By Dave Davis
For Variety

THE concerted rush to get out the COLA settlement payments has apparently trumped all other obligations of the Government of Guam, galvanizing the administration and the legislature to all out, unaccustomed and heretofore unseen levels of effort to GET THOSE CHECKS OUT NOW! Too bad we never see that kind of action on things like funding for education, EITC, public health, public safety and income tax refunds — money we lent to GovGuam — some of which are now three or four years overdue.
Having not seen the whole list of COLA beneficiaries, and having not seen the senatorial voting record on the bill that provides huge payouts and tax rebates to those beneficiaries, I’m curious about just how many sitting senators voted for the bill that will benefit them financially. If any exists, it’s an obvious conflict of interest. Notable among elite members of the ‘$100,000 club’ are former Senator Kasperbauer, former Congressman and failed gubernatorial candidate Underwood, and at least two practicing physicians. The longer, complete list of beneficiaries no doubt includes other prominent and equally needy members of our little community.
How long can it be before some knee-jerk political drone introduces legislation to address what he or she sees as ‘inequities’ in the COLA giveaway program—to make sure that, “other provisions of law notwithstanding,” compensation levels are ‘fair’? I know they’d love to divert my taxes toward further socialistic schemes— perhaps a ‘Penalty for Living Assessment,’ or POLA, levied against those who work and pay taxes for the benefit of those who don’t.
A fair number of folks believe that former Senator Aguon’s transparent, eleventh-hour pandering to include a tax rebate provision in the COLA bill cost the UA team the election. I’d like to think that’s true; otherwise, one must assume we’re all apathetic dunces. In any case, it’s likely that the rebate provision will be challenged and overturned as inorganic and unconstitutional. If you’d like to know why, please check the Organic Act requirement for ‘uniform’ application of taxes.
At some point, six months or more down the line, the U.S. Supreme Court will convey its blessing one way or the other on the bond controversy, and COLA settlement payments may, or may not, then materialize.
Meanwhile, learn to live with more doubletalk and lies from George Bamba. It seems that the $23 million earmarked for immediate disbursement has evaporated. We also learned from a local radio talk show interview with Lou Leon Guerrero, former senator and current ‘lead’ Bank of Guam boss, that the vaunted ‘consortium’ to lend GovGuam $123 million for COLA settlement payments, invented by the administration in an attempt to fly beneath the federal debt limit radar, currently exists only in the imaginations of those who used it as a re-election ploy. There exists no consortium, no firm agreement to form one, and there most likely won’t be until after the U.S. Supreme Court speaks.
After all, George may have been referring to 2007 when he promised COLA checks by Christmas. It’s just a misunderstanding — obviously our fault for not paying closer attention.