A Parable of Two Brothers

Governor Lemanu’s unabashed hat-in-hand tour across D.C. made me think of a parable of two brothers who went to see their father on his deathbed.

The first brother knelt alongside his father, held his hand and said, “Father, you are both wise and wealthy. I ask nothing of you other than hope I have earned your love, though you’ve given it freely. You never expected us to be perfect; only that we try our very best. I’ve paid my debts, earned my place in this world and set my children up for success. I pray I have honored your legacy and made you proud."

The second brother comes in after the first had left the room, towers over his father lying in bed and says, “Father, calamity has overcome my household for reasons outside of my control. Your expectations of me as a man have been overwhelming my entire life, and they have only served to bring me down. I have never had my brother’s luck! The only thing I ask of you now is for my fair share of your inheritance so that my children will not know poverty.”

If you think the ASG is the first brother in this story, you’d be terribly wrong. And if you think the father in this story is the federal government, you’re even more so.

O Fea Le Alofa

I was very excited when Governor Lemanu called for a constitutional convention last year because of one issue and one issue only – reapportionment. This was to be the measure of our leaders’ oft-declared commitment to our culture; one supposedly based on love and respect for one another.

In an article by the New York Times back in 2010, they write “that some of the United States Constitution’s most sacred concepts like the notion of one person, one vote do not apply in American Samoa”. That concept is the spirit behind the time-honored mantra of days past, “no taxation without representation”.

But that is exactly the problem we have with our House of Representatives as it is not based on current population figures. How can any tax or spending legislation in the territory really be considered just by our people when they don't have equal representation in the lower chamber?

In the House, the voters of Tuala-uta have less representation in the Fono than any other district. And they're not the only ones.

While the Constitutional Committee recommended that no county lose a seat during the House or Senate reapportionment process, Convention delegates still had the power to address the imbalance in House and Senate representation through reapportionment rather than by simply adding more seats as the committee had recommended.

Delegates, in turn, declared that the committee should have come up with a formula for reapportionment prior to the convention. Perhaps that may have facilitated the discussion but I have my doubts. For one, some delegates seemed prepared right out of the gate to set the negotiating bar at zero when it came to the question of adding more seats for now more populous Itu’au and Tuala-uta districts.

It was a negotiating tactic anyone with two eyes and a brain saw coming a mile away.

Their argument was that a lot of representatives and senators from other counties reside in those two districts so the nstituents of Itu’au and Tuala-uta are represented in the legislature by them as well. That actually makes for the worst of both worlds.

In American Samoa, we have legislators who reside in districts they don’t owe their loyalties to, while supposedly representing the interests and concerns of the very districts they were elected from but don’t even reside in. There is a reason why there’s a residency requirement for both the voter and legislator everywhere else in the democratic world.

Let me put our reapportionment dilemma in another way: If we take all of the district/ county names out of the equation for just a minute, marrying up the number of representatives with the demographics of our current population would be nothing more than a routine paper drill. That’s just a matter of fact.

Feudalism, protecting one’s turf, even expanding it... that’s what’s getting in the way of fixing the imbalance of representation in the Fono. What I saw in full display from the beginning to the end of this whole conventional affair was fear, not love or respect. Fear of losing power, fear of losing prestige, fear of offending those with both.

But where I have found true love and respect of, by and for our people was from the average voter.

During the referendum, they once again demonstrated that they neither trust our leaders with more power or independence from federal oversight... nor are they willing to arbitrarily add more seats to the legislature for reasons too expensive to count.

The Fono Needs Serious Reform

Do you know what will do more for Manu'a than having the entire ASG Cabinet go out there, do site visits and hold meetings? Five senators. Do you know what would do more for Tuala-uta than having their two representatives beg for sit-downs with the governor to discuss their issues? Eight representatives. The last number there is based on back-of-the-envelope math using 2010 population figures.

But the needed increase in the number of Senators for the Manu'a District means nothing if it's not equal to its sister districts. In other words, increasing from 3 to 5 senators for Manu'a still does not put it on par with the Western (6 senators) and Eastern (9 senators) districts in a body originally meant to give all districts an equal voice. And the last time I checked, there were 5 counties in each.

Unfortunately for Manu’a, Reynolds v. Sims (1964) served as the impetus for the 1966 A.S. Constitutional Convention to reapportion senate seats based on population numbers right along with the House of Representatives. It’s worth reiterating that because since then, efforts to alter the makeup of the Senate have not been based on numbers or any other objective, fair standard. Rather they’ve been based on the perceived political weight of the political players of the day as was the case during the 2010 A.S. Constitutional Convention and the failed legislative effort in the Fono to add seats for Manu’a back in 2016.

I understand village and district pride and trying to bolster our respective standings, but not at another’s expense. As we saw in 2010 and 2016, both efforts to right the ship for Manu’a got defeated because other constituencies tried to add seats for themselves as well. The bottom line is that the people are not going to approve arbitrary across-board increases in Fono membership. We can’t afford all their pay and allowances anyway.

But if we were following Reynolds v. Sims to the letter today, Tuala-uta would have the most senators and representatives. Eight each based on my back-of-the-envelope math. Manu’a would be left with one of each, if that. How’s that fair? That’s why a senate built on equal representation for each district regardless of population is important to ensure sparsely populated constituencies, like Manu’a, have the same stake in local governance as those who outnumber them by the thousands.

The House, on the other hand, is meant to directly reflect the make-up of the territory's population, where counties with more people are supposed to have more representation than counties with less. And it just amazes me that in a territory that's historically aligned with the Democrat Party that this injustice of misrepresentation in the Fono has gone on for so long, not to mention without attracting any national, mainstream media attention.

Obviously we haven’t been following Reynolds v. Sims since 1967, and we can afford not to, because of our current political status/ relationship with the United States. Because if we were incorporated in any meaningful way, lawsuits would be forthcoming on this issue alone.

Restoring balance in the Fono in a way that’s equitable, objective and fair, would require some constituencies to lose the political advantages they’ve enjoyed for the last six decades due to our past/ current inability or unwillingness to revisit this issue every 5 years as required by our constitution, with or without a constitutional convention.

The ability to govern above parochial interests and do what is right for the good of all of our people as a whole is the standard by which the world judges the ability of a people to govern themselves.

I pray we're able to demonstrate that come next year's constitutional convention.

In No Mood for Moody’s Bias

After reading Samoa News' March 30th 2021 article concerning Moody’s latest rating for American Samoa, I can’t help but want to crumble up their report and throw it in the trash. Because if this is the credit rating we got as a territory, surely the federal government got it worse. After all, with a US national debt fast approaching 31 trillion dollars, you’d figure that be the case.

Nope.

Instead, Moody gives Uncle Sam its highest rating – an “Aaa”. Now, I got it, comparing the U.S. to American Samoa is like comparing a house to a pebble. In terms of land, resources, capital… blah, blah, blah… we all know the ASG doesn’t belong in the same ring. But in terms of fiscal management and responsibility – either Moody’s is blind or they just choose to look the other way.

Volumes can be written on all the instances where there has and continues to be waste and abuse in the federal government – legal or otherwise. And I’m not even talking about politically sensitive programs. What boils my blood the most is crony capitalism, and the federal budget is rife with loophole after loophole and special favors that largely benefit the wealthy and well-connected.

In my humble opinion, whatever our problems may be, they are ten-times-to-the-power-of-ten-times worse when you look at Uncle Sam’s prolific spending ways.

There has been a lot of talk, as of late, about self-determination and our political status with the United States since the 2020 elections. Concerns have largely centered on protecting the fa’a-Samoa, our way of life.

More of a danger to our fa’a-Samoa, however, than a problematic political relationship (perceived or real), is a local government that fails. Especially one with a culture as interwoven with it as our own.

Probably best we un-crumble that Moody’s report and take to heart what it has to say.

Samoa mo Samoa

There is no doubt that government under both the Naval Administration and the Department of Interior has catapulted our small islands, with relatively little natural resources to exploit, into the 21st century. Since the U.S. flag was raised here on April 17 1900, we went from largely fishing and boat building communities to become a mini-city of sorts, fashioned in the image of Honolulu herself.

Establishing local government amongst our people has been no easy task, and for a long time, we looked outside for the expertise we knew we needed to get the job done. Whether it was our own sons and daughters coming back home after receiving education and/or experience from abroad or from folks of non-Samoan descent who had just as much love for our country as we do. Today, we’ve gotten to the point where we can largely self-develop talent within our own shores - to the best extent possible - before looking outside for help.

This progress has been guided by our unofficial motto, "Samoa mo Samoa". A philosophy (with its roots in the Mau Movement) that is less about race and more about ensuring that the treasure of our culture survives.

I am an afatasi, and I am proud of both my Samoan and Palagi heritages. But I can tell you that I am especially proud to see Samoans take the lead in any capacity whether private or public sector, here or around the world. So to have our people in charge of entities such as ASTCA, ASPA, DBAS, not to mention the ASG and all of its departments - it's a point of pride that I will never take for granted.

