Here's news. Cohen: Most CNMI bonding firms are insolvent(Saipan Tribune)
Except that, as the enterprising reporter reminded us, the Washington Representative flagged this problem two years ago and last year the Secretary of Commerce said the industry was a joke.
I wonder if our local spokespeople came right after him in the hearing when they explained that labor and immigration was under control, thank you very much for asking... and if they kept straight faces while doing so.
I also wonder what it would cost to bond a garment worker. It seems to me it would be something like trying to get workmen's compensation insurance for a 7-11 clerk: possible, but with a high premium.
Well, if the bonding companies can't pay, the government will have to step in. Since money is tight, maybe the parking meter revenue could be tapped.
BTW, do any of those factories have unresolved billing disputes with CUC? What about the companies that have already left? It sure would be hard to collect once they've moved to Vietnam or China.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Let the market decide
A proposal for those who are against raising the CNMI's minimum wage:
Don't have a minimum wage, and
No transfers, no renewals, no new contract workers.
Don't have a minimum wage, and
No transfers, no renewals, no new contract workers.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Following our lead?
"I don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas."
That's Karl Rove talking about immigration reform, according to The National Review. Whew.
OK, the CNMI is not mentioned directly. But in giving Rove the slam he deserves for that one, Mark Krikorian did say "It would do all that, of course, but most importantly it would change the very nature of our society for the worse, creating whole occupations deemed to be unfit for respectable Americans, for which little brown people have to be imported from abroad."
Bad choice of words, but the sentiments are good and that's what's happened here.
I accepted employment applications at the CNMI Personnel Office a few times, just helping out because I worked in the same office.
One young man told me that what he really wanted was a supervisory position. This with a high school diploma and no experience. It immediately became one of my favorite jokes. The second time that happened I stopped telling the story. I tried to provide them with a reality check, because obviously no one had told them about the working world.
There may have been changes in recent years, but a percentage of labor fees used to be earmarked for vocational education at Northern Marianas College. On paper, using those fees to develop local skilled labor is a great idea.
In practice, the majority of students were aliens. Any local student who did graduate was dumped into the marketplace to compete with a practically endless line of more experienced foreign workers willing to work for the bare minimum wage.
The choices became: line up for government work, do something else, join the military, or go to one of the states. Most people I talked to chose one of the last two options.
We've had several maids over the years, and let them all go for basically the same reason. The kids acted like bosses, and they didn't know the difference between a maid and a servant. 'Make me a sandwich' and 'get me a glass of water' drive me crazy when they come from a healthy person. Most normal people can at least find their way from the table to the sink with a dirty plate.
BTW: I picked fruit at that age, and Rove pissed me off. Of course, even back 'in the day' I was working alongside Chicanos and Mexicans, Cholos and Indios. (Be very careful how you say cholo)
That's Karl Rove talking about immigration reform, according to The National Review. Whew.
OK, the CNMI is not mentioned directly. But in giving Rove the slam he deserves for that one, Mark Krikorian did say "It would do all that, of course, but most importantly it would change the very nature of our society for the worse, creating whole occupations deemed to be unfit for respectable Americans, for which little brown people have to be imported from abroad."
Bad choice of words, but the sentiments are good and that's what's happened here.
I accepted employment applications at the CNMI Personnel Office a few times, just helping out because I worked in the same office.
One young man told me that what he really wanted was a supervisory position. This with a high school diploma and no experience. It immediately became one of my favorite jokes. The second time that happened I stopped telling the story. I tried to provide them with a reality check, because obviously no one had told them about the working world.
There may have been changes in recent years, but a percentage of labor fees used to be earmarked for vocational education at Northern Marianas College. On paper, using those fees to develop local skilled labor is a great idea.
In practice, the majority of students were aliens. Any local student who did graduate was dumped into the marketplace to compete with a practically endless line of more experienced foreign workers willing to work for the bare minimum wage.
The choices became: line up for government work, do something else, join the military, or go to one of the states. Most people I talked to chose one of the last two options.
We've had several maids over the years, and let them all go for basically the same reason. The kids acted like bosses, and they didn't know the difference between a maid and a servant. 'Make me a sandwich' and 'get me a glass of water' drive me crazy when they come from a healthy person. Most normal people can at least find their way from the table to the sink with a dirty plate.
