A plan to raise Guam's standard of living

Islands Business brings attention in this report to a very interesting bill by Guam Sen. Matt Rector (D), the Middle Class Job Creation Act of 2009.

It reports:

For every foreign worker hired, a Guam employer will have to pay US$40,000 in annual fee—a sharp increase from only US$1000 they now pay to the Department of Labor—once a controversial bill that purports to raise government revenue eliminates the H2 programme and gives middle class jobs that pay at least US$30 an hour to local residents, becomes law.

On the face of it, Rector's bill looks like a legislative overshot, designed only to make a rhetorical point.

But then again, maybe not.

The truth is I have to admire Rector for this and I think there's strong merit to it. It is an audacious and challenging move that will force opponents to defend a lower standard of living for Guam.

Rector makes a point that can't be danced around:

Currently Guam's workers earn a third of what their brothers and sisters in Hawaii make when working for the same company, on the same federal contract. This is not fair and it robs our families and our economy of billions of federal dollars a year.

If Guam wages are only a third of the wages paid on Hawaii, then it calls into question prevailing wage issues. Guam is an island, an expensive place to live with a standard of living largely set by government pay rates. The government, federal and island, is the employer of choice. That's where many of the best paying jobs are. Lowering the standard of living for Guam Gov and federal employees is as good as lowering the standard of living of the island.

Business groups are going to hate Rector's bill, but let's put aside the wage issue and just look at the foreign labor aspect of it. By raising the fee, the bill creates a strong disincentive for hiring foreign workers. What is wrong with that?

There are many U.S. workers, citizens and permanent residents, who would jump at the chance to work and live on Guam to help with the military build-up. Why would foreign workers hold any special advantage unless the intent is to pay them less?

Rector argues:

By implementing a $40,000 per year fee for each H2 temporary worker, it will make it more profitable to hire local workers at wages comparable to that of their brothers and sisters doing exactly the same work in Hawaii or elsewhere in the Nation.

He's right, of course. Employers will hire local and if they can't find the people with the right skills, it will still be more cost effective to recruit and tap mainland labor markets to avoid the fee. And an influx of mainland residents may bring other dividends: new permanent residents with the skills that Guam needs to create a stable economic future.

Rector's proposal can't be dismissed. Guam can flood the island with a foreign workforce and pay them miserable wages, or it can try to stake out a progressive approach that also helps to raise the standard of living on the island as well as build a stronger future for itself.

Outsourcing Gov Guam?

I am reading an opinion piece in the Pacific Daily News: Embrace: Outsourcing services is win-win scenario for Guam government

I am at a total loss to understand how PDN arrived at this conclusion that outsourcing will reduce costs. It writes.

Outsourcing provides a win-win scenario for the government. When private companies take over government services, new private-sector jobs are created. This allows GovGuam to reduce personnel costs without adding to the welfare rolls.

Outsourcing can make sense when you move a service, such an information technology department, to a vendor with deep expertise in that area. But it doesn't mean that you are reducing your costs; it's the difference between buying and leasing a car -- you are still making the payments. All that's changed are the ownership terms.

Whatever outsourcing is, it is not a win-win. It doesn't "create" private sector jobs. What it will do here is take well-paid government workers and replace them with workers who may earn lower pay with less benefits. In many cases, the government workers are "re-badged" -- turned into private sector employees; some thrive, some are laid off. The outsourcing firm will be paid its margins. The cost don't disappear and may increase.

An outsourcing firm is also private sector firm is not subject to civil service rules. Think about that one for a minute.

Does Gov Guam really know what is doing? What experience does it have managing outsourcing contracts? Where will get that experience? What are the metrics for measuring costs? How will it define success? What is the projected cost any contract over, let's say, a five year period? And how long should the contract be? What are the terms for getting out of it? What service levels will be set?

How many bidders for contract can Guam reasonably except to get? How will it know it is receiving a competitive deal? (Competitive doesn't mean cheaper).

I really don't mean to be harsh, but instead of acting like a cheerleader on a complex issue, the PDN's editors can best serve it readers -- and the government -- by asking prudent and necessary questions. If these questions aren't asked and answered now, they will be asked by your reporters, especially when the problems surface.

Guam tourism is not facing a crisis

The recent story in the Pacific Daily News about layoffs at DFS is not good news, obviously, but the story suggests this decline in tourism underpinning the layoffs will be longterm. Pessimism always seems the greatest at the onset of a problem, but I don’t think this conclusion is warranted.  

The economic downturn will pass, especially on Guam which will get a big stimulus from the military build-up. Even if Japanese tourism is declining as that population ages, I suspect there’s a lot of untapped interest in Guam.

When I first came to Guam in the mid-1970s, visitors from Japan were the mainstay of Guam’s tourism economy. There were Korean tourists, but not as many as I saw in subsequent visits years later.

Japan is one of the world’s largest economies with a high standard of living and Guam is a relatively short flight. As the Korean economy picked up, more people from that country discovered Guam as a vacation destination.

Present problems aside, the economies in the rest of Asia are expanding and I believe Guam’s potential to draw more vacationers from China, Philippines and elsewhere will only increase.

What’s Guam’s strategy for expanding its ability to draw tourists from other places in Asia?

The big issue is gambling. The DSF layoffs may help convince people to approve a plan to legalize gambling at Guam Greyhound Park, essentially turning it into a giant casino. That will boost tourism and create jobs, no question, but it will also fundamentally change the island by introducing many new ills and problems. It’s amazing how quickly you can loose so much. Little good comes from gambling.