But what happens when our pride starts to overlook merit? What happens when our pride turns a blind eye to corruption and the rule of law? What happens when our pride starts to devolve into political manipulation, where the handing out of jobs looks more like an effort to cement one's legacy rather than being a sincere act of charity?

At the end of the day, the costs of local government is borne by local residents and businesses. Is the bill we hand to them (ourselves really) a fair and reasonable one? More importantly, can that bill compete with our competitors in the region such as Samoa, Tonga and Fiji?

When you have a government that is fair, transparent, equitable and limited to its essential roles and functions, the questions above are relatively easy to answer. And when we are able to answer these questions in a manner for which we can have true pride, the closer we get to achieving a better "Samoa mo Samoa" that's worthy of the name.

People Don't Want to Live in Am. Samoa

If leaders really care about our future, the message they would get out of the 2020 Census is that a lot of people decided they no longer wanted to live in the territory. When you factor in that our population was projected to be 63 thousand last year, we actually lost 14K to net out-migration, not just 6. With a trend like that, Am. Samoa is fast becoming a museum if nothing is done soon.

Rather than admit that we have a problem, leaders are collectively going through the first stage of grief, which is denial. Somehow, some way, the experienced folks at the Census Bureau, who've been doing this since 1790 with proven statistical tools, got it wrong. Unfortunately for the ASG, any attempt to dispute their numbers just comes off as blatantly biased for obvious reasons, no matter how legitimate.

As most of us who have gone through all of the stages of grief at some point in our lives know, the sooner we accept reality and responsibility, the sooner the healing process can begin. A question that may be helpful for our leaders to ask, at that point, is why do people leave never to return and what can they do to attract people to come, stay and raise a family?

To me, it's not always about the money, which is primarily what the ASG is fretting about right now.

For me, it's the little things that count. When schools are closed down because they're condemned as unsanitary, people want to leave. When parents are waiting for hours at LBJ to have their children seen for emergencies, people want to leave. When roads are decrepit, filled with potholes for years on end and flooded every time it pours, people want to leave. When one or two businesses are favored during the procurement process while the rest are hung out to dry, people want to leave. When there are rolling blackouts, polluted drinking water and fire trucks that show up late to the scene because the trucks don't work, people want to leave. When taxes, regulation and an anti-business attitude strangle folks' entrepreneurial spirit, people want to leave.

It pains me to list the above because I hate to knock all the great work that a lot of awesome people in the ASG have done and continue to do for our people every day, I really do. But the truth is that these things are actually not so "little", and our leaders treat them as such. The attitude can sometimes be that we should just be grateful to have a hospital, to have electricity, to have phone service, internet, etc. Stop complaining.

But conservatives like to say that the most damning judgment voters can pass on a governing party is not the one they deliver at the ballot box... but rather the one they demonstrate with their feet when they decide they've had enough and leave.

Our approach in A.S. to providing services critical to a good quality of life has always been one that puts government in the driver's seat rather than the customer. That has always been understandable given our history and geographical constraints. But times have changed and so has technology; we're not condemned to a future where things have to be "just the way it is", and the 2020 Census is telling us it's time to try something new.

Otherwise come 2030, expect to count another 14K off the books.

Self-Rule or Status Quo

In his letter to the editor regarding the Fitisemanu v. United States case, Charles Ala’ilima points to a question we all seem to be thinking but don’t want to ask – do we want to remain as a territory (status quo) or vote for some form of self-rule?

Now some may say that we shouldn’t be having a debate on citizenship to begin with. The plaintiffs should have just left things well alone. I strongly disagree with that assessment.

For one, change is not the sole jurisdiction of the courts. The applicability and scope of the law can change literally overnight these days, whether by an executive order, legislation or even by some popular social movement.

Second, the issue is less about the right to automatic citizenship and more the extent to which the Constitution applies to our territory and the implications that will have on our traditional institutions and way of life. Whether it’s this case or another like it 5, 10 or 50 years from now, do we really want to leave that question out there to be decided by some judge?

If anything, this case brings that issue front and center. We can no longer plead ignorance. Either we take the reins into our own hands and chart the course of our future on our own terms, or… we can continue to roll the dice.

But how? Through some form of semi-independent status? And why would anyone want to do that?

A central government is built on the promise of providing for the common good – unbiased, fair, equal and just. Has the ASG proven itself competent and consistent in delivering on that promise? While better than other municipalities in the U.S., to include the swamp that is D.C., the jury is still very much out on that question.

Why move to become a more sovereign state and give more power to a local government that only serves the interest of the powerful, well-connected and those on the inside track? Why remove a layer of federal oversight that actually serves as a last resort to keep those with the power in check?

Without a proven track record of consistent, good governance that rules above parochial interests, there is little confidence that any kind of sovereignty will be in the interest of all of our people.

So where does that leave us? A guy at the bar who’s just listened to both sides but wants to get back to drinking his beer may say something like: “Hey plaintiffs, you’re right, we’re a territory, constitution’s the supreme law of the land, citizenship, free speech, equal opportunity, all that stuff, you’re right. ASG over here is just asking for a time-out… to figure out what that all means to the stuff that’s important to the both of you. Can you give him a break? Thanks.”

An oversimplification for sure.

While I personally believe that all of our fa’a-Samoa institutions can survive full incorporation of the U.S. Constitution, the truth is there’s no body of work that makes that case. There’s been no vigorous debate, no theoretical underpinnings spelt out on paper, no conventions of leaders and thinkers to put such ideas to scrutiny and to the test.

All we have is a court case.

When we looked to create a legislature of our own and move out from under the purview of the U.S. Navy, great leaders like High Orator Tuiasosopo Mariota I and other giants of his time stepped up to the plate and laid the foundations upon which we all stand today.

One wonders if we will ever see their like again.

Empower Our Fourth Branch of Government

It hurts when we see the name of our family, village, district or country in the news for something bad that has happened. As a person, I know I have to be upfront with myself about the natural bias I have when it comes to my judgment on any of these things as it relates to me. I pray that I have had and always will weigh things objectively and fair; but then again, I am only human.

So to see the name of my beloved district of Tuala-tai in the news because of a string of criminal activities in the county, I’d have to admit, I rather look the other way. For us Samoans, our district names are more than just some boundaries on a map – they point to a larger network of kin who share blood and a common history. It is more of a family than it is a place.

I pray that whoever has knowledge of who assaulted Mrs. Catherine Adler in Taputimu comes forward and notifies the authorities, whether that person is from Taputimu or not. It is the right thing to do.

But this assault on Mrs. Catherine Adler is a culminating point for a number of headlines involving drugs in our territory. Along with the reporting have been cries for our matai and aumaga in our villages to stand up and be counted in the war on drugs. And these calls are not off the mark; a strong, engaged and responsible community has always served as the fourth branch of government that amplifies the public good the other three bring to the table.

But the real question is how can our matai and aumaga fight this war, or any other, plaguing our communities? By what authority? By what framework do they operate within the law to assist law enforcement while at the same time respecting our constitutional rights such as due process? And with what funds could they get the appropriate training they would need?

Without deliberate effort, guidance and resources from the ASG and the public-at-large, trying to enlist our village fono and aumaga in the war on drugs (or any other law enforcement activity for that matter) would do more harm than good.

It goes without saying that calling our traditional, fa’amatai system the “fourth” branch is an injustice, as it was here way before the other three. Perhaps a look to our cherished past and to our roots can help address areas where contemporary government falls short.

Let’s just hope it’s not too late.

ASGERF's Case Should Be Made to the People, Not the Fono

I commend Senator Togiola for his lone vote against the ASGERF funding bill. He’s right, the new administration should “have time to breathe” before being asked to approve something as consequential and as permanent as this bill. But more important than the Governor or Lt. G are the folks who would be impacted the most by this legislation – the very employees who would be required to hand over more of their hard-earned money.

And it’s not just ASG employees; you’re affected here too, Private Sector. Who else do you think is going to pay for the extra percentages the government would be required to kick in to help cover the ASGERF’s unfunded liability?

And to the senator’s point about stretched paychecks…well, he’s right again. I can only imagine the little guy who currently sees a 2% wage tax on his pay stub, now has to watch his 3% employee contribution jump to 5%. Essentially paying an overall tax of 7%.

And for what? Will the increases lead to larger retirement checks in the future for the employee? No, it’s to pay for an unfunded liability that exists today – a deficit that may have had come about because “investment returns dropped”? While there’s always uncertainty in the marketplace, there is also such a thing as bad investment management. ASG employees and taxpayers both deserve to know that the fund is in prudent hands, and that they’re not being asked to pay more because of poor investment decisions.

Now I’aulualo testified that ASEDA repaid ASGERF for the $17 million dollars lent out to ASTCA for the Hawaiki cable. The problem I have is that all three of these alphabet organizations are all part of the same umbrella entity we know as the ASG. It just sounds like a bit of a shell game where the liability just ended up on a different balance sheet, but in-house.

I may be wrong. But between all of these bonds and loans the ASG as a whole has made in the past, don’t we deserve to know how well of a position the government is in paying all of them back before having to cough up more of our money? Obviously, there’s not gonna be any help on that front from the Hawaiki cable until they find a buyer for its 200 gigs of bandwidth.

