To the Public:   

This note is for all of us who pay taxes, vote now and then, and try to make ends meet.

You don’t have to be an economist or government official. Maybe you don’t sit in budget hearings. But you can feel it when something’s off.

This is for the people who say:

“I just want to know where the money goes.”

“Who really benefits from all this development?”

We’re not pretending the public is perfect. We get tired. We forget.

But we still care — if someone speaks to us plainly.

This Ledger won’t give all the answers.

But it will ask the questions — over and over — until someone does.

You don’t need a title, a college degree, or lots of money to notice what’s missing. You just need to keep your eyes open and ears alert.

LEDGER ENTRY #1

“What Happens When Our Retirement Fund Becomes a Bank?”

A Quiet Shift with Big Consequences

Most people have never seen the ASG Retirement Fund’s quarterly reports.

They don’t follow investment law. They just hope — when the time comes — the fund will be there.

But lately, something has changed.

Lawmakers are now pushing to remove the legal cap on how much of the Retirement Fund can be invested in American Samoa.

Right now, there’s a legal cap of about 17% on how much can be used locally.

A new bill in the Fono would eliminate that 17% limit entirely. This would allow the Fund to act more like a development lender — giving more loans to support local businesses and projects.

On paper, it looks like progress:

Invest in ourselves. Build local development. Keep money circulating here, not offshore.

But that small change signals something much bigger:

The Retirement Fund was created to protect our future. Now it’s being positioned as a tool for financing the present.

And that raises questions we can’t afford to ignore.

Ledger Notes

•   Who benefits when the Fund becomes a bank?

Developers? Contractors? Politically connected businesses?

Are these loans being made to generate community value — or just financial return?

• What happens if a loan goes bad?

A private bank absorbs losses. But this is our money. Our elders’ security. Our cushion.

Will taxpayers or retirees carry the burden?

• Are we investing in growth — or exposing ourselves to risk?

There’s a difference between strengthening the local economy and propping up weak ventures.

• Who oversees these loans — and are decisions public?

Some board members have raised concerns about governance and transparency.

A public fund should be accountable to the people it serves.

• What message does this send to younger workers?

That the Fund exists not just to protect your future — but to finance someone else’s present?

A Cultural Consideration: Seu le Manu ae Taga‘i i le Galu.

The Fund was built to protect the long-term future of the ASG workforce — those who served in government careers and earned a secure retirement.

That is its first and foremost purpose.

Would removing the 17% cap — and using the Fund more like a local lending bank — align with that mission?

Or would it put our long-term security at greater risk?

What was meant to safeguard the future is now being asked to finance the present.

This is the sacred promise of the Retirement Fund:

Work for your government. Pay into the system. Retire with dignity.

That promise must not be watered down by politics, by pressure, or by projects that look good on ribbon-cutting day but collapse five years later.

The Deeper Question

This isn’t about one bill. Or one board.

This is about a deeper question every small island must ask:

Are we protecting the future — or spending it?

Because when the line between protection and profit starts to blur, the people who pay the price are often the quietest:

The public servant who worked 30 years.

The teacher who still pays rent.

The retired nurse who stretches a fixed income.

Reflection

We all want progress.

But not at the expense of the one fund meant to outlast all our ambitions.

Before we use the Retirement Fund to build someone’s project, we have to ask:

Whose future are we really building?

And who will be left to rebuild if we get it wrong?

Let’s make sure that when the time comes — the Fund is there.

— VILA