Working for a better economy, better governance and a better society
‘Multiplier effect’ is poor justification for increased government spending
Hawaii lawmakers must not be afraid to cut the state budget __________ By Joe Kent, Ken Schoolland, Per Bylund and Victor V. Claar In the rush to mitigate the economically devastating impact of Hawaii’s state-mandated shutdown, many lawmakers and policy wonks have...
How Hawaii can avoid ‘Troubled Waters’
This probably won’t surprise regular readers of my “President’s Corner” columns, but a task force of eminent Hawaii business and other community leaders has just issued a warning that Hawaii’s current rate of government spending is not sustainable. In a new report...
Council busybodies should work less to help residents
Maui County Council members say they spend more than 40 hours per week on the job, and some of them want higher salaries to account for that hard work. But, like Hawaii’s late small-business guru George Mason, founding publisher of Pacific Business News, used to say,...
Take longer view on Hawaii infrastructure
When friends visit the islands, I love to show them Hawaii’s beautiful mountains, beaches and sunsets, but I try to direct their eyes away from the state’s crumbling government infrastructure. The state’s disintegrating roads, brittle bridges and run-down public...
Beware of Maui County’s ‘shiny new ball’
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...