by Joe Kent | Nov 29, 2018 | Budget, Cost of Living, Featured, Government Waste, Research & Commentary, Website
This article was originally published in The Maui News on Thursday, Nov. 29. Maui County Council members this month voted to “go vertical” and move forward on financing a proposed $81.2 million Wailuku Civic Complex, but policymakers would be wise to focus less on the...
by Joe Kent | Nov 14, 2018 | Accountability, Budget, Rail, Research & Commentary, Taxes, Transportation, Website
This article was originally published as a “Community Voice” in Civil Beat on Nov. 14, 2018. The Honolulu rail system is projected to lose millions of dollars every year after opening in 2026. So it’s baffling that any company would want to partner with...
by Joe Kent | Nov 14, 2018 | Featured, Property, Regulation, Research & Commentary, Shared Economy, Website
This article was published as a letter to the editor in The Maui News on Nov. 14, 2018. On Nov. 6, Maui voters decided to drastically increase the fines for illegal short-term vacation rentals on Maui, which could expose the county to dangerous legal challenges....
by Joe Kent | Nov 8, 2018 | Featured, Housing, Land Use and Zoning, Property, Regulation, Research & Commentary, Taxes, Website
Many Hawaii taxpayers breathed a sigh of relief after the state Supreme Court on Oct. 19 voided a ballot question that would’ve allowed the state to raise taxes on investment real property. Supporters of the proposal had argued that higher taxes could be the key to...
by Joe Kent | Oct 31, 2018 | Cost of Living, Education, Featured, Research & Commentary
This was originally published as a letter to the editor in The Maui News on Oct. 28, 2018. Lowering Hawaii’s cost of living would be a better way to help our public school teachers than the proposed constitutional amendment that was thrown out Oct. 19 by the Hawaii...
by Joe Kent | Oct 25, 2018 | Featured, Privatization, Rail, Research & Commentary, Website
Honolulu’s rail project is hoping to save costs by partnering with private companies in a process known as a public-private partnership, or “P3.” But experts say that nationally many rail P3s have enabled the government project managers to duck budgetary limits in the...
by Joe Kent | Oct 17, 2018 | Cost of Living, Education, Research & Commentary, Website
This column was originally featured in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Wednesday, Oct. 17. This version includes the charts and footnotes. A widely cited study issued last month by WalletHub erroneously stated that Hawaii public school teachers make a starting salary...
by Joe Kent | Sep 28, 2018 | Featured, Property, Research & Commentary, Shared Economy
The following article was originally featured Sept. 25, 2018, in The Maui News. Maui County policymakers have typically decried short-term rentals that are unpermitted. But rather than erect significant barriers to their operation — including a limit on their numbers...
by Joe Kent | Aug 16, 2018 | Featured, Pension, Research & Commentary
The following article was originally featured Aug. 15, 2018, in The Maui News. The Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii has unfunded liabilities of almost $13 billion — a dangerous amount that threatens the retirement benefits of state and county...
by Joe Kent | Aug 15, 2018 | Featured, Pension, Research & Commentary
Hawaii’s public pension unfunded liability, conservatively estimated at almost $13 billion, is projected to be paid off by the year 2043, but that end date could drag out far longer if the investments of the state’s Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) do not perform as...