BTW: I picked fruit at that age, and Rove pissed me off. Of course, even back 'in the day' I was working alongside Chicanos and Mexicans, Cholos and Indios. (Be very careful how you say cholo)
Lawyers, drugs and money
After reading dengre's diary (see my previous post), I started to think about Senator Tester's allegations.
Anybody who has been paying attention at all knows that ice has been a serious local problem since the mid-eighties. Users are pretty obvious if you have a passing knowledge of its effects. It's also a national problem.
What concerns me is the implication of the Commonwealth, and Saipan in particular, as a trans-shipment point. Could this be true?
I only remember arrests and convictions for fairly small amounts of methamphetamine. But those are the mules, not the studs, you might say. It's certainly possible. You'd think that sort of enterprise, particularly when fueled by that drug, would leak information eventually. Competitors, disgruntled underlings; that kind of thing.
Money laundering? I heard snide comments about a former owner of the Bank of Saipan and similar shots have been taken at the Tinian Dynasty. I considered them jokes, not even dignified enough to be rumors.
But.
Hmm, a bank subject to local laws, a casino being regulated by newbies, huge remittances flowing out. It's backwards, but opportunity and motive are there, so is the crime?
Law enforcement types obviously aren't going to tip their hand, but has anybody heard anything about this? I'm just curious.
Anybody who has been paying attention at all knows that ice has been a serious local problem since the mid-eighties. Users are pretty obvious if you have a passing knowledge of its effects. It's also a national problem.
What concerns me is the implication of the Commonwealth, and Saipan in particular, as a trans-shipment point. Could this be true?
I only remember arrests and convictions for fairly small amounts of methamphetamine. But those are the mules, not the studs, you might say. It's certainly possible. You'd think that sort of enterprise, particularly when fueled by that drug, would leak information eventually. Competitors, disgruntled underlings; that kind of thing.
Money laundering? I heard snide comments about a former owner of the Bank of Saipan and similar shots have been taken at the Tinian Dynasty. I considered them jokes, not even dignified enough to be rumors.
But.
Hmm, a bank subject to local laws, a casino being regulated by newbies, huge remittances flowing out. It's backwards, but opportunity and motive are there, so is the crime?
Law enforcement types obviously aren't going to tip their hand, but has anybody heard anything about this? I'm just curious.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Another side to the Immigration hearing
My brother just emailed a link to this diary from the Daily Kos to me. Some of you may have linked to dengre before from The Saipan Blogger.
This is the take a lot of Democrats (Democratics?) will be getting, and guess who's running the show in the U.S. Congress? I don't think this is going to be pretty.
What the heck, since this is a short post, how about a link to A report from the districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to the U.S. Attorney's Office on security and immigration.. It's a nailbiter.
The last link was broken for awhile. Sorry.
Power to the people
Here's the thing: I strongly believe that the problems at CUC can only be solved if it becomes a truly public utility with an elected board* or if it is completely privatized. So strongly that I wrote a letter to the editor, and that's something I try to avoid. Direct accountability, either to voters or to shareholders, is the only hope for efficiency.
The only answer, if it was addressed to my letter, was from a politician I used to support saying that privatization might cost jobs and those nasty folks would want to make a profit too. Well, sorry if that's true, but that is no answer. Except, of course, that I understand how many voters are employed by CUC. The idea of an elected board is never considered, because that would take influence away from the Executive and Legislative branches.
I don't think the linemen, tradesmen, trades helpers, meter readers, power plant operators and customer service people have anything to worry about. Their jobs aren't going away and their pay is reasonable if not low for what they do.
Whose jobs are we talking about then? Oh, the people who plan and budget capital improvements, schedule maintenance and procure parts. You know, parts like the defective photocells on the 24-hour streetlights.
Obviously, the administration thinks the answer is to privatize the first group and put the second group under the direct control of the Lieutenant Governor so he can correct the problems of previous mismanagement.
My mind boggles.
*Wouldn't a recall petition be fun?
The only answer, if it was addressed to my letter, was from a politician I used to support saying that privatization might cost jobs and those nasty folks would want to make a profit too. Well, sorry if that's true, but that is no answer. Except, of course, that I understand how many voters are employed by CUC. The idea of an elected board is never considered, because that would take influence away from the Executive and Legislative branches.
