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American Samoa must look inward for a solution to the new minimum wage law.

Pen Fiatoa
manuatele.net admin
June 22, 2007

About the minimum wage law as it applies to American Samoa, the governor in his May 28th press release stated that he was "extremely disappointed" about the outcome of the new minimum wage law. Was he disappointed about the result of their efforts or was he disappointed about the quality of the efforts to exclude American Samoa from the new law? Governor Togiola thanked some members of Congress who acted on American Samoa's behalf, but unfortunately as reported, the compromised bill side-stepped their efforts. Unfortunately for American Samoa, the leaders in Congress had other priorities; they failed to understand the impact of the increased minimum wage to the fragile American Samoan economy.

The tone of governor Togiola's statement seems to reflect his disapointment on the inability of American Samoa to influence affairs at the national level. His administration, in this case, is not that unique from other state governments' dealing with Washington. There are many examples of state leaders who voiced disagreements with federal decisions that adversly impacted their states. But, because of the special relationship between the Federal government and American Samoa, it's always a question whether this issue for American Samoa was complicated by its special political status. The relationship between the Federal government and the states is something that's continually challenged from time to time, but states have the benefit of numbers on their sides.

This issue should be a good example for American Samoans as they discuss their future political status. It maybe that no matter how important an issue is to American Samoa, the more imminent circumstences in the hall of Congress and the passion of those in power will always dictate how things are done in Washington. Also, this would be a good time for American Samoa to review its procedures for dealing with Federal matters. Who's responsible for addressing American Samoa's interests in Washington anyway? Is it the Congressional Delegate, the Department of Interior, the Governor's liaison, special appointments, or a combination of all the above? I read that several prominent names traveled from American Samoa to Washington to offer a last minute plea. That didn't seem to matter. If their visit didn't sway the power in Washington then, why will their next visit on this same subject be any different?

In his statement, Governor Togiola stated that he hadn't given up and that he was not "discouraged from continuing...for solutions." Is Togiola's administration still pursuing this now, or does his statement refers to a next phase; possibly addressing a future time when a review of the affects of the new law will be scrutinized? How easy would it be the next time around to influence a new Congress and a new president, even if American Samoa can clearly show the damage to its economy, to offer some level of remedy?

While the consensus was unnamious on opposing the new law in American Samoa, opinions were not that one-sided on the national level as reported in the media. On the affects of the new law to the US economy, expert opinions are split. Nevertheless, we all know that in a free market, the goal of companies is to maximize profits, which necessitated many companies to move plants overseas to save money using cheaper labor. Those moves have devastated many small communities across the country. American Samoa will very likely face a similar fate with its largest private employer. If it can happen in DeMoines, it can happen in Satala. The good news is that many of the communities that lost jobs due to foreign competition have recovered, and so will American Samoa recover if the worst ever happen there.

Now a question - are there other avenues available to American Samoa, besides political channels, to stifle the erosion of its private sector calculated as a possible consequence of the new wage law? It seems like American Samoa is taking some good steps in that direction, i.e. the fiber optic proposal and the bond bank scheme. It needs to do more with urgency. American Samoa must strive harder to be a pro-business environment. According to some reports I read, the top five states that lost most jobs were ranked high as pro-worker environments. Those states not only lost jobs to foreign competitions, but they also lost jobs to other states.

In that press release, Governor Togiola's closing line asked employers and employees to "give this concern your earnest and honest thoughts, and then come forward ... and contribute to the solutions we must offer." I'm afraid the governor is still banking his hopes on a Washington, DC, solution. In my humble opinion, the right "solutions" for American Samoa must be steps to create a pro-business environment to attract new businesses and to retain existing ones. After all, those are things that are within its complete control.