As any leader knows — whether they are in politics or business or indeed the armed forces — when crisis looms and all other solutions are impossible, what remains is the only possible scenario.
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that lesson, if nothing else did.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios of the Northern Mariana Islands wrote to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on April 26 to “initiate discussions” pursuant to Section 902 of the Covenant between the NMI and United States.
The Covenant — the federal law that defined the NMI’s relationship as a commonwealth — passed in 1975.
On Nov. 4, 1986, the Northern Mariana Islands constitution became fully effective under the Covenant.
This paper — and its sister publication Guam Business Magazine — have reported in detail on the economic highs and lows of the Northern Mariana Islands for decades.
On May 8, 2008, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 extended most provisions of U.S. immigration law to the NMI and set targets for the reduction of contract workers and the prioritization of U.S. citizens for the labor force.
The NMI’s economy historically relied on foreign workers, who made up more than 50% of workers for the decade before the passage of the act.
Access to skilled labor is one issue Palacios has raised with the U.S., as it faces a shortage in construction and other areas.
Direct financial assistance and tourism and transportation assistance are the two others.
The next step will be the appointment of a special representative.
Just what the NMI will receive is of course uncertain.
But its relationship with the U.S. and its importance in the current geopolitical focus on the islands of Micronesia will not escape the federal government’s notice.
And with finite NMI government financial resources and a subdued private sector with its own serious challenges, something will be better than nothing. mbj
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that lesson, if nothing else did.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios of the Northern Mariana Islands wrote to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on April 26 to “initiate discussions” pursuant to Section 902 of the Covenant between the NMI and United States.
The Covenant — the federal law that defined the NMI’s relationship as a commonwealth — passed in 1975.
On Nov. 4, 1986, the Northern Mariana Islands constitution became fully effective under the Covenant.
This paper — and its sister publication Guam Business Magazine — have reported in detail on the economic highs and lows of the Northern Mariana Islands for decades.
On May 8, 2008, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 extended most provisions of U.S. immigration law to the NMI and set targets for the reduction of contract workers and the prioritization of U.S. citizens for the labor force.
The NMI’s economy historically relied on foreign workers, who made up more than 50% of workers for the decade before the passage of the act.
Access to skilled labor is one issue Palacios has raised with the U.S., as it faces a shortage in construction and other areas.
Direct financial assistance and tourism and transportation assistance are the two others.
The next step will be the appointment of a special representative.
Just what the NMI will receive is of course uncertain.
But its relationship with the U.S. and its importance in the current geopolitical focus on the islands of Micronesia will not escape the federal government’s notice.
And with finite NMI government financial resources and a subdued private sector with its own serious challenges, something will be better than nothing. mbj
