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Sunday, March 15, 2026

March 15, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 6:52 PM :: 504 Views

Making the case for keeping state income tax cuts

Hawaii Sues to Maintain Anti-Asian Discrimination at Universities

REPORT: 'Dangerous Trifecta' Enables Noncitizen Voting in Hawaii

A Taxing Debate

Housing bills looked like winners, until they didn't

Total Fail: Legislators Propose 56 New 'Special Funds' -- NONE meet criteria

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted March 13, 2026

Reducing the Cost of Living: Grassroot Testimony

The Moment Hawaii Self-Destructed: House and Senate trade bills designed to preserve ‘vacant positions’ by Increasing Taxes

SA: … The Legislature has reached the halfway point of its five-month session with different approaches between the House and Senate over how to ~~preserve tax breaks~~ (increase taxes) for most Hawaii residents as legislators move nearly 850 bills to the opposite chamber for further debate….

(NOTE: How much we must edit this text to make it truthful.)

Gov. Josh Green originally proposed (increasing taxes by) ending future tax breaks for everyone, which had been expected over each of the next five years. …

(Historians will look back on this cancelled tax cut as being Hawaii’s last missed chance to reverse its hollowing-out process. Local families will continue to flee and never return. All because the HGEA wants to keep ‘vacant positions’ funded as a slush fund.)

SB 3125 would ~~cancel some future Hawaii income tax relief~~ (increase taxes) by repealing standard deduction increases slated for 2028 and 2030, but would preserve relief through tax bracket reductions for everyone but high income filers in 2027, 2029 and 2031. It also expands tax credits (which are so complicated that many people never apply for them) for lower income households worth an estimated $600 million (if everybody who was eligible filed correctly, which they won’t), and repeals seven commercial tax credits in industries that include renewable energy (good), high technology (good) and ship repair (bad).

(CLUE: ‘Green’ energy and ‘high tech’ are scams, so taking away their credits is a good idea. Ship repair is a necessary function in an island state so taxing it costs everybody.)

Will Kane, a senior adviser to Green, expressed concern that the Senate’s draft of the bill won’t ~~preserve~~ (seize) enough tax revenue ~~needed~~ (wanted) by the state over the next several years. The state Department of Taxation estimated that the state would ~~save~~ (seize) $122 million a year from high-income filers excluded from relief and (seize) $145 million a year if the commercial tax credits are abolished.

Dela Cruz ~~said~~ (claimed, without providing any evidence) in a Senate floor speech Tuesday that other cost savings are being pursued, including abolishing long-vacant state jobs, taking excess balances from special funds and reducing overall spending….

(IQ Test: Do you believe him?)

SA: HGEA: Tax Hikes needed to Fund Vacant Positions

read … Future of Hawaii tax breaks cloudy as House and Senate trade bills | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

When The Stickler Doesn't Stick To Her Own Standards

Cataluna: … What we do know for sure is that Aunty Sylvia was keeping messy financial records while busting on other people for keeping messy records. She was fine-tooth combing and tsk-tsking over other people’s accounting while her own wasn’t in proper order….

Luke shaped her political brand by busting on anyone who came before her during her 10 years as House Finance Committee chair, asking them tough questions, honing in on bad math and vague numbers. She was proud of the fear she struck in anyone who could not answer her pointed interrogations about their department’s budget.

In a 2019 Civil Beat piece by Stewart Yerton, Luke was called a “Budget Hawk” in the headline.

“You know why the departments hate me?” Luke asked Civil Beat.

“Because I keep everything,” she answered, holding an obscure 6-year-old document that she said raised questions about funding for one of Gov. David Ige’s homeless programs.

“And,” she added, “I try to know more than them.”

And now, look.

Luke’s campaign skipped logging thousands of dollars in donations over the years….

Does any of this disqualify her for reelection or end her hopes for higher office?

Who knows? All the rules of what is acceptable and what is not have been upended and people who should be hanging their heads in shame are instead promoting their unrepentant selves on social media (whassup Kaniela Ing!)…

read … Lee Cataluna: When The Stickler Doesn't Stick To Her Own Standards - Honolulu Civil Beat

Tulsi Gabbard talks the talk but walks as the wind blows

Shapiro: … Tulsi Gabbard’s defining political brand through her zigzags from left to right was a fierce distaste for U.S. military adventurism.

The former Hawaii Democratic U.S. representative and 2009 presidential candidate railed repeatedly against regime-change warmongering — especially in the Middle East and even more specifically in Iran….

Anti-Intervention? -- Tulsi Gabbard's Cult Tied to "Billion Dollar Drug Empire"-- Funded Taliban

read … Column: Tulsi Gabbard talks the talk but walks as the wind blows | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Think More Carefully Before Going All In On Police Surveillance Technology

CB: … Drones and ShotSpotter and ever more surveillance cameras are invading our privacy and need effective oversight….

read … Think More Carefully Before Going All In On Police Surveillance Technology - Honolulu Civil Beat

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