Honolulu Star Advertiser: Legislature criticized for ‘wild spending binge’
posted in: In the Media!
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Another Rainy Day Slush Fund
posted in: Weekly Commentary
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Many of us in Hawaii are aware that we have an Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund, enshrined in chapter 328L, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to save money for a “rainy day,” that is to say, an emergency. In the most recent … Read More
What It Takes to Spend $600M on Housing in Three Years
posted in: Weekly Commentary
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As we have written about before, last year’s Legislature approved $600 million to our Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) to reduce the monstrous waiting list of Hawaiians waiting for homestead lands. The catch, however, is that DHHL needs to … Read More
“Dedicated Funding Source”? Nah
posted in: Weekly Commentary
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I’m sometimes asked how we can achieve true fiscal reform here in the Aloha State. It’s easy to imagine an end goal, with government spending within its means and with no gargantuan liabilities (the big two are the State’s defined … Read More
Can the State Tax Itself?
posted in: Weekly Commentary
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The Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie came to me with an unusual question. “Can the State tax itself?” “I’m not sure,” I replied, “but why would anyone care?” “You remember there’s a bill that the Legislature passed, SB 3201, that … Read More
The New County TAT Earmarks Aren’t the Real Problem
posted in: Weekly Commentary
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Honolulu, just like most of the other neighbor Island counties, has passed a 3% addition to the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT).
It had to.