6
Insights
Want to help our economy ? Buy local this Christmas
Everyone on my Christmas list is
getting gifts purchased locally this year .
Sure , it ’ s easier to just dive into your computer and with a few clicks of the mouse order exactly what you want to give everyone on your Santa ’ s list , probably at cheaper prices , and have the U . S . Post Office or Fed-Ex deliver them here . So , what if you have to wait in line for over an hour at the post office . It ’ s worth it , right , to save a few bucks ?
No . Stop thinking that way . It is not worth it . People on Guam need their jobs back . They need income . To buy food . Clothing . Christmas presents . When you order online from off-island companies , that money zips across fiber-optic transmission lines from your bank account to some offisland cyberspace , instead of finding its way into someone ’ s paycheck here .
Jeff Bezos doesn ’ t need your money . Someone here who had a job as a sales clerk or a server needs you to spend your hard-earned dollars on Guam so they can get their job back and buy food and Christmas presents for their family .
If local stores and restaurants are open , even at 50 percent capacity or for take-out , all it takes on your part is to get into your car , put on a mask , and socially distance while you spend money that will benefit all of us in the long run , instead of pouring more money into the wallets of Walmart or Target shareholders .
Forbes . com predicts that , according to Big Four accounting firm Deloitte and the national market research firm Forrester , “ This will be the year when online shopping explodes .”
Jeff Bezos doesn ’ t need your money . Someone here who had a job as a sales clerk or a server needs you to spend your hard-earned dollars on Guam so they can get their job back and buy food and Christmas presents for their family .
“ Off the charts ” is one of the subheads in a Forbes article about online purchases dated Sept . 27 , 2020 . The article quotes Deloitte as predicting e-commerce holiday retail sales “ will grow between 25 percent to 35 percent from November through January .”
But we don ’ t have to contribute to that growth , unless of course you are buying online from local merchants . For example , at its annual December meeting , the Guam Women ’ s Chamber of Commerce is having a holiday promotion whereby members can advertise their products through a links page . Members can go online to order products from other members and local merchants .
When Guam residents do spend money off island via the internet , even trying to recoup some of those dollars in the form of an internet sales tax is a sticky issue . An internet sales tax has been proposed several times , however , there was such an uproar that you would ’ ve thought someone was calling for a ban on the internet itself .
One of the arguments is that because Guam is so small , online retailers won ’ t want to add the infrastructure to tax goods sent to the island at the point of sale . Some say large mainland retailers will just decide not to ship here . However , if you have a drop-down menu where you input your state and it automatically adds the sales tax for that state , it could not be that difficult to add Guam to the program . We are not a foreign entity . So , I don ’ t think that particular argument holds water any longer .
The bottom line here is that we can ’ t have our cake and eat it too . We can ’ t complain about our economy not opening up , and then when stores do open for business , we still buy from Amazon .
There is a meme going around on Facebook that says , “ When you buy from a small business , you are not helping a CEO buy a third vacation home . You are helping a little girl get dance lessons , a little boy get his team jersey , a mom put food on the table , a dad pay a mortgage or a student pay for college .”
So this holiday season , please wear a mask , practice social distancing , don ’ t gather in large groups for holiday meals ( I know this is difficult , but it ’ s just for this year ), and keep your money circulating here on our beautiful island : buy gift certificates from restaurants for take-out ( or dine-in when we can do that again ), from massage shops for massages , from salons for manicures , pedicures , haircuts , etc . Buy clothing and gifts from local shops .
They ’ re out there , just waiting for you . Buy local !
Jayne Flores is the director of the Bureau of Women ’ s Affairs . Contact her at jayneflores59 @ gmail . com . rom the comment box
Unless Guam ’ s risk score drops , forget about your holiday parties
Forget lowering the score with the breakouts in the construction barracks and at DOC . Never mind that most of us aren ’ t even affected by that .
— Hoyt N Sonya Whetsone
Nobody respects the tyrant or her tantrums anymore . Your legal power has been diminished and most are in full on lawsuits against your dictator illegal rules and closures .
— John Gallo
It will be different if her Covid-19 policies are effective and making a difference but they ’ re flawed and the numbers of positive cases continue to rise . So what ’ s the difference if people party or not ? The numbers are going to continue to rise anyway .
— Songe Guam
Just release all the refunds before Christmas and we are fine .
— Reggie D . Milallos
Covid clusters prompt construction moratorium on Guam
Here is a free advice . We are nine months into the pandemic so they should know how to “ contact trace ” and know how to selectively dissect out the true positives . Using a “ shotgun ” method is rudimentary and harms the entire industry . I suggest selective dissection with quick contact tracing but not a blanket shutdown .
Contact tracing is when public health asks each person with Covid-19 about people with whom they ’ ve recently had close contact . Health department officials then quickly ( usually within 24 hours ) alert people who are close contacts that they may have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus . Officials don ’ t share the name of the person who may have exposed them . This makes the contact tracing process anonymous and confidential .
The sooner health officials can alert close contacts , the lower the risk of the Covid-19 virus spreading further . Lastly , OSHA provides a good link for all construction businesses . So they should follow this to the teeth and it is OSHA Guam who should also be inspecting job sites for compliance .
— Tom Shieh