The largest anchor to economic development on Guam is its government.As its largest and best paying employer, Guams government has a supersize primacy in the islands life and this distorts its choice-making process about its future.
In round numbers, Guams total public and private sector payroll is about 60,000 people; of that number about 15,000 receive government-connected paychecks. Federal employment accounts for about 3,600 of that government number.
The buildups demand for additional services will increase the government payroll but this will come at a price, not in more taxes or regulation, but in a loss of creativity and control about the Guams future.
Guams greatest economic asset is the increasing number of well-educated young men and women who have made a deliberate choice to remain on the island, despite other options.
Those who remain or return to the island may see their choice as a part of a strong commitment to the island. A larger purpose is assigned the choice. These young people arent just thinking about their futures, but the islands future as well and there may be many in this group who appear to oppose the buildup.
To oppose the buildup is to make a statement of faith and self-reliance; it is a bold imagination of possibility. And faith in the possibility of a future apart from the military is more vital than an actual economic plot because without former, the latter is impossible.
Putting aside the issues of the buildups impact on sustainability, environment,what are the alternatives to the buildup?
Analysis of economic alternatives is where all discussions about Guams future seem to fall apart.People cant imagine something other than the military and tourism as a potential economic pillar. But there may be another option.
Guams most underutilized asset may be its communication infrastructure; its a hub for undersea cables and its online communications services, I suspect,are among the best in Oceana.
Guam ability to develop its virtual infrastructure, coupled with its proximity to Asia and time zone advantage (relative to the U.S. mainland), seems to offer some possibility for development of businesses that can provide virtual and regional services.
Developing a different kind of future will take a government that can reckon well beyond a military-dependent future to how it can make a climate that can turn Guam into the Pacifics mini-Silicon Valley.Its hard to see how a government focused on counting the buildup dollars, is anyway capable of providing inspired leadership on this front.
But the raw ingredients for Guams alternatives are there. It starts with a supply of young men and women who have deliberately committed to the island, their home, and by opposing the buildup, are also making a courageous statement about their future. It is no small thing in a place such as Guam to oppose entrenched powers. But as been said for time immemorial, fortune, or in the case, the future, favors the bold.
Read the original here:Guams greatest economic asset
Halo Sobat, Nama Saya Sofyan Syah, Memulai Dunia Blogging Sejak Nov 2011, Meskipun Masih Baru terjun di Dunia Blogging, Saya tidak patah semangat Untuk menjadi Yang terbaik dari yang Terbaik, karena saya yakin, Tidak ada hal yang tidak Mungkin.Buat saya Blogging Is My Life.Senang rasanya jika sobat sudah Berkunjung di blog ini.
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