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 - May 2, 2007 |
Hide the Debt!
By Paul Jacob
 “You shouldn’t go around touting that you balanced your budget when your deficit is $44 billion.” Good advice, no? Well, Sheila Weinberg said it first.
Ms. Weinberg has taken on the world’s most yawner of a topic, accounting, and is trying to get your attention. If we don’t (or can’t) follow our governments’ accounts, politicians and bureaucrats will rob us blind.
She founded the Institute for Truth in Accounting in 2002. And she’s kicked up a ruckus. According to a recent Institute report, our federal financial hole is over $53 trillion. To fund our politicians’ promises and pay off debt and other bills, everyone in America would have to send a check to D.C. for $176,700.
“If a corporation did this, they’d have to shut down,” Weinberg says. “But it’s just common practice for the federal government. . . .”
Are states in better shape? Well, take Illinois. Weinberg calls it the worst mess in the country. Sure, the state’s constitution requires a balanced budget, but lawmakers have hid both bills and borrowing, and managed to fabricate a surplus out of a $44 billion deficit.
Thankfully, Ms. Weinberg has blown the lid off this story . . . and she intends to bring her work to a government near you. I call this heroic accounting.
I can’t think of any movies where an accountant comes into a business, or a government, and saves the day. But maybe there will be one, someday. It’ll be about Sheila Weinberg.
Paul Jacob is member of the Board of Advisors for GRIH and is an acclaimed commentator who serves as Senior Advisor at the Sam Adams Alliance.
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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.
How Al Gore is Ruining Opera
By Edward Hudgins
Grassroot Perspective -- April 11, 2007
I love opera! Thus recently at the Kennedy Center I saw Die Walküre, the second installment of Richard Wagner's monumental four-part cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, about gods and goddesses, giants and dwarfs, and mortal human heroes. The music, singing and acting were superb. But the program notes seemed like Al Gore channeling Karl Marx.
(To read more, click here.)
'Engineered to Last' Beyond Its Time?
By Jim Waters
Grassroot Perspective -- March 22, 2007
Who says nostalgia isn't a good enough reason to bail out a struggling automaker?
Those who understand sound economics - especially the time-tested principle of "creative destruction," that's who.
Unfortunately, that doesn't include most of the state lawmakers in Frankfort, who consistently have it backwards when struggling operations like Ford Motor Company come looking for the PIN to the Automated Taxpayer Machine in the Capitol.
(To read more, click here.)
FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Beauty in the Train?
by Roslynn Balles
Fresh Perspective -- April 13, 2007
The Honolulu High Capacity Transit -- otherwise known as "Mass Transit System" -- has been on my mind for a while now. I find myself in having conversations with friends and family about it. I ask, "What do you think about building a train on our island" and the first response is usually, "What are they thinking, we're broke and they want to dig deeper into our pockets?" or "It doesn't make sense, I would still want to drive my car." That's coming from a person who lives on the Leeward side!
(To read more, click here.)
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. The latest version is above. For earlier Fresh Perspectives please click here.
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>>>HCR 82 - The Joke Proclamation
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 (SPN) 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.
Please be informed that the May 25th “East Meets West, Prosper Together” Conference that the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (GRIH) was preparing to host will be folded into the SPN Pacific Rim Policy Conference. This will give us the ability to direct our energy and attain maximum exposure to a larger audience and to reduce any potential redundancy between the two agendas.
Please consider attending the SPN Pacific Rim Policy Conference on May 23rd and 24th. For more information and to register please click here. We are looking forward to seeing you there.
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
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CRABGRASS
“'Wealth' and 'theft' are linked inseparably in the minds of many Russians.... A Bashkirova and Partners sociological poll has provided fresh confirmation of this trend, identified by another pollster, Romir Monitoring, back in 2005.... Most Russians, as sociologists have found, believe that apart from criminal ways there are two other sure paths to growing rich - finding a wealthy spouse or taking a civil servant's seat.... To be wealthy in Russia these days one has to have connections (said 45 percent), work hard (31.9 percent), know how to steal (29.9 percent) and be a professional (29.2 percent), as follows from the results of a Bashkirova and Partners opinion poll published by the daily Vedomosti.... Good fortune and education are valued by far fewer respondents - 27.5 percent and 27.1 percent respectively.... "There is no other European country, where an opinion poll has found as many people believing one can grow rich only by stealing," the daily quotes the chief economist at the Troika Dialog investment company, Yevgeny Gavrilenkov, as saying.”
(Source: ITAR-TASS News Agency)
Over 80 percent of Americans believe the world is becoming more dangerous for U.S. citizens. Sixty-eight percent believe the rest of the world views the U.S. negatively.
(Source: Foreign Affairs/Public Agenda)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“At some point, politically sophisticated conservatives will have to recognize that no Republican can win in 2008 and that their only choice is to support the most conservative Democrat for the nomination. Call me crazy, but I think that person is Hillary Clinton.”
-- Bruce Bartlett, a former senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis of Dallas, Texas
“Too many people in positions of responsibility act as if these are just positions of opportunity -- for themselves. The ones who simply steal money probably do less harm than teachers who propagandize their students, media who slant the news or politicians who sell out their country's interests in order to get reelected.”
-- Thomas Sowell, senior fellow at the Hoover Institute
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