Good luck.

I am not betting against the ASG out of spite, and I definitely believe that employees should contribute more when they have to.

The problem I have is that there is a history of municipalities across the U.S. (i.e. Chicago, Puerto Rico) who have taken their respective government retirement funds for a ride to pay for other things. It’s that type of mismanagement that resulted in a level of unsustainable debt, which in the case of Puerto Rico, led to their government having to declare bankruptcy.

Like COVID-19, that’s not the type of problem we want arriving on our shores. If this bill is truly worthy of its intent, then all parties involved could afford a month or two making the case to people it will affect the most.

Bye Bye Fono

Over the weekend, an uncle of mine spoke to me about “vafealoa’i” – the relationship of respect between brother and sister, between parents and their children, between the matai of a village, etc. – and its importance to the Fa’asamoa.

Basically he was saying that mutual respect is the glue that holds the whole system together, and that without it, everything pretty much falls apart.

In the same fashion, he says that our republican system of checks and balances is also founded on and held together by a relationship of respect – not just between the three branches of government but also between them and the procedural rules and protocols that define our democratic institutions.

Our discussion was obviously in respect (no pun intended) to the Governor’s action to keep the ASG open using last fiscal year’s dollars by sole virtue of his executive order.

What was clear to the two of us (and we’re betting, to the vast majority of people as well) was that no amount of legal gymnastics on the Governor’s part could reconcile his actions with the public’s understanding of basic civics – that it is the Legislature that approves the expenditure of a specific amount of taxpayer funds, for a specific purpose, for a specific amount of time.

The Governor’s apparent end-around of the Fono was blatant disregard of our democratic norms, and it shows a lack of respect not only for our legislature but also for our people’s understanding of and fidelity to the constitution.

His executive order may be limited in scope today and cover a period of only 15 days, but like they say, when you give someone an inch, they’ll take a mile. The next executive order may be for a month, the next after that, a year.

Soon enough the Fono will be rendered nothing more than a relic of the past.

Righteous Indignation

The letter to the editor by Dr. Toafa (“Bias News?” dated 7/10), aims to taint reporting about the COVID-19 payouts to legislators by suggesting bias in the media, but his arguments rely on really shaky grounds. For one, if media bias were excuse enough to dismiss a controversy, then Trump would definitely be having an easier time in office. It is the deed that is the center of the matter, not the circumstances surrounding its revelation.

But what’s especially weak is his assertion that since both the Executive and Judiciary already have their hands in the cookie jar, the Legislature might as well get in on the action too. To be fair, the author says that all of this sharing between the three branches is okay as long as they spend it within the “specifications authorized under the COVID-19 Stimulus”.

Now whether the COVID-19 payouts to legislators are within such specifications, we'll find out soon enough thanks to Mr. Hueter’s complaint filed with the U.S Treasury.

But whether these payouts to public officials with really no guarantee of accountability or liability are ethical and in line with proper stewardship of taxpayer money is a question for us voters, not regulators at the Treasury. And I submit to you that your standard-issue 5th grader will tell you that the answer to that question is ‘no’.

That is the matter that’s before the court of public opinion. And it is worthy of discussion, debate and even protest… and I’d be quite ashamed of our growth as a self-governing democracy if we didn’t make as much fuss about these payouts as we have… bias or not.

If one needs a guidepost for how government should operate on sound ethical principles, they should look at what Reagan once said of the economy — that it should be a rising tide that lifts all boats.

By that standard, these COVID-19 payouts don’t look to serve the overall public good or our general welfare. Instead, they go on to reflect a government that picks winners and losers, a government run by those on the inside track versus those on the out, a government of the malosi vs. the vaivai.

These COVID-19 payouts may be a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things and the controversy may blow over like every other, but they’re not representative of the type of governance most of us would like to see for our future generations, and they’re an insult to the heritage left to us by those who came before us.

That is not bias, that is righteous indignation.

Impeachable Political Dichotomy

When Trump was elected President, I read a great article where the author mused how an overwhelming pro-Democrat federal bureaucracy would work overtime to limit his powers during his time in office. As a libertarian, I was excited at the prospect of watching an imperial office being stripped of its clothes by the very people who lavished it to near divine reverence during the Obama years.

I don’t have an exhaustive list of references to that point, but I’ve read quite a few liberal articles during that time about how outdated the U.S. Constitution had become and how a more empowered presidency was needed.

Not so much these days with Trump in office.

Now don’t get me wrong, those articles had good points that I hope the country could come together one day to address via a constitutional convention. I like to tell people that there’s always nuggets of wisdom even from unsolicited criticism. But none of their arguments warranted a straight rewrite of the constitution, just to assist the former president achieve his (their) goals.

But it’s not only liberals who are doing back flips on positions they took when the other party held the presidency. It’s a bit amusing, if not sad, to watch Republicans twist themselves into knots explaining why obstruction during the Obama years was necessary and patriotic while obstruction against Trump is not.

If there’s anything impeachable in D.C. these days, it’s all of their flip-flopping, the hypocrisy and the lack of principle. For the rest of America, most of us like to think we can have a decent conversation with one another, debate things on their merits and admit when we’re wrong and move on.

It goes without saying that our country is really diverse. Taking all of the minority ethnicities the U.S. is blessed with out of the picture for a second, and the country is already Balkanized along cultural, religious, economic and regional lines… on paper.

I’d argue, along with many, many others, that a constitution with a light touch, with an emphasis on process rather than delivery and with reverence for the individual rather than government, is what continues to hold this country together.

And if you disagree with that notion, then let’s just agree to disagree.

Fa'a-Samoa and Fa'a-Matai can Survive Citizenship

The recent case in Utah federal courts deciding that persons born on U.S. territory (specifically Am. Samoa in this case) are automatically entitled to citizenship has caused much consternation for all of us who care about the preservation of our culture and traditions. It has also caused a bit of finger-pointing and questioning of intentions from both sides of the issue.

What’s lost in all of the discussion so far is that many, if not all, of our cultural practices and traditions have somewhat equivalent counterparts found throughout the U.S. that pass constitutional scrutiny. If the day were to ever come where we were forced to apply all the tenets of the U.S. Constitution to our great territory, we would have courses of action via a constitutional convention to tailor our customs and practices accordingly.

For example, we can institutionalize our village fono along the lines of the neighborhood boards we find in Oahu or neighborhood councils found in Los Angeles, Tacoma and San Diego. These boards and councils act much like the fono of our villages by working primarily to address issues at the community level. And what is a neighborhood watch other than our version of the aumaga? Retaining family land in the manner we do today through the Fa’amatai system may be a bit trickier, but I don’t see why we couldn’t also tailor it to work according to U.S. trust law. With a trust, grantors (our families) would leave assets (their lands) in the care of a trustee (their chief) to administer and manage as appropriate.

And the hardest issue for us to address, of course, would be our matai titles. To pass constitutional muster, I’d imagine that we would have to remove the hereditary and aristocratic aspects of these institutions in order for them to survive. That would mean making them elective offices that anyone can run for and win election to.

While we would have to make these offices open to anyone, there is no reason why we could not institute non-discriminatory qualifications that will work to ensure candidates/holders have relation to the family name according to our customs and traditions. Such qualifications could include requiring them to live on family land, provide service to the family and village and/or be nominated by one of the family clans. Any person can technically meet any of these conditions regardless of race, color, religion or sex.

All of the above obviously requires more in-depth analysis and comprehensive work to ensure we cover all of the fine print. Luckily, we are blessed with many of Samoa’s sons and daughters who have that legal background. The idea is that once we constitutionalize our cultural practices and traditions, we can further dress them up in all of the Samoan pomp and ceremony we’re accustomed to. That is no different from what we as Americans do with positions in Congress and the White House to all of the branches of the military.

And we would retain all of our Samoan nomenclature of course: we would still call the fono of a village a 'fono' although it would be constitutionally designed as a neighborhood board.

But outside of working to add a Samoan flavor to the U.S. Constitution, much in the same way we have done with Christianity, our only other recourse is to seek independence or redefine our political relationship with the U.S.

Which brings me to the other emotion (other than consternation and finger-pointing) this debate has conjured: fear. Our dependence on the millions we receive in federal funding every year, leaves our fate ultimately up to the mercy of our masters in D.C. The real question in this debate may be how far are we willing to go to fight for our Fa’asamoa and Fa’amatai if it came down to that or putting food on our table?

Ken Schoolland's Economics Presentation Online

In this excellent online presentation, the great economist Ken Schoolland explains why it is wrong for the government to try to redistribute income from the rich to the poor.

“Go For Broke” in Balikatan 2012 (original post May 9, 2012)

The 100^th Battalion, 442^nd Infantry has as their unit patch the torch of liberty. Thomas Jefferson, our 3^rd President, famously said that “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants”. Now, more than ever, the most decorated battalion in United States Army, of which two of its companies call American Samoa home, needs such patriots to replenish her ranks.

