Shining the Light on Education Spending in Hawaii:
Where Do Our Public Education Dollars Go?
By Laura Brown
Note: The following excerpt is from an upcoming Grassroot education policy brief, which will kick off our new education transparency initiative. Look for the full paper later this month!
Every year in Hawaii, without fail, the Department of Education (DOE) announces to the media that it will have to make drastic cuts to sports, school bus transportation or even school lunches if forced to enact budget cuts as directed by the Governor. This year, the DOE threatened to cut Junior Varsity Sports to help make up for a $9.2 million state-mandated cut to the $2.5 billion budget. A reportedly emotional, four-hour board meeting ensued, with the mayor and other state representatives testifying against such a cut. Meanwhile, the DOE’s Chief Financial Officer admitted a $41 million carryover in unencumbered funds at the end of the 2007-08 fiscal year, but a review of unspent, unencumbered funds in May 2008 revealed a balance of well over $200 million.
Every year these DOE "cry wolf" tactics dupe the public into believing that Hawaii’s public education is under funded, but this time the Governor simultaneously released news that 651 DOE personnel recently attended a conference at a Disneyland Resort in Orlando, Florida at a cost of at least $1.2 million. In response, a flood of skeptical comments from the public filled the commentary sections of the daily newspapers.
How can the Board of Education (BOE) believe that it must cut programs while the DOE carries over hundreds of millions of dollars? How can the Legislature annually appropriate millions in emergency funds not knowing that the DOE has more than enough money in the bank?
Grassroot member Laura Brown is an education writer and researcher who writes for Grassroot in Review, Hawaii Reporter, and other publications.
(To read more, click here.)
Nation Of Whiners - Part 2
By Brandon Bosworth
Phil Gramm touched off a firestorm when he accused Americans of being in a "mental recession" (as opposed to an economic one), and complained we were becoming a "nation of whiners." Was he right?
Though the news media certainly browbeats us with tales of gloom and woe, the facts tend to show Americans are still doing quite well, despite the pressures from an imploding housing market and fluctuating fuel prices. While lazy journalists may be fond of writing repetitive articles about the myriad of ways in which people are scaling back their spending and making do with less, the average U.S. citizen isn't exactly living like an ancient monk bereft of worldly pleasures.
How about America as a whole? How are we doing? Cox and Alm asked that question in a recent article for "The American," and the answer was... pretty well.
Brandon Bosworth is a freelance writer living in Hawaii.
(To read more, click here.)
GRASSROOT PERSPECTIVE
Protecting Oahu’s Country: Old Folly in a New Disguise
By Justin Rouzaud
Government intrusion into the real estate business has become the feel-good policy of choice for Hawaii state government. The proposed Turtle Bay acquisition is but one example of government meddling in the marketplace. Despite support by policymakers, such use of taxpayer dollars is unwarranted and wasteful.
There are a number of reasons why going on a land-buying spree won’t "keep the country... country." First, the state government can’t efficiently manage the 36 percent of Hawaii it already owns, illustrated by the poor condition of Hawaii’s boat harbors and road infrastructure. Like other state agencies, too many public resources are spent on project regulation and too little spent on effective planning. Most resources set aside by the state are held as neglected assets rather than well-managed public resources.
Secondly, state owned property means taxing all of Hawaii's people to maintain land only some will use. User fees are a more fair method of bringing in revenue.
Finally, the right of individuals -- not the government -- to own and use private property is one of America’s highest values and the foundation for economic growth. It is why the Constitution guarantees it.
Sadly, the Hawaii State Legislature fails to see the waste and problems that years of intrusive land practice has caused. Not only is such action ill conceived, but it fails to recognize prior failures and will not lead to the preservation of the “real Hawaii.”
Justin Rouzaud is a Senior at Hawaii Pacific University studying International Relations. Over the summer he has been a Policy Research Intern at the Grassroot Institute.
(To read more, click here.)
A Russian Cold Warrior, RIP
By The Grassroot Institute
One of the last Cold Warriors is gone. Alexander Solzhenitsyn died recently at age 89.
