The government trap

When I graduated from high school in 1990, one of my aunts advised me not to bother going to college. “Work for the government,” she said. “In 20 years, even before you turn 40, you could retire with as much as 80 percent of your total salary. Then you could still work for the private sector, or start your own business, if you wish. Don’t go to college, my boy. Work for the government. We could find you a good job somewhere. Just say the word.”

I never did take that advice. I have never worked for the government.

A few years after my graduation, however, a number of my younger cousins took precisely that advice. Their attitude, almost invariably, was, “Why bother going so far away from home, leaving all of your friends and family behind? Why bother struggling? Why bother working so hard? Work for the government.”

At every Chamorro family gathering you might attend, look around you. Look at the people and ask yourself where they work. You’ll find that almost all of them work for the government in some capacity or another.

The government is the largest single employer in the commonwealth. It has been that way for many years now. It is the island way of life: relax, take it easy, take the easy way out, don’t make life so complicated.

Teen pregnancy? No problem. The government will take care of you. The government will hire you. Regardless of your skills, education and qualifications, don’t worry; the government will always manage to find a place for you.

Well, times have sure changed. The economy is embroiled in the worst recession in our history. The government is practically bankrupt. It has more employees than it will ever need. Many bureaucrats are wildly overpaid. Some high school graduates are reportedly making more than $40,000 a year.

If you took half of our government workers and transplanted them to the United States, most of them would probably be very lucky to earn the minimum wage. We have created a massive bureaucratic class of ill educated, unskilled government workers. People making $35,000 a year under our system of socialistic political patronage might be lucky to earn $7 an hour bagging groceries back in the states.

The drastic changes must come now — now at the moment of our greatest economic crisis. The tradition of big government must be rolled back. The status quo is no longer sustainable.

Yet even now we hesitate. Our congressmen are still reluctant to cut government salaries.

Will we ever learn?