Many consider the infantry the last military occupation of choice and in many ways that is understandable. The physical endurance and mental resolve that one must summon in order to complete the training and perform on the job can intimidate even the most daring amongst us. Moreover, being on the front lines quickly brings into focus the sobering reality that “to serve” means that you may have to pay the ultimate sacrifice for your fellow countryman’s freedoms.

But the greatest obstacle that I see keeping our citizens from making such an honorable commitment is an unfounded stigma. Because the Army doesn’t require infantry applicants to score high on the ASVAB, many take that to mean that the intelligence of your standard-issued grunt or the skill set he obtains from his craft is anything but inspirational – let alone useful to pursuing a career outside of the military.   

I have just had the honor of serving with our brothers and sisters from 100^th Battalion during the annual Balikatan war games in the Philippines, held this year from 16 to 27 April. What I witnessed out there was the exact opposite of any misconception one may have of the Infantry. Our men and women (in Bravo, Charlie and 740^th companies) made us proud with their perseverance, commitment to duty, honor, character, courage and wit. 

In each phase of the exercise’s planning and execution and at every echelon of leadership, I was proud to see Samoans stand their ground, being decisive, respectfully ask questions and lead from the front as well follow with loyalty.

It was a visual confirmation that everything that we do in the Army comes down to one mission: readying boots on the ground with rifles in hand to fight and win this nation’s wars. No future technology or advanced weaponry can ever serve as adequate substitution for our Infantrymen. That’s just the bottom line.

If folks out there believe that rocks can do this mission or that the skills and experience one acquires from fulfilling this mission cannot translate into a private sector career, they are truly mistaken.

I got to watch our boys execute the highest doctrinal form of the decision making process in the Army (MDMP) in order to accomplish their mission – and the infantry does the MDMP perhaps more frequently and with more consequence than any other branch. I was blessed to see our infantry commanders and non-commissioned officers translate concepts on paper to actual movements on the ground using their troop leading procedures. Our Soldiers questioned their leaders until the concept of operations was crystal clear and/or refined. And after a long night’s mission, they fought through exhaustion, broken ankles and hairline fractures in order to get through their after action reviews with their uniforms soaked in sweat and boots caked in mud. Then they consolidated their gear, reorganized before pushing through another long night of maneuvers.  

Presidents were born of the infantry. CEOs throughout the country have their roots in and owe their success to the infantry. So do many legislators, lawyers, law enforcement officers, business owners and many other folks in all walks of life. After Balikatan, I now realize why.

We also have many successful citizens and leaders of our own in our great territory who have now retired as Infantrymen and pursued careers in other fields. We don’t have to look beyond our shores for role models who serve as testaments to what a commitment to the Infantry can mean for our volunteers.

As we continue to remember and honor all of Samoa’s sons and daughters who have made the ultimate sacrifice, let us never forget that freedom is not free. That the cause of liberty is worthy of our best and brightest and all that we can give in her defense.

When our boys arrived, formed up and marched in cadence with Samoan verses as the wind carried their tunes throughout the camp, one could not help but hear a whisper, “the Samoans are here”. Our Philippine Army counterparts were as impressed with their physical size as they were with their spiritual hearts, full of our culture carried all the way from home.

They have done an outstanding job, from our cooks to supply sergeants to our grunts. They should be proud of themselves for a job well done.

God Bless America and American Samoa!

“GO FOR BROKE!”

Fa'aSamoa vs US Constitution (original post February 18, 2012)

When Governor Togiola went on board the Costa Deliziosa, he described Samoa as a war faring country. In Malama Meleisea’s Lagaga, the author notes an old proverb which says “E tala tau Toga ae tala tofi Samoa” (Tongan traditions are those of war whereas those of Samoa are about divisions). That saying more accurately describes the history of our proud country as it does today’s politics.

In many ways, our traditional political system did hundreds of years ago what the US Constitution only began to envision when it was adopted in 1787. In terms of governance, the fa’asamoa ensured matters were elaborated, not decided in the Fono. Also, a paramount chief was only but one voice amongst all the heads (matai) of families in a nu’u. We were all about “checks and balances” before anyone even had the chance to coin the term.

The US Constitution and our founding fathers also did not see the purpose of government to act efficiently. The Constitution’s many mechanics were meant to slow down the decision-making process to ensure all sectors of society had input. Consider a majority-based house, state-appointed Senators (until the 17^th amendment), a President and a Judiciary before laws can be made and upheld.

Liberalism’s curse is to deprive us of that great heritage. In the progressive’s view, a government’s level of sophistication depends on its effectiveness or its ability and efficiency to act. Deliberation and following protocol is secondary at best, if at all a concern compared to addressing whatever issue may be at hand.

Despite their disdain for corporations, that is exactly what and how liberals want government to function. They want to streamline the process, cut out the delays in order to meet a deadline. That is contrary to the Constitution, whose primary function is to keep power in check. If an action is held up because the US Senate cannot muster the necessary 60 votes to override a filibuster, then wait it must.

But liberalism has long looked down on our traditions as well as that of the Constitution because of their “inefficiencies”, if you will. Progressives continually long for strong executives to tame the natural disparities of the market and discipline dissenting voices into political obedience.   

We have a lot to be proud of in the development of our political culture as of late from the petitions to the protests. But we have a choice to make. A political system designed to elaborate and debate the issues and require everyone’s input is not meant to manage enterprises such as our hospital, energy, telecommunication, the shipyard, etc. as corporations are meant to.

It’s Not About the Money (original post November 20, 2010)

Capitalism, or a belief in free markets, is not simply about the money, believe it or not. A friend of mine once ridiculed the thousands of fans he saw in attendance at a WWE wrestling match on TV for “wasting their money”. Knowing how religious my friend was, I quipped that they were just as wasteful as the millions of people who attend church every Sunday.

I might as well have been struck by lighting for making that comparison as I never heard the end of it from my church-going buddy (in not so religious terms at times, I might add).  The point I wanted to make to him, though, was that what he considers “wasteful”, another person considers valuable. And what he considers valuable – his church – someone may consider as only adding deadweight to an already dying economy.

The idea is that, in a free market, my friend can’t impose his value judgment on those thousands of WWE fans or vice versa. Neither should the government, whether by dictatorship or majority rule.

We have long heard people explain the things that they do that don’t instantly appear economical with phrases like, “It’s not about the money” or “It makes me feel like I’m a part of something”.

While the glamorous life of a Wall Street exec or a rap star may seem like the epitome of living here on God’s green earth, many people are content and happy with their place in this world – as long as that place (whether it be job, house, the car they drive or whatever) was of their own choosing and efforts.

Let’s Prosecute The Thieves Of The Tsunami

I’ve always been disturbed by the attitudes of government officials who pick on private citizens, businesses and non-profit organizations. They fancy their persecutions as courageous acts of bravery, fighting against invincible villains from whom the public have no protection. What a joke!

Take for example the Attorney General Office’s pledge to prosecute violators of Governor Togiola’s price-gouging law. Is it so courageous to threaten people whose licenses (their very means of living) you can revoke if they don’t do as you say? If the AG’s Office had some real balls, they’d focus 100% of their efforts and resources into prosecuting the real gougers of the tsunami’s aftermath: the thieves who ransacked people’s and businesses’ property in our greatest hour of vulnerability.

That would take real courage right there. Instead of doing what government is supposed to be doing (which is protecting our lives and property), what is the ASG doing now? Picking a fight with the Pago Pago Yacht Club. What cowards.

You know, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned growing up back home is that thugs only respect other thugs. They only pick on people they don’t expect to push back. That’s why the thieves of the tsunami will get away with their crimes while innocent people who live at the mercy of the ASG will continue to suffer under the thumbs of bullies.

Plastic Saves Lives

Have you ever seen that commercial where the setting is in a hospital, and everything made of plastic starts disappearing? The I.V. bags, X-Ray Photos, the bedding patients lie on, etc. After all things plastic have disappeared, the hospital room is bare metal and wood; not a pretty sight at all, especially if you’re an institution charged with saving people’s lives.

As Mr. Kneubuhl acknowledges in his guest editorial dated 8/19/2009, “The Pago Pago Jellyfish”, everything we consume involves the use of plastic in one form or another. Most of our foods are packaged with and preserved by the material. Why? Because plastic’s attributes make that possible.

If another material could do what plastic does at a cheaper price, we would be using it. We use plastic because it’s cheap, very durable and very convenient, and any realistic alternative would have to surpass those qualities if it has any chance of serving as a replacement in the free market.

Nevertheless, it is plastic’s greatest strength (durability) that serves as its greatest weakness in the eyes of the public. It’s not biodegradable (if it were, we wouldn’t be using it the way we do) and it sticks around long enough to cause an eyesore. But that shouldn’t serve as reason to dismiss this product’s blessings, but rather as a point of focus for its proper disposal.

And one can glean as much from the comments on Mr. Kneubuhl’s guest editorial on Samoa News’ website. And I believe Mark would agree with me that as far as plastic being an inherent danger to its human consumers’ health, the science is not settled yet.