The curmudgeonly Russian played a vital role in bringing down the Soviet Union. He wasn't a politician or statesman. He was a writer. Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago" trilogy, published in the '70s, dramatized the horrors of the Soviet system of prison camps, which he had experienced first hand. In the aftermath of World War II, Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to eight years for criticizing Stalin. His works detailing the "human meat grinder" of the USSR exposed Westerners' to the viciousness of the regime as no other writings before. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970.
(To read more, click here.)
FRESH PERSPECTIVE
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. Please contact tom@grassrootinstitute.org for more info.
GRASSROOT TV
Videos, Comments and More
"Grassroot TV" is a new area on the popular YouTube.com video web site featuring videos relating to public issues in Hawaii and beyond, as well as statements from the Institute on various concerns facing our communities. We have four new videos up at Grassroot TV!
We've also loaded up the library at the online TV station including a new video on Nobel Prize-winning American economist Milton Friedman. We are looking for more videos and ideas for the new site. Please visit 'Grassroot TV' at http://www.youtube.com/user/GrassrootHawaii.
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GRASSROOT INSTITUTE PODCASTS
'Grassroot Insight' Audio Interviews
GIR readers and visitors to the GRIH website are now able to enjoy 'Grassroot Insight', a periodic podcast hosted by the Institute’s Director of Communications, Tom McAuliffe. The audio interviews with community leaders and special guests at GRIH's monthly meetings are available for download to your iPod or for listening via the Internet.
The latest 'Grassroot Insight' podcasts feature Grassroot Research Director Dr. Harry Messenheimer discussing his background and his new study "Good News: Native Hawaiians Prosper" and Hawaii Attorney and Activist Bill Burgess talking about the status of the legal fight to keep Hawaii free and equal.
Click here to listen to the interview with GRIH Research Dir. Dr. Harry Messenheimer
Click here to listen to the interview with Hawaii Attorney and Activist Bill Burgess
Please check out our other recent podcasts with:
• President Tim Phillips of Americans for Prosperity
• State Director (Texas) Peggy Venable of Americans for Prosperity
• Sam Slom, Hawaii State Senator and President of 'Small Business Hawaii'
• Dr. Ken Conklin, author of the new book 'Hawaiian Apartheid'
• Hawaii State Representative Marcus Oshiro on the state's transparency efforts
• Dr. Mark Skousen, on his new book 'Econopower' and state constitutions
We have more great audio interviews coming your way so we hope you'll give 'Grassroot Insight' a listen! If you have any ideas for the show please let us know at tom@grassrootinstitute.org.
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GRASSROOT EVENTS
Information on the Institute’s upcoming events, research publication dates and speaking engagements are always available and updated via our website.
The Grassroot Institute has regular 'Members and Invited Guests only' meetings on Oahu, Maui, The Big Island and Kauai. Please contact our office for more details.
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LIBERTY NEWS
This is a photo from a student taught by Professor Schoolland at the recent Georgia Liberty Camp. Neighbors in his building were killed during the recent bombings in Georgia.
Report From the Front - Update
Schoolland Dodges Bombs Teaching Liberty
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Board of Scholars member Ken Schoolland, Associate Professor of Economics and Political Science at Hawaii Pacific University, has been in Eastern Europe visiting various countries teaching at Liberty Camps which GRIH and its members help to sponsor. He recently sent us an update on the war that has broken out in Georgia due to Russian aggression. Schoolland, his wife Li and daughter Kenli were teachers at the Language of Liberty Camp in Bakuriani, Georgia, in the Caucasus Mountains of the former Soviet Union. They left just before the tanks started rolling across the border of the democratic nation of Georgia.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case that is certainly true. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Georgia, and particularly those students touched by Professor Schoolland, during this dangerous time.
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Grassroot Media Hits
• Work by the Grassroot Institute was featured in the Honolulu Advertiser on August 9th in an article by staff writer Gordon Pang entitled "Hawaiians Earning Power Disputed - Study says skewed data make their problems look even more glaring". The three-column article discussed the recent press conference GRIH held at the State Capitol announcing the new study.
• The recent Kamehameha Schools admissions controversy and resulting lawsuit had GRIH's Communications Director Tom McAuliffe on the hot seat appearing on both KFVE TV5 News and KHNL TV8 News several times over a two-day period. Appearing on camera with the GRIH title, he stated: "Separating people based on race or the blood that flows through their veins is the antithesis of what America is all about!"
