It's not bad to aim for the big stuff.
And for Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero's administration, part of the plan to go big is to develop an islandwide network of electric vehicle charging stations. The hope is that this will all be paid for by the federal government.
The governor, traveling in the states for the National Governors Association conference, posted her plan Wednesday on social media.
"Behind the wheel for the first time in years! As part of the National Governors Association Infrastructure Summit in Annapolis, we’re getting charged up for the future of electric vehicles. As part of Investment Para Hamyo, my administration is in the process of developing an islandwide charging station plan for electric vehicles," she wrote. The governor posted a photo of her next to a Rivian electric luxury truck, which has a starting price of $67,500.
That is an interesting plan to have but it's also quite out of touch with the everyday Guamanian's day-to-day challenges.
Many on Guam do not have the means to buy an electric vehicle anytime soon. Guam's per-person annual income is just under $20,000. Someone in that income range is not likely to be able to buy an electric car.
Some of the island's car dealers don't even have an electric car for sale right now, even the less pricey ones, which is a reflection of what this community can and cannot afford.
Someday, electric cars will be widely available on the island, but, with the current price tags for some of the more popular electric vehicles around $40,000 or higher, it's not within reach now for many who call Guam home.
We are not asking the administration to shelve that dream. Eventually, with gas prices often being sky-high on Guam, electric cars could gain more traction among budget-conscious consumers when the market offers electric cars that are more affordable and mass-produced.
But, for now, we hope this administration will focus on prioritizing the basics:
• If you think about transportation, the mass transit system's reliability and accessibility - via more routes, stops and frequency - must improve. This will then increase Guamanians' chances of keeping jobs or being hired for jobs even if they can't afford cars of their own.
• Road safety and quality are dismal. Potholes, faded lane markers, few pedestrian crosswalks and missing bike lanes are much more pressing than electric charging stations. Not only would making these concerns a priority be a lifesaving effort, but tackling these issues also would help consumers save on gas and upkeep on the vehicles they have. When roads have fewer potholes, the wear and tear on tires and vehicles, in general, would be less costly.
But apart from the concerns of navigating poorly maintained and unsafe Guam roads to and from homes, to drop off or pick up children at school and go to workplaces, the other big problem right now is the lack of jobs in the private sector.
As many have heard, there were more than 20,000 Guam residents whose jobs were supported by or linked to the tourism industry before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The tourism industry is not going to bounce back as soon as some would like.
There were developments over the past few days that indicate that tourism will be stuck on pause much longer. Concerns over the omicron variant of the coronavirus are growing and putting additional challenges to the travel and tourism industry worldwide. Countries are restricting entry at their borders.
Japan has stopped inbound travel of foreigners because of concerns over the new omicron variant. South Korea is grappling with a worsening COVID-19 crisis just as it was trying to return to normalcy.
The two countries combined were the source of 80% to 90% of Guam's more than 1.6 million tourists a year before the COVID-19 pandemic. We'll be lucky if we end next year with a fraction of the pre-pandemic total.
Back to the point of priorities, it is important to focus on helping the private sector get a boost in hiring people and keeping people employed. Months ago, there was a plan to create or support as many as 5,000 jobs in the private sector. It did not get the priority it needed to take off. Now, a lot of the recent hiring we've seen has been in the government of Guam.
But we all know GovGuam will not be able to sustain all these new hires without continued help from the federal government.
To the point of going big on plans, that's good, too, but it might be better to tackle the ones that could help ease the hardships – right now – of many.
Focusing on these survival issues means being real.
