Dear Editor:

In yesterday's paper (Tuesday, Apr. 1) it was the Director of Commerce calling the U.S. Governments OIG report untrue? In today's paper (Wed., Apr. 2) the Governor calls the U.S. Government's GAO study, "a meaningless waste of resources". Wait just a minute.

Anyone who has spent two days here understands that the American Samoa Government has a 35-year-old record and reputation of mismanagement, misuse, waste, fraud and abuse of Federal Grants and finally the Federal Government is questioning these actions. Good for them.

Coming up with lame excuses and playing the “we didn't understand” card evidently won't work anymore as the U.S. tightens its money belt.

The Governor claiming that the next minimum wage increase will destroy our economy seems to me hypocritical. Isn't this the same Governor who a few month's ago was crying about the cost of living rises were unfair to the low income ASG employees and he raised all their wages to a $10,000 minimum? Of course, 95% of these employees are voters while 95% of the private sector employees, who would benefit from a minimum wage increase are non-voting, non residents.

If the U.S. taxpayers had any idea of what has occurred here with federal funding over the years they would most likely tell Congress to cut loose this Territory because it has become "a meaningless waste of resources".

Jim Brittle, voting resident