to come up with money when the government is broke—a mirage solution because we are the ones who will pay in the end. It is our government and we will be held accountable for paying.

In retrospect, it seems that all the Fund board really needed to do was to get a court order delaying any adverse actions against the Fund until after the election because the passage of the governor’s amendment to Article 11 would virtually guarantee the repayment of the $300 million plus—the end of story and a happy one at that! The time we are now wasting in court with lawyers could have been used to make sure the solutions are acceptable and on the ballot. The sooner this issue can get out of the lawyers’ hands and in the hands of the people who must pay the debt, the sooner it will be resolved. The people of the CNMI are eventually going to have to come up with a way to repay the $300 million plus. We need to take the governor’s option and any other options offered to the people in the voting booth and something must pass. Our backs are against the wall and we have only one option: join forces to overcome the challenges that we are all facing because we cannot afford to let the Retirement Fund die.