by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Oct 5, 2018 | Accountability, Education, Featured, President's Column, Taxes
Shakespeare said that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet — proof that he wasn’t a lawyer … or a politician. Either of them would tell you that a “surcharge” smells a lot better to voters than a “tax.” And that’s one of the problems with the ballot measure...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Sep 29, 2018 | Accountability, Budget, Pension, President's Column, Taxes, Unions, Website
They call it the first law of holes, and the principle is simple: When you’re in a hole, stop digging. If only we could apply this to Hawaii’s public pension crisis. When it comes to the state’s unfunded pension liabilities, there’s broad agreement that it’s a...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Sep 25, 2018 | Education, Featured, President's Column, Property, Taxes
Of all the questions that surround the Nov. 6 “education tax” ballot measure, the most important may be the one that has been asked the least: How much? How much is this going to cost me personally? How much will it cost our economy? How much is the tax going to be?...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Sep 16, 2018 | Accountability, Legislature, President's Column, Website
What’s in a title? If you’re a member of the Hawaii Legislature, opportunity. When you read a bill, you’ll notice that the title is often frustratingly vague. The language of the bill may be long and technical, but the title might be just “Relating to...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Sep 10, 2018 | Education, Featured, President's Column, Taxes
The proposal assumes investors and property owners will continue to behave the same after it’s passed The best laid plans, we are told, often go awry. But the saying should come with an asterisk that adds, “Especially when it comes to politicians counting on revenue...
by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. | Sep 4, 2018 | Education, Featured, President's Column, Taxes
It would be hard to find anyone willing to argue that Hawaii’s children don’t deserve a first-rate education. Or that good teachers don’t deserve to be paid well. And I’m not going to start here. However, the question of how to pay teachers and fund public education...
