Thursday, November 14, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Saturday, December 22, 2018
Grassroot: Our Santa wish list for Hawaii
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 1:31 PM :: 4195 Views :: Economy

Our Santa wish list for Hawaii

From Grassroot Institute, Dec 21, 2018

Well, it’s Christmas season again, so here is what I drafted recently for Santa to consider:

Dear Santa,

We at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii were very good this past year about defending the free market. We helped educate policymakers, stood for transparency and always, always spoke out about poorly framed tax hikes. So, if it’s not asking too much, please this Christmas bring us …

  1. A modernization of the Jones Act, to bring it into the 21st century. I’m afraid the Jones Act has become terribly outdated and cumbersome. It handcuffs businesses and has added to the cost of living in Hawaii. If nothing else, could you at least add a modification of the build requirement that would let us buy ships from our allies?

  1. A balanced budget that includes a plan to deal with Hawaii’s unfunded public pension liabilities. The state frequently spends more than it receives, and its considerable unfunded liabilities mean that we are walking slowly toward a public pension crisis. We need bold action, like the hybrid plans and other suggestions in our recent pension report — options that would save the pensions of state employees without deepening our debt.

  1. Greater economic freedom and lower taxes. Hawaii hasn’t done well on comparative surveys of economic freedom or outlook, and one of the biggest problems is our high tax rates. Both the general excise tax and the top marginal personal income tax rate are among the worst (if not the absolute worst) in the nation. Both businesses and working families could really use some tax relief.

  1. Less red tape. We’re beginning to suspect that someone in the Hawaii government keeps asking for red tape in their Christmas stockings because we seem to get more and more of it each year. This Christmas, we’d like to see some of it disappear completely. And other attempts to handcuff businesses — whether through regulation or measures like a minimum-wage hike — should be stopped.

  1. More transparency and accountability. It may be strange to be asking for more sunshine for Hawaii, but some things — especially the Honolulu rail project — could really use a strong dose of sunshine, followed by a thorough audit.

  1. Peace on earth and goodwill to all.

Thank you in advance, Santa, and if you could remember to help us make Hawaii more free and prosperous, we would really appreciate that, too.

As for you, our Grassroot Institute of Hawaii friends and supporters, thank you for your continued friendship and generosity, and a very happy holiday season to you all.

E hana kākou! (Let's work together!)

Keli'i Akina, Ph.D.

President/CEO

 

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii