GRASS IN REVIEW
GRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAII
Nurturing the rights and responsibilities of the individual in a civil society.
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WEEKLY GRASS IN REVIEW - March 27, 2007 |
Private Property, Eminent Domain, Property Taxes, and a Champion!
By Walt Harvey
 Private property rights are constantly under attack from multiple directions. Local and state governments use eminent domain to take private property, allegedly for the public good. In the past, “the public good” was assumed to mean roads and other transportation routes as well as schools and libraries. Since the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo vs. New London, public good can be now be interpreted as any development that will enhance the tax base for the city or county.
In addition to the right of the government to take your property (after paying you so-called just compensation), there are zoning laws. These regulations and restrictions come from numerous levels of government agencies. Sometimes the laws overlap, and they can be contradictory. Land Use ordinances, building codes, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, view plane restrictions, and shoreline access ordinances are some of many issues to deal with when considering how we develop, improve and use our private property.
Lastly, there’s the government’s ability to levy property tax. Politicians can change the tax rate and even the assessments, and they can allow exemptions when needed to quell complaints from property owners. In most communities, the property tax is used to fund the public school system. People may choose to move into an area with higher tax assessments with the expectation of their children receiving a better education from schools with more money to spend. Here in Hawaii, with property values among the highest in the country, our property tax funds the city and county government.
With all of these attacks and restrictions on private property rights, we here in Hawaii are fortunate to have a champion. Local attorney Robert H. Thomas is Managing Attorney of the Pacific Legal Foundation Hawaii, a nonprofit legal foundation dedicated to protecting property rights and individual liberties. He’s fighting on multiple fronts to protect our rights. One example: he recently argued on behalf of Kauai property owners before the Hawaii Supreme Court. The issue was the right of Kauai residents to vote on taxes, especially the ability to cap property tax increases.
When Robert is not wearing his private property ‘Superman’ suit he’s a practicing attorney with Damon, Key, Leong, Kupchak & Hastert and has been selected by his peers to be included in the guide Best Lawyers in America as an expert in eminent domain and condemnation law.
The best news is that Robert has created a web log that’s loaded with invaluable information: www.InverseCondemnation.com. He regularly posts issue analysis and case summaries and links to podcasts. He has provided a review and analysis of 2006 significant private property rights issues in Hawaii. His site is a daily ‘must read’ to keep current and we highly recommend it!
Walt Harvey is a Director and Treasurer with the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii and a real estate broker with East Oahu Realty. Walt partners with his wife Arla and together they specialize in residential, commercial and investment real estate. You can reach them on their website: www.coastalhawaii.com.
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IN THE NEWS - HIGHLIGHTED COMMENTARIES
Grassroot Institute is regularly featured in news articles and broadcasts around the state. Here is a sample of some of our recent articles, research stories, and other articles of interest.
A Movie No One Should Miss
by Lawrence W. Reed
Grassroot Perspective -- February 5, 2007
Have you ever seen a movie so good, so moving, that tears flow freely as the audience rises to its feet to applaud as the closing credits roll? Director Michael Apted’s Amazing Grace is just such a film... (read more)
Hawaiian Misrecognition
by Jere Krischel
Grassroot Perspective -- February 27, 2007
In the Valentine’s day edition of the Honolulu Advertiser this year, Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) took it upon itself to inform us with a slick advertisement that we must define ourselves by race. Not content to use traditional ethnic terms like “oiwi” or “kanaka maoli”, they’ve decided that the only proper use of the word “Hawaiian” is to refer to a pre-1778 immigrants to the Hawaiian island chain.
Such a bald statement of abject racism cannot go unchallenged -- Hawaii is a place, not a race, and all the immigrants to Hawaii, whether before 1778, during the Kingdom period, or as a part of the United States of America, have just claim to the distinction of being Hawaiian.
... (read more)
Fresh Perspective
Hawaii Residents Deserve Tax Rebate
Sean Brunette
March 2007
Recent studies have shown the cost of living in Hawaii is almost 30 percent above the national average. Rising costs are a burden not only for those who have moved here recently, but also for the families and residents who have been here for years. Gov. Linda Lingle's administration has proposed a rebate of $100 per exemption for families with incomes less than $100,000 and $25 for those who make more than that benchmark. Hard-working residents and families in Hawaii deserve the chance to spend the money they have worked hard for. Everyone has their own needs and agendas and, if given a choice with their money, could fairly distribute it to further those needs. I know that if I had an extra $100, it would help greatly with financial burdens such as rent and groceries. If there are people who want the Legislature to manage their money instead of themselves, allow them to donate their refund back to the government, but give the rest of us a chance to receive a rebate that is not only well deserved, but one that can help vaccinate our financial diseases.
Sean Brunette is a junior at Hawaii Pacific University, majoring in international Studies. He is originally from Rochester, NY. He has studied abroad in France and New York.
Opportunity for Young Adults:
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii created the Fresh Perspective column exclusively to publish the work of high school and college students. In addition to work appearing on GRIH’s website, their work is also submitted to Hawaii Reporter. Submissions are welcome from any interested young adult, and we will publish work that is clearly written and grammatically sound. For earlier Fresh Perspectives please click here. The latest is above.
Contact: roz@grassrootinstitute.org for more info.
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TRY OUR BLOGS
Use these links to access various topics.
The Mystery of Hawaiian History>>>Blog Archives>>>New book provides strong medicine against Akaka bill
The Mystery of Hawaiian History>>>Blog Archives>>>Can the feds just take it all away?
Dash of Calabash>>>Blog Archives>>>Scary Thought
Read what others have written or add your own thoughts. Click here for more blogs.
UPCOMING EVENTS
All of the Institute’s events, research publication dates and speaking engagements are available on our website.
State Policy Network
Pacific Rim Conference
23-24 May 2007
The State Policy Network of some 100 free market public policy/education organizations and affiliates is conducting their annual western meeting in Hawaii May 23 and 24.
Please click here for detailed information and registration for the program, as well as hotel information, etc.
How fast does the state spend your money?
State spending is out of control. Watch the dollars fly out the window..... |
Have an Institute Speaker At Your Next Meeting!
From taxation to education, from health care to transportation, the Institute’s staff is ready to address your group regarding the important policy issues facing all citizens of Hawaii. Call (808) 591-9193 to check availability and make arrangements, or e-mail us at roz@grassrootinstitute.org.
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Grassroot Institute is a proud member of
the State Policy Network and Townhall..
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SUPPORT GOOD PUBLIC POLICY
The Institute operates only through the generous donations of friends and benefactors from around Hawaii and the United States, and even the smallest of donations can be used to accomplish great things for the future of our beloved state.
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CRABGRASS
Weeds we’d like to pull…
“When Madison and others fashioned the Bill of Rights, they did not merely constitutionalize -- make fundamental -- the right to bear arms. They made the Second Amendment second only to the First, which protects the freedoms of speech, press, assembly and worship. They did that because individual dignity and self-respect, which are essential to self-government, are related to a readiness for self-defense -- the public's involvement in public safety. Indeed, 150 years ago this month, in the Dred Scott decision, Chief Justice Roger Taney said that one proof that blacks could not be citizens was the fact that the Founders did not envision them having the same rights that whites have, including the right to ‘keep and carry arms.’”
--George Will, The Washington Post, March 18, 2007
“Merlot can be a variety of grape or a type of red wine, but not an acceptable personalized license plate in the state of Utah.... Glenn Eurick's 1996 Mercedes has had the license plate reading "merlot" for 10 years. He says the plate never got a lot of notice until the Utah Tax Commission told him last week that he had to remove it because the state doesn't allow words of intoxicant to be used on vanity plates.... He said few people who asked about the plate made the connection. Though one man did ask ‘if we chose merlot because there were too many letters in cabernet sauvignon,’ Eurick said.... Eurick said he will challenge the state's decision.”
(Source: The Associated Press, March 17, 2007)
“With a few simple precautions, thousands manage it every day. Yet British Broadcasting Corporation staff have been stopped from replacing lightbulbs because of concerns for their health and safety.... Instead, the corporation is paying up to £10 [$19.65] for each replacement bulb to be fitted.”
(Source: Sunday Telegraph, March 25, 2007)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“Science is the search for truth—it is not a game in which one tries to beat his opponent, to do harm to others.”
--Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling (1901-1994), quoted in The Patriot Post, March 26. 2007
“The leftist impulse to side with the underdog has become so powerful that liberals never bother to inquire whether a given ‘oppressed’ group counts as deserving or not.”
--Michael Medved, writing on Townhall.com, March 21, 2007
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