But as far as the plastic bag ban being that gentle “prodding” the Chamber of Commerce believes businesses need to do what they think is right, let’s remember how gentle the container inspections at the loading docks were, or the Governor’s ban on 10 year old import vehicles. The first was a boondoggle failure and the latter caused mass confusion with residents (especially for Military Veterans returning home) losing time, money and assets.

Pollution is a problem that involves more than just plastic bags, and their outright ban may have costs that far outweigh the benefits.

Slave Wages?

To compare people who work at low wages to slaves does a great disservice to those who actually live or have lived in real slavery.

A real slave doesn’t get paid anything; he or she is forcibly taken against their own will, beaten and threaten with death if they don’t do as they’re told. Slavery is a real, sad and unfortunate crime committed against individuals to this very day, and no one should make a joke of the term by using it to describe what people working at the canneries are going through.

If anyone is close to being slaves around here, they are businesses. They are being forced to pay wages on a notion other than profit-maximization. That notion is simply the law. And in what ways are businesses compensated by the government for making these payments? None. Right now, businesses are paying for a government welfare program without even a word of thanks!

Slavery is a condition where one is subjected to another. Offering low wages to someone to perform a job doesn’t fall into that category. Wages, high or low, are offered to free men not slaves.

The Spirit of Optimism

A close relative once gave me his perspective of what it means to be the cook for one’s family or village. He said that even if you slaved all day preparing food for the President of the United States, it is the cook, not the President, who gets to eat first. After all, someone has to taste the food before it gets served.

His point of view reminded me of something very unique about the Samoan Culture. Those who practice our culture always seem to have the trait to make lemonade out of lemons. I sometimes want to call it arrogance, but it’s more a combination of unrelenting pride, appreciation of life and a strong dose of optimism.

With the canneries closing, I think we’re missing that sort of inspiration from our leaders. All I hear from the top are numbers and models and mystical multipliers that, even as a self-proclaimed economist, I’m left rather uninspired by anything the ASG or the Congressman has had to offer in the way of solutions so far.

Our leaders are always quick to suggest that we return to our roots when it comes to our economic way of life (which is unrealistic). I very respectfully suggest to our leaders to return to that Samoan spirit of optimism that our people need in these very difficult times.

The departure of COS could either be an opportunity or a loss. Like they say, the choice is ours to make.

It's All A Guess

Businesses need to defend their decisions and not cede public opinion to the politicians or even to pundits, like myself. But seeing that Chicken of the Sea (COS) doesn’t want to justify how its bottom line is better off in Georgia than it is in American Samoa, then I guess someone has to speculate on their behalf.

I’m guessing that paying 200 workers $7.25/hr in Georgia is better than employing 2,172 of our people at $4.76/hr in American Samoa. That actually amounts to $8888.72 of instant savings in labor costs per hour, and that will especially be true if COS can employ less workers to do the same amount and quality of work in Georgia as it does now in the territory.

I’m guessing COS will be able to employ fewer workers to do the same job by investing in more capital (newer technology, methods and machines). It’s textbook economics that as labor costs go up, businesses have the incentive to substitute labor with machines. But as any accountant can tell you, the danger in doing that is that you increase your fixed costs relative to your variable costs. When things go south, you can’t fire machines; you still have to pay for them day in and day out.

I’m also guessing that the relocation to Lyons has a lot to do with its proximity to Atlanta , which is the transportation hub of the South East. Three interstate highways converge in Atlanta , and even Mexican drug cartels have relocated there to take advantage of the infrastructure. So instead of producing in American Samoa and shipping product via sea transportation, they’ll make it and transport it right there in its main marketplace.

I’m guessing there are whole bunch of other reasons that makes COS move more profitable than staying, but I’m not privy to any inside information. Is the minimum wage the sole reason they’re leaving? No. But it sure as hell didn’t help any.

The canneries may not have paid our people what many think are “fair” wages, but do they even get credit for all the indirect benefits they provided our great territory? Interest rates for auto loans are now going up; do the canneries get credit for unintentionally helping to keep them low while they were here?

How about the economies of scale they’ve helped with in transportation costs and electricity or all the supporting businesses that make money from them? Seems to me that the choice is either “fair” wages or nothing, which is not much of a choice at all.

I don’t care whose theory of economics this whole fiasco fits in. The fact is that we have 2000+ workers soon to be out of work, and we’ll trade $22-23 million of paid work for a $20 million welfare check from Uncle Sam (and that’s a Big IF). Our leaders must do something and do something quick.

But Faleomavaega’s rhetoric so far is not helping any. Any potential businesses or investors looking at American Samoa are probably reading his press statements and saying to themselves, “This is how I’m going to be attacked if I open up shop. Best not open up at all.”

How the government plans to attract businesses other than providing for a free market is anyone’s guess at this point.

Force: A Governing Philosophy

I’m very thankful for Mr. Slater’s letter written in response to my diatribe on the House ban on petroleum-based plastic shopping bags. His commentary was less a defense of the House bill than it was an explanation of his beliefs about the role of government, and I’d like to respond as such.

I agree that government should “promote the common good”. It’s even in our Constitution under slightly different terms: To Promote The General Welfare. Actually, I believe the legislature can “promote” anything it wants, but to “force” or “legislate” or “guarantee” goes beyond mere “promotion” and requires the use of the state’s police powers.

That line between promotion and the use of force is a very thin one. There’s a lot of things government would love to promote like lower prices for food, gas, and airline tickets. Government would like for all of us to be in tip-top physical shape and eat only vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Officials would love for us to quit smoking, stop drinking beer and be in bed by 10 o’clock every night. All in the name of the common good of course.

Do not the above causes deserve the use of government force? Is the criteria for determining what are just causes whether they’re too controversial or not?

That sort of criteria is simply called majority rule, and everyone agrees with the majority as long as they’re in the majority. So it begs the question: Where does the majority’s view of what is good for the rest of us end and the rights of the individual begin?

The two concepts are incompatible; on any issue, either majority rule or the sovereignty of the individual triumphs.

But I do not believe that the majority of what the majority “wants” is incompatible with the rights of the individual. Things like a cleaner environment can be addressed while protecting our individual rights to life, liberty and private property.

But the Fono or the ASG doesn’t take that approach. Whatever it wants to do, it just decides to muscle its will with a ban on this and a ban on that. It is that view I will always take issue with, because once that line is crossed, it fast becomes the governing philosophy.

The Ban On Plastic Bags Is A Farce

The House bill to ban plastic shopping bags is a farce as it will do little to protect our environment. After all, plastic shopping bags are not the only things flowing down our streams and choking our oceans. There are also diapers, cans, bottles, cardboard boxes… you name it, it’s there! Is the Chamber of Commerce going to ask the Fono to ban those items as well?

Free marketers always point to property rights as the means of effective environmental protection. People have the incentive to protect and maintain property from which they individually benefit and bear responsibility. And if government owns property, then it should enforce existing laws that protect it before going off on endless environmental crusades.

But I, for one, actually want to see this ban put into practice.

If biodegradable bags are “generally cheaper” than petroleum-based plastic bags as Mr. Robinson claims, then we wouldn’t need this ban to make the switch. We’d do it ourselves in the marketplace. And even if they were a cheaper alternative, I doubt these “environmental” bags are as convenient as their plastic counterparts are to us customers.

An attempt to force businesses and consumers to use something that’s most likely more expensive and less convenient is likely to cause a popular backlash. If that happens, it’d be interesting to see how many House members retain their seats after unanimously imposing something of this nature on their own constituents.

Thanks But No Thanks

It’s a shame that the Fono is looking to allocate money from the ASG’s $20 million loan to buy each District Governor a vehicle.

With all the fuss over ASG pay raises and fears of a further downturn in the economy, one would think that a sham of this nature would be the last thing on the Fono’s agenda.

Senator Utu Abe Malae said earlier this year that the loans made by the Retirement Fund to the ASG were a “great investment” compared to the stock market. But how are vehicles for our District Governors a “great investment” for the Retirement Fund? Or any of the projects funded by the ASG $20 million loan for that matter?

The stock market may be in a nosedive, but at least stock prices eventually reflect all the bad investments, mismanagement, fraud, waste and abuse made in the marketplace. Is there any stock price by which we can judge whether this “great investment” in the ASG is worth anything to us today, tomorrow, or for the life of this loan?

Taxpayers are continually taken for a ride in American Samoa except that they don’t get their own personal limousine to pick them up.

I hope our District Governors do right by their constituents and say to the Fono when they try to allocate them each a vehicle, “Thanks, but No Thanks”

Privatize the Print Shop

If the ASG plans to follow other local governments in the U.S., like Chicago, Illinois or Sandy Springs, Atlanta, in shoring up their budgets by privatizing certain governmental functions, they can start with the ASG Print Shop. If print production in the ASG is anything like its business licensing process, then we should all pray that the next storm does more than just flood the Print Shop building.

The fundamental idea behind outsourcing a function is whether doing so would be cheaper or be of more value than keeping it in house. ASPA based its justification for bringing its trash collection services back in house on its findings that it would save its customers money. But it seems the Fono is being asked to mandate all ASG printing to be done at the Print Shop in an effort to save jobs or maintain that department’s relevance.

