PACIFIC ISLANDS REPORT

Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center
With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai‘i

By Joe Murphy

HAGATNA, Guam (January 29) – As the father of six smart, industrious daughters, I can really appreciate the words of wisdom from Nancy Pelosi, the new and acclaimed speaker of the House. She said: "Having five children in six years is the best training in the world for speaker of the House."

But that isn't the subject at hand. I'm a little confused when I read that Guam is going to need at least 20,000 new workers over the next 10 years as we prepare for the arrival of 8,000 Marines, and a few thousand more Air Force and Navy personnel.

Then I read that we've got about 1,000 homeless people, mostly men, who obviously need a job, or at least incentive to get a job.

What gives with that? How do we wind up, on this small island, having so many homeless people? I think it is a great thing that a coalition of concerned groups get together to count the homeless on Guam. But I would think it is a far better thing not to just count them, but to explain the whys and how, and maybe to figure out a way to get them off the streets and into the taxpayer part of the community.

I'm not completely naive when it comes to homeless. When I was a wee lad, 13 or 14 years old, I became homeless myself. It was a conscious decision. I wanted to travel, to see the world, so I took off hitchhiking -- first to New Orleans and the next year out to California. I slept in the back seats of cars in used car lots across the width and breath of America. It wasn't necessarily a good experience. I was hungry and more than a little scared. But at least I can relate to the homeless today.

It is surprising to learn that we have an estimated 744,000 homeless in the United States, supposedly the richest country in the world.

A little more than half of these were living in shelters. A majority of the homeless were single, but about 41 percent were in families.

The sheer numbers lead me to believe there is something drastically wrong with our nation and its policies. One reason Guam has such a high percentage of homeless is the climate. Here you can sleep outside, on the beach or wherever. You can't do much outdoor sleeping, this time of the year, in places like Detroit or Chicago.

What drives people into homelessness? Mainly it is the high cost of housing in comparison with the minimum wage. People, especially young people, simply can't afford to rent housing. That gets into education, as always.

If we really work hard, and get these young people through high school, one that teaches them the work ethic and responsibility, we've got a chance to deal with the homeless. I suspect we aren't teaching our children the right things, or we wouldn't have the problem. There are jobs out there, as evidenced by the Guam expansion. The unemployment rate in the country is at a low level.

I asked my children about the reasons for homelessness on Guam. Some blame it on the culture. Too many young people find themselves in early marriages because of pregnancy, and then can't cope with raising a family on low wages.

Conceivably we could alleviate the problem if we had qualified counselors at the high school level, and if we could somehow force the young people to listen to them.

A recent report from a federal agency says that Guam will see between 20,000 to 30,000 construction jobs created over the next eight to 10 years. That report offered ways for Guam to seek exemptions from federal laws that govern the hiring of temporary workers. Will Chinese workers be allowed to work on our defense bases, for instance?

Another report cited the difference between what is currently paid on Guam and what skilled construction workers receive in the states. Something has got to give. Government laws and rules have to be changed to give the prospective workers from Guam, the CNMI and Micronesia a chance to learn and be hired on Guam in the years ahead.

The Guam Contractors Association, recognizing the problem, will help. They have announced a plan to train local workers in construction skills. That's fine, but I personally think that subsidies from GovGuam and the federal government may be in order to boost this program along.

A vast, largely untapped labor supply exists with our neighbor, the Philippines. They have a surplus of workers, hard workers, from a culture similar to Guam.

Because of the faltering garment industry and falling tourism, there are thousands of unemployed in the Northern Marianas who could be tapped as a work force on a temporary basis. The U.S. government would have to work with the people from the CNMI to make such arrangements.

There are solutions available. Having too much work is a problem most economies would welcome.

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