By Lowell L. Kalapa The latest hype coming out of an administration gearing up for a re-election campaign is the call for an economic summit to discuss strategies on how to right the economic ship of state. While protocol dictates … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa It seems that the pot is beginning to boil as more and more people are turning their “thumbs down” on the state’s economy and are questioning the accomplishments of the state legislature. As if the seven-year … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa One of the arguments some state officials are making in defense of the status quo is that comparisons are being made between Hawaii and other states are unfair because apples and oranges are being compared. Officials … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa You can tell when the campaign season has been kicked off when we begin to hear a litany of what our elected officials have done for us as taxpayers. And certainly the public relations button has … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa Although many people call it and think of it as the retail sales tax they pay in mainland stores, Hawaii’s general excise tax is unique. It is not to be found anywhere else in the nation! … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa When we talk about “breaking the cycle” it is usually in reference to the cycle of welfare where generations of families have relied upon the welfare system to get them and their families through life. However, … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa Well, folks, guess what? They have been passing around those rose colored glasses again and this time the shade was a bit too dark. Earlier this year when the Council on Revenues dropped their forecast of … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa It is indeed unfortunate that even today, as in ancient Greece, we kill the messenger even though it is the message that we don’t like. That appears to be the case when a recent national article … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa Not only is the issue of privatization critical to controlling the size of government and therefore the taxes we are asked to pay, but spending in total has a direct impact on what we, as taxpayers, … Read More
By Lowell L. Kalapa Someone recently asked why tax incentives to attract certain types of activities were not an acceptable approach to improving the business and economic climate of the state. After all, shouldn’t the state be attracting new types … Read More