I don't think the linemen, tradesmen, trades helpers, meter readers, power plant operators and customer service people have anything to worry about. Their jobs aren't going away and their pay is reasonable if not low for what they do.
Whose jobs are we talking about then? Oh, the people who plan and budget capital improvements, schedule maintenance and procure parts. You know, parts like the defective photocells on the 24-hour streetlights.
Obviously, the administration thinks the answer is to privatize the first group and put the second group under the direct control of the Lieutenant Governor so he can correct the problems of previous mismanagement.
My mind boggles.
*Wouldn't a recall petition be fun?
Friday, February 9, 2007
Tom Paine or a pain?
Since I've been chomping on newspapers lately, I guess I should mention the letter writers. Our country has a proud history of griping in print, but Tom Paine had a specific point when he wrote and he proposed solutions.
Politicians and government, why they're Really Bad, and well, you know, like they should Stop Being That Way. That felt good.
It feels even better when I meet an elected official in a store, in a business or at a party and, gasp, say what's on my mind. I'm not shy about this. The Senators and Congressmen I've met are always polite, receptive and willing to discuss issues. They may not agree with me, or do what I want them to do. Hey, I can always talk to one of their colleagues. Why, I could even write a letter.
I just called one of my Representatives this week. I had a question for him, and the question brought up a problem, one that could be solved with a simple amendment. First he was at a speaking engagement, then there was a House session. Now I know he's not spending his time at the farm. The woman offered to take my number, but I wasn't sure where I'd be when he returned my call.
On the third try a woman answered, identified herself cheerfully and politely, and put my call through. Better service than I could get from most businesses on Saipan. A brief chat with his employee, and I was speaking with the congressman in thirty seconds or so.
He seemed interested and curious about the issue, and promised to get back to me. What more could I ask?
There is no point in saying that politicians aren't listening, or that they don't represent you, if you've never bothered to tell them what you want.
Dirty little secret They have to listen. Anyone who runs for office has a pretty good idea of his or her base vote: family, friends, whichever party they are in this week. Independent voters are the wildcard, as they are throughout the country, unless the candidate is hugely popular.
Increasing numbers of Carolinians and Chamorros are voting for people and ideas instead of for familia. Other Micronesians, Filipinos, Koreans and Chinese are getting the vote. There is a large group of statesiders of different hyphenations. Those are swing votes, which makes them more important than you'd think by looking at the numbers.
If you tell them and they don't listen, vote for someone else. Write your letter while you're waiting for the next election.
Politicians and government, why they're Really Bad, and well, you know, like they should Stop Being That Way. That felt good.
It feels even better when I meet an elected official in a store, in a business or at a party and, gasp, say what's on my mind. I'm not shy about this. The Senators and Congressmen I've met are always polite, receptive and willing to discuss issues. They may not agree with me, or do what I want them to do. Hey, I can always talk to one of their colleagues. Why, I could even write a letter.
I just called one of my Representatives this week. I had a question for him, and the question brought up a problem, one that could be solved with a simple amendment. First he was at a speaking engagement, then there was a House session. Now I know he's not spending his time at the farm. The woman offered to take my number, but I wasn't sure where I'd be when he returned my call.
On the third try a woman answered, identified herself cheerfully and politely, and put my call through. Better service than I could get from most businesses on Saipan. A brief chat with his employee, and I was speaking with the congressman in thirty seconds or so.
He seemed interested and curious about the issue, and promised to get back to me. What more could I ask?
There is no point in saying that politicians aren't listening, or that they don't represent you, if you've never bothered to tell them what you want.
Dirty little secret They have to listen. Anyone who runs for office has a pretty good idea of his or her base vote: family, friends, whichever party they are in this week. Independent voters are the wildcard, as they are throughout the country, unless the candidate is hugely popular.
Increasing numbers of Carolinians and Chamorros are voting for people and ideas instead of for familia. Other Micronesians, Filipinos, Koreans and Chinese are getting the vote. There is a large group of statesiders of different hyphenations. Those are swing votes, which makes them more important than you'd think by looking at the numbers.
If you tell them and they don't listen, vote for someone else. Write your letter while you're waiting for the next election.
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