To my supporters and residents of the North Shore:
These issues may not be new, but they are at the forefront of our minds in 2010. Furlough Fridays is a symptom of the systemic problems we face in Hawaii. Our government has grown too big and expensive, our school system lacks accountability, viable agriculture needs a determined commitment, we don't maintain our infrastructure, and the homeless crisis cannot be ignored. Here follow some of my thoughts on these issues.
- Gil Riviere
Cost of Living
"A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you're talking about real money." Attributed to Illinois Senator Everett Dirkson in the 1960s, this pithy comment sums up the fiscal irresponsibility that so commonly afflicts our elected officials.
While most legislation is well intentioned, our leaders often fail to consider the long term impacts on the cost of living that new taxes, fees, agencies and regulations bring. As government grows larger, so too does the cost to operate the government. The cost of government is paid, of course, by the public. Money paid into govenment is money that is not available for individuals to use.
The number of state employees has grown 29% in the last 20 years, from 57,100 in 1990 to 73,700 in 2009. The cost to pay state employee salaries and benefits has nearly doubled in the last nine years. The budget crisis that our government continues to face was not unforeseeable. Indeed, we had a budget surplus three years ago and our Legislature chose to increase spending rather than return it to taxpayers.
This year, the Legislature failed to effectively reduce the long-term cost of government, opting instead to create or increase more than a dozen new fees and taxes, to raid special funds, and to hope that the economy improves before they have to look at the numbers again in 2011.
We don't need more legislation that increases our sky-high cost of living by creating dupicative agencies. We don't need more Barrel Taxes, which add three cents to every gallon of gasoline and increase our electricity costs. We don't need more Container Taxes, which add 50 cents to every ton of cargo that arrives in Hawaii. We don't need threats of raising the General Excise Tax to further cripple our economy. The cumulative cost of all these fees and taxes is crushing us.
Reducing the size and cost of government is the best way to get more money back into the pockets of our residents and lower the cost of living. Our legislators must commit to tightening the state's belt in 2011 rather than looking for new ways to take more money out of our pockets.
Education
Education reform has been bandied about since statehood and it was no secret that
Although charter schools, with less centralized decision making, remained open, the vast majority of our public schools were closed for 17 days last year. Accounting for approximately 40 percent of the State's General Funds, we have to ask where does all the education money go and what are the priorities?
Indeed, where does all the money go? A full audit of the Department of Education has not been completed since 1973, when it was noted how the large, centralized system lacked accountability and responsibility. Sadly, the picture is even more cloudy today.
The Department of Education, Board of Education, three unions, the Legislature and the Governor all have strong, often contradictory influences on our school system. In other words, there is blame enough for everyone, but responsibility rests with nobody.
Key elements of needed reform would be: movement of fiscal and personnel decisions away from the central bureaucracy and towards local school boards; empowerment and accountability of principals; lump sum budgeting; remo
Education reform will only happen when the public demands it and holds their Legislators and the DOE accountable for results. With Furlough Fridays fresh in our minds, maybe the time for real reform has arrived.
Traffic
Back in the early 1990s, the only road between
When the Joseph Leong Haleiwa Bypass opened in 1994, some merchants feared they would go out of business as all their customers would skip Haleiwa. To the contrary, Haleiwa drew more customers while commuters were free to drive past the town.
By the mid-2000s, visitor and island resident counts exploded to unprecedented levels and traffic back-ups began to clog
The North Shore Neighborhood Board created a Traffic and Transportation Committee in 2005, of which I was elected chairman. That same year, I also began representing the North Shore Chamber of Commerce on the Citizens' Advisory Committee of the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OMPO), the inter-agency group responsible for coordinating highway priorities and funding. As the
Three years after our Senator and Representative funded it in 2007, the Traffic Alternatives and Environmental Study has not yet begun. The Department of Transportation (DOT) sought to increase the cost and scope of the study to the entire corridor between Haleiwa and
Nearly everyone has an idea for a quick fix at Laniakea. While some ideas may have merit, the DOT will not do anything without carefully studying the potential impacts on our only regional roadway.
