I Am not in favor of the relocation of some 20,000 folks along with thousands of workers to aid in the buildup (not that it is going to make a difference). It might be good for those with entrenched business interests and who could care less about the marginalized and the underclass.
It is difficult to believe that the same folks who have depressed wages for so long suddenly have turned over a new leaf and now care about workers’ pay and rights. (We don’t need more money any way even can get. It is how money is expended and resources allocated. Still ban gambling and prostitution. The military can go to Tinian and Saipan for those.)
Having said that, I am in favor of the military coming-and going mode such as the berthing of a nuclear aircraft carrier on its way to somewhere else. I am in favor of missile defense and upgrades to AAFB and Big Navy. “Familiarity breeds contempt” so we need to keep military increases ‘manageable’ to stomach for individuals who are used to a certain level of peace and quiet. (Besides, the military will have a better quality of life in Australia.)
Just look at the increases in rental prices and property price rises just on word of the impending military build-up. (You still need good credit for rural government-backed loans.) When wages have not risen in tandem thanks to the “Committee to Keep Guam Working.” (We don’t really need their charity.) We want them instead to start paying taxes from zero now, to more than zero. We don’t believe in wealth redistribution from the middle-clan to those who don’t need tax relief.
I am, however, in favor of low tax rates on income and investment and higher tax rates on consumption (even if it is regressive). Why? If you make a little, why should you eat or spend a lot? In America where folks think that competition was always the name of the game, people might have forgotten the break-ups of monopolies across industries that unleashed real competition and boosted middle-class growth. Presently, big business is getting bigger. Hence the rash of mergers and acquisitions both nationally and globally which will ultimately lead to higher prices and more inflation.
What can we do? Close ourselves to the world or open with caution? As the South Korean president said after the U.S. and S. Korea signed the FTA, “If we don’t open our markets we will lose. If we open, we might win or lose.”

MATT PHILLIPS
Mangilao, Guam