There is a general pledge that all elected officials and their appointees seem to follow. “I never met a tax dollar I couldn’t spend.”
Tax revenues in Hawaii automatically increase as the economy grows. There is more discretionary spending, real estate assessments increase, visitor revenues grow, and there is even the insidious so-called non-tax rise in fees. There have been recent tax increases and even so, the regressive GET again rears its ugly head. The furtive reason is rather obvious. By granting some GET revenue directly to counties, the state can then decrease other tax income generally returned. That will come in handy for the rail system that will never get enough ridership or advertising revenue to support its operation, after another few billion dollars are spent for completion.
It is not too early to begin thinking about voting. Efficiency is the key to minimizing taxation, and to achieve that, politicians should know the difference between factual information and a line of malarkey. Investment in unproven technologies is better left to venture capitalists, not taxpayers. Potable and wastewater concerns should never reach a crisis stage. Homelessness and medical care should be addressed actively today and not wait until they reach catastrophic proportions. Increasing computer failures create problems such as false missile alerts and delaying building permits. Management by crisis is always a failure, always more expensive, and always a lose-lose situation.
Hawaii might not have a swamp to drain but it is imperative that candidates are smart enough to recognize the problems and to understand solutions. It is time to retire the good ol’ boy network. The right candidates, with high moral and ethical standards, while not necessarily being the most popular and certain to irritate special interest groups, will do what is right for Hawaii.
Vote for those who will get the proper job done.
Malama ‘aina.
Mike Reimer is a resident of Kailua-Kona.