THIS whole debacle surrounding the revised fiscal year 2007 budget gives me flashbacks of how things were during the first Camacho Administration. The only difference, we have new actors: a new lieutenant governor and some shuffling of political patrons.
And only today does Governor Camacho acknowledge that the current budget is inflated when not too long ago he joined forces with his Republican colleagues and articulated how times of unprecedented prosperity was just in the horizon and that a balanced budget was passed by his party.
In retrospect, I recall while still in college back in Wisconsin, Governor Camacho attacked the 27th Guam Legislature even to the point of dubbing the budget at that time as a “blackmail budget.” If you recall, when Camacho first came into office, he was hard-pressed with a government that was somewhat similar to where we are today.
But in spite of his impudence to deny and say he had nothing to do with a so-called “blackmail budget,” Governor Camacho was the first to dovetail in his State of the Island Address back in 2004 boasting that he was the one who saved the government from financial ruin and collapse and he held the line of spending even after professing his dissociation from what he labeled the “blackmail budget” altogether.
Perhaps the temporary GRT increase from 4 percent-6 percent back then is what got us out of the mess during that time. And while there was much uproar, protest and gripe, we don’t find that today. I wonder why? Have our people all of a sudden become oblivious, or are they just reticent to participate in a process that they just feel puts their opinions and concerns on deaf ear?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been observing very closely these past seven weeks the events that have to do with the administration’s budget submission. It’s a total mess. If it’s not the numbers adding up, then it’s the inability of officials from the Camacho administration to justify the need for fee increases for instance. And think about it, these increases were just proffered for the sake of making it look as if they had a debt elimination plan. But all they did was plan to shove it down the throats of the people as a guise to their initial 5 percent GRT proposal. And where’s the public hearing for these rate increases which almost encompasses all aspects of our lives?
Then you have a phantom executive order which calls for cabinet members’ salary reduction inclusive of the governor and lt. governor. But I guess these days it’s just hype and rhetoric after they cited Guam law prohibiting such a scale back in their salaries.
However, what’s more messed up are senators who linger around outside the Session Hall passing time and playing around for that matter as budget dialogues are ongoing. Where’s our speaker during this whole process? He just goes in, goes out, and then is not seen until later throughout the week. No wonder why motions are passed and then they say not enough people were in the room.
My response to them: stop taking your smoke break, be serious, and stay in the Hall like everyone else. Maybe then, motions wouldn’t be passed if they so say that the majority were not there. I mean, what else can be more important? In Wisconsin, this type of behavior was never seen. There was decorum and respect for public office.
As others are silent, something had to be said about this whole mess. When the democrats were in office, they were pitted, chewed and criticized to the end. In fact, I think some of them even lost because of the bold and tough decisions that had to be made. Yet, today, the same people who were upset seem to be taking it easier because I guess they realize it’s these same people they endorsed who are just the one’s who screwed them to begin with.
So, as we wait out the uncertainty of this revised after revised budget that seems to be going nowhere, I wonder if the governor is ready again to say he was blackmailed. If not, it just goes to show who really is blackmailing the people.

BRANDON BLAS
Tamuning, Guam