• GRIH's Michael R. Fox, Ph.D. wrote the cover story for the July issue of "Living Liberty," the monthly publication from The Evergreen Freedom Foundation. The article was entitled, "ESSHB 2815: Climate Catastrophe for Washington."
• Grassroot Institute Founder Dick Rowland had two articles (see here and here) appear on HawaiiReporter.com recently, as well as an article entitled "Hawaii Publicly Funded Elections: Fox Guarding the Hen House," which was published in the monthly newsletter of Small Business Hawaii.
• GRIH recently unveiled its new logo which is now used on the web site and HawaiiReporter.com
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GRIH Fall/Spring Internship Program
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is currently seeking candidates for the Institute’s internship program. The program provides undergraduate and graduate level students the ability to gain work experience at Hawaii’s only free-market think tank. Interns will work directly with Institute staff, including the President, Director of Communications, and Director of Operations.
If you know of anyone who might be interested please have them send a cover letter, resume, and a writing sample to:
Wendy Fujimoto,
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, wendy@grassrootinstitute.org,
or call (808) 591-9193.
(To read more, click here.)
Grassroot Members in D.C.
GRIH members were in Washington D.C. recently to brief policymakers on the status of the Akaka Bill (S. 310 / H.R. 505). Grassroot Board of Scholars member Jere Krischel, Founder Dick Rowland and Andresen Blom of Research of the Institute for Hawaii along with Elaine Willman of the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance and Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute were on the panel for a Cato Institute presentation entitled, "The One-Drop Rule in Hawaii? The Akaka Bill and the Future of Race-Based Government."
(To read more, click here.)
Big Government Blockbuster
Did you know that thanks to big government spending, America's stuck in a $53 trillion fiscal hole that's getting deeper every day? That's a burden of $175,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
So where is this Real National Debt coming from? A lot of it is entitlement spending. Medicare and Social Security account for more than $40 trillion of it. These unfunded, off-the-balance sheet promises currently exceed three times the size of the entire U.S. economy, and they are growing by over $2 trillion per year on autopilot. Absent reforms to these programs, along with other spending constraints, tax reform, and the reinstitution of tough budget controls, taxes will have to more than double over the next few decades.
Former U.S. Comptroller General Dave Walker and other concerned Americans including former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, former Fed chief Alan Greenspan, Sen. Judd Gregg, and Warren Buffett appear in a new documentary film called "I.O.U.S.A." that takes the audience through the story of our rapidly growing national debt -- and the consequences we face if our government keeps spending money it just doesn't have.
(To read more, click here.)
GRIH Seeking Investigative Reporter
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is currently seeking an experienced investigative reporter for long- and short-term projects that expose waste, fraud, incompetence and corruption in state and local government. We seek a candidate with a track record of developing sources, breaking news and getting their hands on public records. Knowing Hawaii’s public records laws and FOIA is a plus. This individual will serve a central role in our Government Transparency and Accountability initiative.
Please send cover letter, resume, salary requirement and writing sample(s) to:
Wendy Fujimoto, Director of Operations, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, wendy@grassrootinstitute.org,
(808) 591-9193.
(To read more, click here.)
TRY THE GRASSROOT BLOGS
Join the conversation and express your views! Use these links to access our member blogs.
Dash of Calabash
http://dashofcalabash.grassrootinstitute.org/
The Mystery of Hawaiian History
http://historymystery.grassrootinstitute.org/
Read what others have written and add your own thoughts. See you there!
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NEED A GOOD SPEAKER?
From taxation to education and health care to transportation, the Institute’s staff is excited 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 tom@grassrootinstitute.org.
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SUPPORT GOOD PUBLIC POLICY IN HAWAII!
Please help us continue to provide independent research on issues important to Hawaii! The Grassroot 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.
Will you please consider becoming a supporter today? Donations are tax deductible and it's quick, easy and secure. Click here!
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Grassroot Institute is a proud member of the State Policy Network, Townhall.com,
Americans for Tax Reform, The Sam Adams Alliance and more.
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