The Japanese tourists have been coming to Guam for decades for its beauty, not gambling. That hasn’t changed. Gambling may increase tourism but it will extract a heavy price as well.

But the person who said it best, was Gov. Felix Camacho. He  is urging voters to vote “no” on this plan. Excerpts from the PDN report:

“I believe with all my heart that this measure, if allowed to pass, will bring nothing but devastation and destruction to our great island, our close-knit community and, most importantly, to our families and future generations,” Camacho said. “Make no mistake about it. Casino gambling will strip our people of the core values of commitment to faith and, to family. Children will be hurt, marriages ruined, homes lost. Our people will be torn apart.”

Guam: Paradise Found

Barron's, the financial news publication, has included Guam on a short-list of great places to live, especially in terms of the cost of housing.

Here's the story kicker: 

Retirement: Bulletproof Your Portfolio -- U.S. territories like Guam and American Samoa may not be high on your list of retirement havens, but they're well worth a look. Finding oceanfront bargains.

Although the story is aimed at people who want to retire, I also believe that Guam, Micronesia and points in Pacific, can be attractive to knowledge workers, people who can work independent of any office. 

As the article points out: 

Guam is also much cheaper than Hawaii, and not as isolated as you might think. Though it is seven hours from Hawaii, good short-haul airlines make it easy to reach Japan, the Philippines or China. The big worry in Guam is weather; the island sits in the western Pacific's typhoon zone. In the past decade, it's been hit by two super-typhoons.

Yes, the typhoons can interrupt work but they are relatively rare and the island is usually quick to recover. But the more important is Guam's proximity to Asian countries, which, in my mind, can make it very attractive to U.S. workers who want to be in relatively close range of Asian time zones.

As a counterpoint to the Barron's article, read Brad Boydston's thoughts on the idea of retiring on Guam. He loves the island, but as a place for retirement?

The Guam primary

The New York Times calls the Guam Democratic primary on May 3rd., the island's "moment in the sun." (Subscription required) This may be true but will it matter?

The NYT reports:

With four delegates up for grabs in caucuses on May 3, Guam is a player in the Democratic primaries for the first time. Though island residents cannot vote in the general election, they can help choose a presidential nominee. In fact, Guamanians need not be registered voters to participate.

This strikes me as a huge opportunity for Guam to draw attention to its political status as well as push Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for changes. The candidates can't campaign for support without responding to local concerns.

Today, Guam is represented in Congress by a non-voting delegate. It is marginalized politically because it has no political power. The Democrat primary is an opportunity for the people of this island to tell the country what Guam is about.

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Note:

Guam is some 14 hours ahead of the East Coast. Which means when it is Saturday, May 3rd at 7 p.m. on Gaum, it will be 5 a.m. on Saturday, May 3rd in Washington. See: Guam Time Converter

Guam and Camping

Updated: May 22, 2018.

I wrote a post on this camping on Guam in 2008.  There was very little information about camping on Guam at that time. But this post continues to get hits because it's something people are interested in.

Since then -- 10 years ago, and how time flies -- more information has appeared about camping, so here's an update.

The good news: Camping on Guam is easy to do. But it might pay to do some additional homework.

The Guam Visitors Bureau has since published the rule on camping and it says this:


"Camping: Except for the historical parks, public parks on Guam are available for camping at any time. Gather your family and friends, pitch a tent, and get ready to enjoy the pleasure of cool evenings and sunny days. Fishing, glass containers, and loud music are prohibited to preserve the comfort of our beaches, but bring on the barbecue. For more information, contact the Department of Parks and Recreation."

That sounds fairly liberal and progressive of Guam.

How does pitch-a-tent-in-any-park works out in practice? I'm not sure. What parks have restrooms? And feel safe?

If you are off island, and want to camp on Guam, it might be worth your time to post a query on the Reddit Guam sub.

People are pretty helpful on this Reddit sub, and queries are basically anonymous. People are always seeking advice about visiting or relocating to Guam.

In you are military, you are in luck. See: Camp out at Andersen's Tarague Beach.

Other resources

Camping and surfing at Gab Gab Beach video. 

A cool drone video of campers at Tagachang Beach.

Information about Tagachang Beach


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What follows is from is from 2008 and what I wrote was boring. But I was in mood, remembering a happy time in my life ...

Among the best memories I have of growing up were the camping trips I took with my parents. We went to Hapgood, part of the Green Mountain National Forest in Peru, Vermont.

It was small campground, perhaps 20 sites as I remember it, a pond and wonderful trails. Camping was a major part of growing up, so it was with some surprise to read that attendance at national parks is in decline.

Reuters: Americans spend less time on nature activities: study.

Excerpt: "The average person in America used to go to the national parks every year. It was the iconic American family vacation.

Now, there are less people doing that," said Patricia Zaradic, a biologist with the Environmental Leadership Program, Delaware Valley, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Here’s an abstract of it at the National Academy of Sciences. After 50 years of steady increase, per capita visits to U.S. National Parks have declined since 1987.

Where do parents take their children today?

Guam has a seamless connection with the outdoors. I lived outdoors, especially when I lived in a house on the island’s south side. The beach, snorkeling, boonie stomping were very important.

Work in Cambodia as a copy editor

I know there are a fair number of Cambodian ex-pats living on Guam. This job that sounds like a wonderful opportunity for someone with copy editing skills. A publication, The Cambodia Daily, is seeking several copy editors. The pay is only $10,000 a year, but it includes a place to live. It's an English language publication.