Could Hawaii go bankrupt?

From Grassroot Institute  May 12, 2020

Hawaii’s economy has tanked and local tax revenues are plummeting, leaving the state and counties in danger of going bankrupt — starting with the state's public pension and health-benefits systems.

Is it too late to do anything about it?

California columnist Steven Greenhut addresses that question.   Greenhut, an authority on state public pensions systems, is author of the 2009 book “Plunder! How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation.” He also is a resident senior fellow at R Street, a policy research organization based in New York; a columnist at the Orange County Register; and a former columnist with the San Diego Union-Tribune.

In a recent column for the Orange County Register, Greenhut said that during the last recession, the unfunded liabilities of California’s public pension system “obliterated local budgets as pension costs grew exponentially and led to service cutbacks and even bankruptcy.” 

Now, with the coronavirus recession/depression in full swing, “Economic reality has intruded again.” 

Is it too late for sensible policy reforms to make a difference? What can we expect if Hawaii’s public pension and health-benefits systems go belly up?

That will be the topic of Greenhut’s presentation, after which he will take questions from the audience.

Moderator for Greenhut’s hourlong Hawaii webinar is Keli‘i Akina, Ph.D., president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.