Whether it comes to privatization, outsourcing or free trade for that matter, it should never be about saving jobs. It’s whether the customer (in this case, the ASG) has the freedom to choose where to best spend his money. Economically speaking, that often means the cheapest price or the best quality possible.

Seeing that it takes a million years for the ASG to get anything done, we shouldn’t be too hopeful that it will privatize anything anytime soon. But in the case of the Print Shop, the best way for the ASG to privatize that department is to continue to do what it has always done best:

Nothing.

My One Complaint About 'Atlas Shrugged'

Stuart K. Hayashi

Writing this post has become an annual tradition for me. February 2, 2009, marks 104 years to the day of Ayn Rand's birth. Of course, the culture of the 48 contiguous United States associates the date of February 2 with yet another tradition. It is said that, on this day, if a politician crawls out of his hole -- and sees his shadow -- then we will have sixty more years of federal farm subsidies.

As for Miss Rand's magnum opus, I enjoyed every syllable on each of the 1,084 pages of the 1985 paperback edition I read. The prose sparked vivid images that made me feel as if I were gazing upon an exquisite painting.

I was so enthralled by the grandeur of it all that I was quite sad to finish it. It was as if I were a small child again, and summer was coming to an end, and I was parting with a dear friend and playmate whom I would not be able to see again for the rest of the year.

And so I have only one complaint about Atlas Shrugged:


It was too short. :'-)

Everyone's a King

A colleague of mine informed me that the late Malietoa Tanumafili II once said that in Samoa, everyone is a king. I think that the former Head of State of Independent Samoa almost got that right. That’s because if everyone is a king, then no one really is.

I believe every man is king of himself and his property, and he is not a subject of another man or of a majority of men. If every man is a king in that respect, I believe Malietoa would have been even more correct to say that in Samoa, every man is free.

God bless America and American Samoa!

Who Will Mow My Lawn?

When I have a discussion with supporters of the minimum wage law, I start by asking whether they would pay $7 an hour for someone to cut their lawn. Most are caught off guard by my question. I guess that when it comes to their support of the minimum wage, they are thinking of someone else paying it and not themselves.

When they have figured out that I’ve put them on the spot to assume some responsibility for their beliefs, most are quick to defend themselves by saying, “Yes, I would pay $7 an hour for someone to mow my grass!”

I realize that their answer is most likely a knee jerk reaction made in self-defense, so I come back with another argument of minimum wage supporters and ask, “But how can someone live off of $7 an hour? Why not pay your worker $8, $9 or $15 an hour? Surely they can pay their bills if you pay him at least $10 or more.” Usually, by this time, I get the answer, “Well, if I have to pay that much, I might as well cut my own grass.”

Just for kicks and giggles, I ask supporters, “What if someone came to you and offered to cut your grass for less than the minimum wage? Would you pay him, because, you know, that would technically be against the law?”

We are seeing that the minimum wage reduces employment and raises costs for everyone, because the only way wages can go up without those side-effects is by increasing productivity. Any leader who is truly concerned about lifting the standards of living for our people would focus public policy on making that happen.

But blaming the disasters of the minimum wage on corporate greed and threatening the canneries’ federal incentives as Faleomavaega is doing won’t help us address a long term problem. Especially for those who we want to hire to mow our lawns.

Who is the Fono Kidding?

Now that lawmakers can claim their office expense allowances as taxable income, Senator Moliga believes “we can see some additional revenue going to the government”. But all they are doing under the new law is reducing their costs to us taxpayers, and that’s if they choose to do so.

If cutting its own costs is the Fono’s definition of generating new revenues, then all anyone has to do to get rich in this life is not spend any money at all.

Revenue is the result of producing something and then selling that product to somebody else. But what does the Fono produce that helps our economy grow? Legislation? Toilet paper adds more value to the economy than the paper many of their laws are written on.

If the Fono wants to help the ASG generate real new revenue, it can help by easing the burden on the producers of our society: business owners, employers, investors, employees, farmers and so on. Reduce their taxes, remove unnecessary red tape, and don’t compete with them using their own tax dollars.

Until then, the Fono shouldn’t pretend it’s doing anyone any favors by taxing its own allowances.

Let's Just Ban Life

Did you know that there were 21,634 alcohol-induced deaths in the U.S. in 2005? Also in 2005, there were 27,472 vehicle fatalities in the country. If you like to swim, keep in mind that 3,582 people died in 2005 alone from swimming. And don’t play with fireworks, 11 people died from such dangerous products in 2006.

Actually, if you’re alive and reading this, you have a 100% chance of dying one day. With a statistic like that, the Fono should ban people from even living at all.

Monday’s letter to the editor by an anonymous writer, titled "Secondhand Smoke is Lethal” refers to a 1993 EPA report that declared environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) a dangerous carcinogen.

Robert Levy of the Cato Institute writes that in July of 1998, “federal judge William L. Osteen lambasted the EPA for ‘cherry picking’ the data, excluding studies that ‘demonstrated no association between ETS and cancer,’ and withholding ‘significant portions of its findings and reasoning in striving to confirm its a priori hypothesis.

Both ‘the record and EPA’s explanation,’ concluded the court, ‘make it clear that using standard methodology, EPA could not produce statistically significant results.’

Despite Mr. Levy’s findings, I’m not debating the dangers of second-hand smoking. I’m defending our individual right to engage in such a risk. In my opinion, life is just not worth living if there were no risks to take at all.

Money: More Than a Piece of Paper

The origin and role of money in the economy is one of the most important lessons we need to learn. A lack of proper understanding often leads to public policies that have disastrous consequences such as hyperinflation or just inflation period.

Money, as Adam Smith put it, is a "medium of exchange". Economists Thomas Sowell and Alan Greenspan both pointed out that even sea shells were used as a form of money. Mr. Sowell explains in his book, Basic Economics, how cigarettes from Red Cross packages were used as money among prisoners in P.O.W camps during World War II. He notes that the least popular brand of cigarettes circulated as money, while the most popular were smoked.

But what makes money, money? First, people with whom you want to trade with have to want to accept it. "Want" being the key word here. If there is ever a mass consensus that the US dollar, for example, is useless, there is little government can do to force people to accept it. That will be especially true on the international market and with foreign governments who hold the Dollar as reserves.

Any form of money has to be tied to what people consider valuable. For Europeans, it was gold; for Samoans, it was the ie toga. Gold, as Mr. Greenspan puts it, has both artistic and functional uses. The ie toga represents honor, history and pride to the Samoan.

The other aspect of money is that it is limited. If there is more gold coins or paper bills or ie togas floating around than there are goods and services in the economy, prices will go up.

The point I want to make is money is whatever most people find valuable and will accept as payment for their property; is limited in supply and ideally represents the amount of products and services being demanded and supplied in an economy.

When we ignore the nature, origin and role of money in an economy is when we start getting into some serious trouble.

Thank You Asian Businesses

If every business in American Samoa were Samoan owned, do you know what we would think when any store closed its doors? Most of us would rightly conclude that the enterprise just wasn't any good. It either was in the wrong market, didn't satisfy its customers, couldn't control or account for its costs, couldn't collect on its 'aitalafu', couldn't keep and nurture an effective and educated workforce, or any combination of these and other factors that hurt their bottom line.

But Jim Brittle's letter to the editor, "Facing Reality", asks us to ignore these fundamentals and encourages us to blame business failure simply on Asian businesses.

The fact that competitors in our somewhat free market are of a different race trumps all other considerations as to why a Samoan store owner can or cannot keep his doors open? Mr. Brittle does point to greed, corruption and consumer preference for lower prices (surprise, surprise) as well, but he doesn't explain those points in further detail.

There is no other conclusion one can make from his letter other than that Samoan businesses are failing because of Asian immigrants, and that's it. That sort of reasoning relies on racial phobia, and it is not only an insult to our Asian brothers and sisters but it does a complete disservice to the Samoan community as well.

Samoans can make it in this world. We don't need to be sheltered from competition; we need to learn from the competition. For that, I thank the Asian business community.

Individual vs. the Collective

Savaii P. Amitoelau's guest editorial titled "Faasamoa and Democracy" explains in detail why the Senate's ban on campaign signs wouldn't last a day in court. Sometimes I wonder if our esteemed leaders in the Fono have even read our constitutions, which they swore to uphold and protect. Nevertheless, his editorial touched on a subject that rightly concerns a lot of us, and that is the conflict between individualism and the Samoan culture.

Contrary to popular belief, individualism is not about valuing the individual above everything else. It's not about glorifying or putting the individual before everybody in the world. Individualism is not a question of value; it is a matter of an objective right. You, as an individual, exist and have natural rights that derive from your existence.

Society, on the other hand, doesn't exist in the sense that it's an actual observable object. There is no person by the name of "Society" with whom you or I can talk to. Society has no head, no heart, no blood flowing through the veins.

What people are referring to when they talk about society are different organizations of individuals such as families, villages, churches, schools, businesses, football teams, rugby teams, volleyball teams, etc. "Society" is thus a term that encompasses organizations of individuals. So without the individual, there is no society.

