ABOUT 30 years ago, Marianas Variety published a letter to the editor from an educated, concerned citizen from the states who predicted that â25 years from now,â there would be âbumper-to-bumper âkids with no landâ and 250,000 aliens living here.â Twenty-five years later, there were about 12,000 guest workers in the CNMI. Today, what with all the business closures and/or downsizing that are occurring since last year, the number could be about 9,000, and is likely to decrease further if the economy continues to sink. As for public land for local residents â it is still available, but because the economy is down, the government is not collecting enough revenue so there is little to no funding for the required homestead infrastructure.