It may be small consolation, but the Haleiwa Bypass was first proposed in 1962 and took 32 years to complete. Now, more than ever, we need a persistent advocate for traffic improvements in the State House of Representatives. I have put more time into the Laniakea project than anyone and I will continue to push for this and other needed projects for the
The
The last dairy farm on
Most of our beef, pork and chicken comes from as far away as
A new dairy is planned on 1400 acres of former Hamakua Sugar lands on
"Local Food Production for Local Food Consumption" is a statement that helps focus on the need and benefits of promoting local food crops.
Given the opportunity to purchase fresh, locally grown produce at reasonable prices, people support local farmers. However, as popular and desirable as they are, farmers' markets make up a small percentage of fresh food sales and they cost farmers
One simple way to support local agriculture is to buy locally produced eggs. All eggs imported from the mainland are stamped "
The North Shore can become Hawaii's breadbasket if we have committed leadership in our Legislature and an effective representative who advocates for protecting prime agricultural lands, for ensuring a long term commitment to the land through long term leases, for improving agricultural infrastructure, for reducing the high cost of shipping for our farmers, and for helping promote local food production as a priority.
It is a sign of poor planning that many of our facilities like state parks and harbors are left without proper maintenance until they are in such a bad state that a major repairs must be initiated. Our roadways are hardly any better. Is it too much to ask that the cost of maintaining facilities be factored into our budgeting process and that we demand better care of the public infrastructure?
New projects that are critical for our district include the traffic alternatives study and implementation of a solution for Kamehameha Highway at Laniakea in Kawailoa, helping move forward the City's project to build walkways in Haleiwa, and a state project to connect the proposed bikeway that is planned for the Hawaii Reserves property between Laie and Kahuku. We need to improve the roadway through Waimea Bay and mitigate potential rock falls, and encourage more turn lanes and bus turn outs to improve traffic flow along our one highway.
Homeless
The homeless population on Oahu was recently estimated to be about 4000, but it seems likely the number is much higher. Nobody wants to see homeless taking over the beach parks and harbor, but pushing them along without a place to go has created other problems, such as more people sleeping in cars in area neighborhoods. One solution might be the establishment of Safe Zones.
Safe Zones are areas where homeless people can sleep without threat of being uprooted during the middle of the night. Safe Zones can be as simple as a parking area for people to sleep in their car each night and vacate each morning. A good night of sleep is essential for health and for any chance to get out of the homeless rut.
The challenge, of course, is to provide for the truly needy without encouraging the lazy.
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Please feel free to share your thoughts on these and any other issues you wish to discuss. Even if we end up disagreeing, please be assured I am interested hearing your opinion. Mahalo. Gil
The 2010 Hawaii Republican Party Platform
Preamble: The strength of
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Freedom to pursue inherent American guarantees of Life and the Pursuit of Happiness.
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Freedom secured by the rule of law, not by arbitrary judicial or executive decrees, provides all Americans an equal choice to pursue a productive and meaningful life.
Limited Government
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Government exists to protect our God-given rights, defend our sovereignty and borders, and provide infrastructure for the common good.
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The government that governs least, based on the Constitution, governs best.
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Government, at any level, should not perform functions which are better and less expensively performed by individuals or private organizations.
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Government enforces laws that allow for a prosperous free market; it does not compete with nor over-regulate the free market.
Individual Responsibility
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Each person is responsible and accountable for the consequences of their actions.
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We embrace the opportunity to help those in need.
Fiscal Responsibility
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Government is responsible to balance the budget by eliminating waste and reducing spending before raising taxes.
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Before any law or regulation is enacted, the economic impact should be calculated fairly and disclosed publicly.
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Government should not burden future generations with excessive debt.
Equality of
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Each individual has the opportunity to achieve, without any guarantee for a particular outcome.
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As Americans, we believe individuals are limited only by their vision, abilities, intellect, and personal ambitions.***
Epilogue: We believe that
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