Individuals come together to form these organizations because they get value out of doing so. One finds love, support and guidance in a caring family. In church, a believer joins others in song, praise, worship and prayer. Individuals work together in pursuit of making money in business. In charities, individuals find value in helping other individuals.

When we talk about the eroding of the fa'asamoa or society or our culture, we're talking about the institutions that make them up. If a family doesn't care about their children, if a church bickers more than it worships, if a business incurs losses rather than makes a profit, "society" suffers, our culture erodes.

And what incentive do our institutions have to improve if the attitude is that individuals owe allegiance to them regardless of how crummy the family is, how dysfunctional the church is, or how dissatisfying a business' service or product may be?

Would Coca-Cola be what it is today if the individual did not have the right to choose Pepsi instead? Would the Nintendo Wii be so innovative if it didn't have the Sony Play Station or Microsoft Xbox on its heels? We can find plenty of these comparisons in a free society where individual rights are recognized and protected.

I see individual freedom and rights as the essential building blocks to society. It is more than obligation and duty that most individuals are part of the fa'asamoa; rather, it's the love, pride, tradition, heritage, support, communal relationships and value that we get from it. In my opinion, that is what made our fa'asamoa last so long, and it can only make it stronger.

FCC Petition

If it is Larry Fuss' intention to prevent fraud (as in false advertising by cell phone companies) or to obtain remedy for injury suffered due to fraud, then I agree with him. The proper role of government is to enforce contracts, and as a colleague of mine pointed out, fraud is a premeditated breach of contract. But Mr. Fuss' petition is not about addressing fraud; it is about forcing cell phone companies to apply their domestic long distance rates to American Samoa , which is not the proper role of government.

The only reasons that Mr. Fuss offers up as justification for all of this are that American Samoa is now part of NANP and that the FCC has succeeded in mandating domestic rates on landlines. I would think a lot of factors came into play as to why the FCC left cell phone companies out from their original mandate on domestic rates and as to why cell phone companies are willing to apply their domestic rates to Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands but not to American Samoa.

Are the markets more profitable in those territories compared to our own? Is it because we don't have fiber optic cable? Is it because communication through satellite is cost prohibitive? How do wireless transaction costs compare to landlines? Is it more expensive? Has ASTCA invested in the necessary infrastructure to support the integration of cell phone companies' domestic rate schedule? Are these questions even significant? I'm no telecommunications expert, but I'm inclined to believe that the free market is in the best position to answer these kind of questions.

Mr. Fuss did an excellent job of ripping into my hyperbole where I exaggerated the need for the FCC to investigate radio advertising in American Samoa. I'll take his word that "the cost per listener on radio stations in American Samoa is much lower than that charged on the mainland", although I wished he provided us with some figures or references. The point I was trying to make was that it's pretty much in the "left field" that this kind of stuff is even brought up for discussion in the first place.

Why should businesses have to justify their costs to some bureaucrat in the FCC or to the public before they can price their property?

Opposition to FCC Petition

( Below is my written testimony to the FCC concerning a petition submitted by South Seas Broadcasting Inc. to mandate that cell phone companies apply their domestic long distance rates to American Samoa.)


I'm not going to pretend that I'm a telecommunications expert, but I believe a few basic assumptions apply to market prices of cell phone calls to our territory. I assume the market is open to anyone to provide services. I also assume that one makes the most money by having the largest consumer base as possible. If my assumptions are wrong, please explain to me why.

Competition and the profit motive drive prices down, so why do we have this FCC petition to force cell phone companies to apply domestic rates to our territory?

Is it because we're Americans too? Is that the standard for setting prices? Your ethnicity, race, or nationality?

Is it because cell phone companies and their stockholders are "greedy"? When I think of that word, I imagine savage cavemen with clubs drooling at the mouths over piles of cash. Or fat men slobbering and chomping down on a chicken drumstick laughing all the way to the bank.

Instead, what you're likely to see at cell phone companies are professional men and women working hard and being accountable to their customers. They are fathers, mothers, members of the community. Their stockholders are also likely to be hard working people putting in their life savings through 401k's to earn the highest returns possible for retirement. The word "greedy", however, wipes that all away.

Who knows, maybe our oft-raided ASG Retirement Fund is invested in these companies? Surely, our retirees want the most profitable return as possible on their -­ I'm sorry -­ the Fono's money.

Or is it just perhaps that our markets are different?

I got an idea. An ad rate at KABC-AM in Los Angeles is $1083 for a 30- second spot. Pretty expensive, yeah? But consider this: the population in L.A. is close to 10 million people (2006 est.). That's 0.0001083 cents per potential customer. Let's say radio advertising in American Samoa goes for $100 for a 30-second spot. Pretty cheap compared to L.A.? But for 60,000 potential customers, that's 0.00166667 per potential customer. That's 15 times more than what they're charging in the mainland. That's price-gouging!

If anything, the FCC should look into the pricing practices of radio stations in American Samoa. And why stop there? We're a democracy where the majority rules. Anything and everything is up for a vote. Individual rights don't exist, and you definitely don't have the right to price your property as you see fit.

If the FCC doesn't uphold individual rights then perhaps its license should be revoked.

Economics in 8 1/2 Minutes

This video is entitled "This Is John Galt Speaking..., Pt. 10,", alluding to a speech given by the character John Galt in the novel Atlas Shrugged.

This video is made by "XCowboy2," a.k.a., Richard Gleaves.

You can learn more about economic principles from this video than you can in many college economics classes.

Evil is the Root of Evil

I grew up hearing that “money is the root of all evil.” If only there were no dollar signs, people wouldn’t murder, wouldn’t steal, wouldn’t commit fraud and wouldn’t cheat their way to success. What a lie! If anything, money has made these things easier to do as it has with everyday activities in the marketplace. Whether we have money or not, a stealer will steal and a murderer will murder.

If the notion that money is evil was simply an innocent mistake on the part of its adherents than that “sin” could be forgivable. However, it appears some push this baseless slogan as a way of disarming people of ownership over their property, over their money. What better way to take what you have not earned than to make those who have earned it feel guilty about owning it in the first place.

You have not stolen anything in the private sector as long as the market is open to anyone who can offer a lower price or better quality. If someone says you charge too much, then please tell that person to open up a shop and show us how to charge a lower price.

Defend your keep that you have earned through an honest day of hard work. To feel guilty for a sin that you have not committed is the greatest evil of them all.

Goodbye Apathy

In The Matrix, Morpheus advised, "Free your mind."

One way to do that is to read an excellent book like this one.

Here is a video made by Casey Smith.

Aside from the satire about scholarships, the film doesn't have much in the way of political-economic commentary. However, it points the viewer toward something full of insight about society.

My One Complaint About 'Atlas Shrugged'

Stuart K. Hayashi

Note: Another version of this previously appeared in The Fiftieth Star. See here. --S.H.


February 2, 2007, marks 102 years to the day of Ayn Rand's birth. That day of the month is of particular importance in American culture because, every February 2, if a politician crawls out of his hole and sees his shadow, we will have 60 more years of the welfare state.

As for Miss Rand's magnum opus, I enjoyed every syllable on each of the 1,087 pages of the paperback edition I read. The prose sparked vivid images that made me feel as if I were gazing upon an exquisite painting.

I was so enthralled by the grandeur of it all that I was quite sad to see it eventually come to an end.

And so I have only one complaint about Atlas Shrugged:

It was too short.

Testimonty to DOT on Hawaiian Airline Petition

****Docket number for this case is OST-2006-25612. ****

I ask that the DOT rule in favor of the HAL petition on the basis that this department must reaffirm the institution of property rights. HAL owns its planes and hires its employees without subsidy from the ASG, and it has the right to charge what it wants for its investment into the capital and labor that makes aviation to a remote location like American Samoa possible.

This is the foundation of free enterprise: The expectation of a company to reap the full rewards for the property that they build over time and despite risk drives people to venture into the unknown. Without this motivation, people would not have invented computers, air conditioners, washers/dryers, and all the other countless inventions that have saved us from the backbreaking labor of the past.

However, Governor Togiola’s executive order only serves to reinforce the idea that government can and should dictate the price mechanism of the free market. That if only enough constituents disagree or feel injured from the market price that government through democracy could vote the market price down. In my opinion, this is no different from a dictator ordering prices down upon whim.

We know what is really causing high airfares. US Cabotage laws that prohibit foreign competition, ASG excise taxes on fuel and overtime payments to ASG Customs and Immigration officials.

Instead of focusing its efforts on these issues, the local government thinks that attacking a private company with baseless rhetoric such as “predatory profits” and “highway robbery” is the best course of action. If the rule of law is not applied in American Samoa, then it will be wild-wild-west style politics that determines who gets to do what and at what price and that the only way to do business in AS is to buy some politician a fautasi boat for his district [in reference to McDonalds of AS buying a fautasi boat for the Governor's traditional district, Sua ma Vaifanua -- not included in original testimony].


NOTE: The U.S. federal government's Department of Transportation has a PDF of the above testimony over here while the DOT's profile of this testimony is here.

