Going against the will of the people

The action of the CNMI Legislature to grant an exclusive casino license on Saipan to only one casino operator reveals once again the inability of CNMI government leaders to implement economic measures that are grounded in sound public and social policies. The new casino measure is a get-rich-quick scheme that fails to take into account the long-term adverse social and economic consequences on the CNMI community. Once the measure is amended by the Legislature as requested by the administration, it will go back again to the governor, who is expected to sign it into law.
I just do not understand the rationale for passing by legislation the exclusive casino measure for Saipan when the people of the CNMI have time and time again overwhelmingly rejected so many casino initiatives in the past. The reasons for the defeat of all past casino initiatives have remained the same. Electronic poker machine gambling has literally robbed so many of our people of their hard-earned moneys because of their inability to control either their gambling addiction or their weakness to the temptation to “try their luck.” As a result, local business establishments such as groceries and other retail stores, banks, automobile dealers, and so forth, have experienced a substantial decline in business activity because the family money that is intended to be used to buy the basic family necessities has been gambled away.

The argument by proponents of the measure that this time around it will be different because the new casino setup is targeted for tourists is a fallacy. We all know that the exclusive casino measure, once it is signed by the governor, cannot prohibit any resident from patronizing the exclusively-owned casinos. We can also say with certainty that more local residents than tourists will be patronizing the new casinos to try their luck.

I also do not understand why the casino measure was drafted so as to grant an exclusive casino license to only one casino operator on Saipan. Such exclusive setup establishes a monopoly. Monopolies are not favored from a legal, economic, and public policy standpoint because such practice excludes all competition. And that is not good for the consuming public.

The only reason for passing an exclusive casino measure is because the person or persons interested in opening a casino on Saipan has apparently told CNMI government leaders that the exclusivity provision is non-negotiable. Our leaders should know, however, that granting an exclusive casino license to only one person or firm invites graft and corruption. The CNMI government will most likely be beholden to the dictates of the exclusive casino operator, because it is this single operator who will be doling out the money for the exclusive license fee to the government, as provided for in the exclusive casino legislation.

Finally, I simply do not understand why many of our civic and business leaders have remained quietly complacent to the surprisingly quick action taken by the proponents of the exclusive casino legislation. I had high hopes when the new administration came on board last year that it was going to come out with a clear economic plan proposing economic solutions and potential industries to initiate that would hopefully begin to stimulate the local economy. But to date, very disappointingly, there has been no economic plan drafted or proposed by this administration.

Just like the past several CNMI administrations, the present government leaders have not initiated any constructive or innovative way to improve the CNMI economy. Our government leaders have been reactive to the local economy, as in the past 10 years. Indeed, the exclusive casino license legislation, I would venture to guess, is most likely the proposal of an investor who wants to invest in the CNMI but on his own terms, i.e., exclusively. We should know that when an investor “calls the shots” in a matter that affects all the people of the CNMI, that should be cause for alarm.