By Ben Pangelinan
For Variety

DURING the last election, the rallying cry for the Republicans was we are optimists and our glass is half full. All Democrats are pessimists and their glass is half empty. You want an administration that will deliver unprecedented economic growth, it is just around the corner, and we are the ones who can deliver. There is hope and help is on the way. Look at the progress, as they peppered the island with “pardon our progress” signs.
The Republican majority in the Legislature joined in the chorus and sang the praises of the administration. They touted the great cooperation between the Legislature and the governor and the need to stay the course. Vote for us. Biba Guam!
The most prophetic man I met during the campaign last year came up and told me, “Ben, I am a Republican and pardon our progress as we fix the potholes, while our public schools are going to pot.” True then and so much more so today.
The question we need to ask is, how could everything have been so out of focus? Did we just fall for the electioneering rhetoric or were we really believers? Did someone empty the glass when we were not looking or did the emperor really have no clothes? What happened to the glass that was half full?
I hope that this is the question our governor and the Republican majority ask themselves every night before they go to bed and the first thing in the morning when they wake up. Although, judging from the racking up of frequent flyer miles lately, Governor Camacho is back and Lt. Governor Cruz is taking off, it appears that the answer they seem most interested in is when is the next flight out of here. Lt. Gov. Cruz is going to Washington, D.C. Didn’t the governor just return from there? Is there anything the lt. governor could possibly do in Washington, D.C. that the governor could not while he was there; except for performing surgery or attending the National Lt. Governor’s Association Meeting as a lt. governor. Although if we get really creative, we could have had Acting Governor Cruz appoint absent Governor Camacho as acting lt. governor to attend the conference and save the cost of a round trip air fare and per diem. From the savings for the cost of airfare and per diem, the children and teachers at Tamuning Elementary could have their air conditioning repaired.
What is full these days is the governor’s office staffing. Since this administration first came into office, the budget has increased in real dollars every year. What is empty is the allotment releases for the Guam Public School System, GCC and the University of Guam and the pockets of retirees still owed their COLA.
What is full is the budget of around $456 million, plus $25 million is phantom money, carry over lapses from last year which agencies were told, you can have and spend because we did not give to you and you did not spend because we did not have it—for a total budget of about $480 million. What are empty are the Treasury and General Fund of the government of Guam and the promises to the retirees once before the election and the other before Christmas. However, this has not stopped the pay raises and promotions.
What we need is a strong dose of reality check to see if the glass is half full.
Hey—where is the glass?
(Ben Pangelinan is a senator in the 29th Guam Legislature and a former speaker now serving in his seventh term in the Guam Legislature. E-mail comments or suggestions to senbenp@guam.net or ctzenben@ite.net.)