WeAreGuahan
Economy
Tax Revenue
- Dr. Claret Ruane, a University of Guam economist, has stated that the DEIS inflates the build up’s direct and indirect economic impacts by up to 118%, thus painting a rosier picture than what will probably occur.
- The DEIS fails to say if the projected tax revenues are more than what GovGuam will have to pay to support the 80,000 additional people in 2014.
Standard of Living
- The standard of living on Guam will most likely decrease. Vol. 2, Chapt. 16, p. 53.
Jobs
- About 90% of all jobs associated with the buildup will go to off-island workers or the spouses and children of military personnel. Vol. 2, Chapt. 16, p. 51.
- The DEIS does not address what impact “stay-behind” H2-B workers will have on the availability of construction-related jobs for Guam workers.
- No construction-related jobs are projected to last beyond 2016.
- There will be a decrease in demand for 8,000 jobs in 2015, 11,000 jobs in 2016, and 7,000 jobs in 2017. The DEIS assumes that this will have no impact on the unemployment rate. Vol. 2, Chapt. 16, p. 16-54.
- The inflation of economic data also creates an inflation in the number of jobs that are expected to be created.
Resources
Most of these findings are found in Volume 2, Chapter 16 of the DEIS which is available here.
A copy of Dr. Claret Ruane’s report that the economic information contained in the DEIS is overstated can be found here.
