IN the January 7, 2007 Marianas Business Journal, Mr. Paul M. Calvo is quoted in support of ensuring that future economic expansion benefits local citizens and businesses, as well as advocating more “self-determination” (for Guam). Both goals have obvious intrinsic good and Mr. Calvo’s experience, success, and sense of community are deserving of high respect. However, one must consider the idea of “self-determination” in the light of recent eye-opening disclosures showing how bad off GovGuam really is financially.
During the campaign we were supposedly flush, on the up, and with only more good to come. Now there’s a reality check.
First, who knows what the deficit really is? Half a billion, or more than one billion? For the sake of discussion, assume the worst, which appears to be the more realistic number. A one billion dollar deficit is more than twice Guam’s $450 million budget, and almost one third of the island’s entire gross domestic product.
Anyone who truly believes this is not living beyond means and on borrowed time (and money) is naive or simply kidding himself. Put it in perspective: say your household annual budget is $50,000, you cant’ pay your current bills on your take-home pay, you have years worth of old bills you can’t pay, and you owe $100,000 in back taxes. Are you going to go out and borrow your way out of debt? Or are you going to take stock and take on the difficult tasks to turn things around?
Even if you thought more borrowing made any sense at all, who would be foolish enough to loan you the money? But if permitted to do so, GovGuam will do exactly that.
To meet past obligations and pay people money which rightfully belonged to them in the first place, GovGuam wants to borrow $210 million (COLA + EITC), and another $300 million by issuing bonds, again mostly to pay back money that GovGuam should never have helped itself to in the first place. All that money belongs to the people who earned it but the government just took it and now has no means other than borrowing yet more money to give it back to the rightful owners.
I have to admit I’ve lost track of the $100 million or so owed to the Retirement Fund (the retirees) and where that’s going to come from, or where the new landfill money is coming from. Auditor Brooks says GovGuam is already spending money it does not have, but hopes to see in the future from the military build up. I’m not sure just what that means, but it sounds like a bad thing, like another credit card for the debt-ridden household.
Perhaps Auditor Brooks is referring to future transfer payments from the U.S. Treasury, which Guam receives on the basis of taxes paid by military and civilian federal employee stationed on Guam. And yet with all this, with the exception of the efforts of a few senators, it seems like business as usual at the 29th Legislature and Government House.
So back to the notion of self-determination. In the abstract, it has a nice ring to it and imparts the notion of greater responsibility for, and control over, one’s own affairs. Again, an intrinsically good thing. But in actuality, are there any custodians of public trust and finances to whom we should even consider entrusting with yet more responsibility for and control over Guam’s otherwise bright future ?

DAVID LEDGER
Piti, Guam