Economies of Scale

If you own a business that sells lemonade, you may charge $10 for one cup. Ten dollars, yeah right! Yet you may want to charge that much if you only had one customer, because you need $10 to pay for the lemons, the water, the pitcher, the spoons, the cups and the overhead. Luckily, a lot of people like lemonade that you can spread your costs on more than one consumer.

You understand that although you have the right to charge $10 for each cup of lemonade you make, you can make more money selling 100 cups for $1 a cup than one cup for $10. Plus, if you could get away with selling a cup of lemonade for $10 than I might just open a stand to undercut your ridiculous price. This is how the profit-motive and open competition set real, fair and moral prices in the marketplace.

What if there is a lemon celebration held one month out of the year? Obviously, you would expect to have more customers for that month, but you know that after the celebration, it will be business as usual. The rise in demand is only temporary, so instead of wasting money on buying more pitchers and spoons and opening more stands, it’s better to just raise the price. The last thing you want to do is buy more capital that you will not use after interest in lemons goes away. Unused capital just adds to the overhead.

But what if interest in lemons continues beyond that one month out of the year? Now you have the potential to sell more than 100 cups. By analyzing the market enough, you find that you can sell 1000 cups for $0.50 (50 cents) a cup. So you figure you can only produce a 1000 cups of lemonade by buying more pitchers and spoons and opening more stands. You make more money selling 1000 cups for $0.50 each than 100 cups for $1 each.

This proven economic model explains a couple of things for us. Peak times, like summertime for air travel or hurricane seasons for batteries, are only temporary rises in demand in those markets. Businesses know their markets enough to know when demand is temporary and when it is not. Like with the lemonade owner, businesses are not stupid to buy more capital in an attempt to meet a demand that will just disappear in no time.

Therefore, a higher demand in the short-run raises prices while a higher demand in the long-run lowers prices when there is an economies of scale, which is the lowering of average costs over more units sold.

Economies of scale also explains why Hawaiian Airlines charges different prices between different ports. There are more people traveling between Honolulu and California than there are between Honolulu and American Samoa. Thus, HAL profits more from its lower priced tickets to California than its higher priced tickets to American Samoa.

Yet HAL needs a competitor. But after deregulation of the US airline industry, spoiled American companies have not been able to adapt to life without welfare support. American Samoa is going to need a foreign competitor servicing its people, but we’re going to need a declaration of independence from US cabotage laws and the Jones Act that prohibit such competition.

Where is Togiola, Faleomavaega and Moliga on the Jones Act? If they can’t get us an exemption, then we should lay the blame for the high prices of our roundtrip tickets where it belongs -- at the feet of big government.

Blue Sky: the Sacrificial Lamb

I admit that my last letter (BYE BYE BLUE SKY) was overtly sarcastic, but everyone concerned should rest assured that the target of my sarcasm was not Blue Sky Corporation but the ASG. Thanks to Nancy (MISSED THE POINT) for helping to clarify, but I think it’s necessary to state more directly the essence of my last letter.

The $10 million LBJ loan puts Blue Sky at precarious odds with public sentiment. Public employees’ retirement checks are at stake. In the minds of many people, Blue Sky is not only an “enemy” of ASTCA, but also of LBJ and retirees. And all Blue Sky wants to do is make an honest buck servicing telecommunication consumers.

Government intervention, elaborate schemes and their plotters have gone too far this time around.

ASTCA has to beat $10 million plus 8% interest out of Blue Sky. ASTCA can do so in one of two ways: the moral way or the immoral way.

First, the moral way: Through its own efforts, ingenuity, creativity, productivity, efficiency and reliability lower its own costs and provide superior customer service, cooler products and lower prices.

The immoral way: Whine for federal and local funds and taxes to pay for their costs, borrow tax money from other government programs, use tax money to advertise, and/or lobby the ASG to do something about Blue Sky Corporation.

And the ASG has options: price controls, quotas, and meaningless regulations and licensing requirements. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re sharpening their pens right this moment. I’m afraid ASTCA will settle for immorality.

My sincere hope is that Blue Sky Corporation continues to do what it does best. I hope they feel no qualms about lowering their prices or providing cooler cell phones or better customer service than ASTCA. I hope they maximize profits so that others would want to compete as well.

My sincere hope is that this whole redistribution scheme blows up in the government’s face. The ASG could have found money for LBJ by selling its government-owned boat (MV Sili for $4 million), selling the Governor’s airplane (Sega’ula for $500,000), not donating our $200,000 for Katrina relief efforts, selling its shares in the Rainmaker Hotel, recalling all its questionable DBAS loans, selling the jungle of a golf course, privatizing all public parks, and resisting increases in Fono allowances.

Instead of making its own sacrifices, the ASG decided to sacrifice Blue Sky.

Bye Bye Blue Sky

Dear Blue Sky,

Thank you for your great service to the people of American Samoa with your cool cell phones, competitive prices and neat promotions. But I like to save the ASG, Governor Togiola and the Fono the trouble and ask you to cease and desist with your operations. To tell you the truth, we don’t want you anymore.

See, with you around, the danger of the ASTCA not repaying the $10 million LBJ loan is great. We do not want to pay for the actual costs of healthcare individually. We want our telecommunication consumers and retirees to pay for it in our elaborate redistribution scheme. American taxpayers are starting to refuse to pick up the tab this time around and are actually demanding accountability. They’re horrible, cruel and mean for doing so, and so it’s time to steal from somebody else.

Living life without being personally financially responsible for the costs of healthcare has been good to us. We don’t have to watch our weight, exercise and eat healthy to avoid such health problems that plague our society today. What is responsibility anyway? Plus, we can't ever imagine giving up spending money on alcohol, cigarettes, SUVs, and other luxuries and pass-time favorites before paying for healthcare ourselves.

Yeah, and we really don’t want to pool our money together because some say we’re just too stupid to account for it on our own. We can’t learn by trial and error, and market incentives and economic principles don’t apply in our territory. Some people also suggest charity, but who really does that? Our politicians don’t do it, but they sure are pretty generous with other people’s money.

No one really cares to help his or her neighbor voluntarily and everyone should be spared from the embarrassment of asking for a helping hand. Hell, we even made it illegal to stand alongside the road and ask for money.

Nope, people should be forced to give because their property doesn’t belong to them. You have no right to your property. It belongs to the good of society and to the will of the majority.

If it wasn’t for that damn constitution, we could vote your competitive business off our island tomorrow. As a result, we’re going to have to work around it.

If you start to lower prices to attract more customers away from your government competitor, we will pass a law to set fair market prices for you and your customers. If that doesn’t work, and consumers still freely choose your company over the government, we will vote in a quota system and limit the number of cell phones you can sell. If you’re still around, we’ll bury you underneath a 1000 pages worth of regulations and complicate your life with ridiculous licensing requirements.

We just can’t thank you enough for being silent on this issue, Blue Sky. It’s easy to sacrifice the lamb when it’s not squealing to stay alive.

Public Employees Profit And So Does The Governor

Officials in the ASG have been spitting out a lot of rhetoric about the evils of profit and money. It’s very typical of politicians to take the moral high ground when it comes to this subject. However, we should always question their integrity whenever they criminalize moneymaking activities.

Togiola says we need a government airline because “airlines are only looking for profit and gain.” So our governor is implying that neither he nor public employees look out for profit and gain, and so travel services are better off in their hands rather than in those of greedy entrepreneurs.

But what does it mean to profit? Profit is the money one makes after paying for his costs. A businessperson profits after he makes enough money to pay his employees, rent, utilities and other expenses. How about public employees and the governor, do they profit in a similar fashion?

It turns out that they do! Public employees and the governor do not work for free nor do they break even. They need to make more money than it costs them to pay for breakfast, drive to work, catch the bus, eat lunch and all the other expenses they incur to complete their work day. What they make in excess of their daily costs is their profit!

And if public employees were not trying to increase their profits, then why do they keep asking for pay raises?

Profit entices entrepreneurs to do things at the lowest cost available. The lower their costs, the higher their profits. Non-profit and government agencies do not have the incentive of lowering costs because they can always raise taxes and do not face competition. Accountability is not sought unless someone kicks them in the butt (FBI, DOI, GAO, etc.).

It is not common for the spirit of charity to be lost on profit seeking individuals. Many successful people and organizations find value in giving away their money to causes they care about. In his book, The Enterprise of Education, James Tooley notes, “The ‘cost per achievement point’ in the private unaided schools (in India) is less than half that in the government schools (in India).” He also goes on to say, “Impressively, the great majority of the (private unaided) schools offer significant number of free places – up to 20 percent – for the poorest students, allocated on the basis claims of need checked informally in the community.”

For-profit schools doing better than public schools and even providing free seats for the poorest of poor. Wow. I bet you won't hear that from a politician.

Togiola should put the blame for the lack of airline competition where it belongs: the Jones Act (Merchant Marine Act of 1920). This federal law prohibits foreign carriers from operating between two U.S. ports, and that is why Hawaiian Airlines is our sole provider. But considering our racism and anti-immigration stance, perhaps foreign airlines shouldn’t even bother with blessing us with their for-profit business.