THE state's "lean and some would say it's mean" budget is cruising through the Legislature with scant opposition. So far, only one member of the House has voted against it. This budget is
‘lean and mean?’The budget as it stands will grow 2.94 percent from this fiscal year to next, while the general fund is projected to grow 4.62 percent. These figures seem modest enough, but remember that 2.94 percent of a $11.8 billion budget is $347 million -- or about $300 per Hawaii resident. That's just the increase.
Contrast these figures with the Bank of Hawaii's latest statistics for 1996 compared to 1995. The Gross State Product was up 2.4 percent, personal income a measly .7 percent and the Consumer Price Index 2.2 percent. In fact, overall federal spending in Hawaii (including military) went down 2 percent.
Meanwhile, state tax collections for 1996 were up 6.9 percent over the previous year! "Lean and mean?"
Gov. Ben Cayetano proposed increasing teacher salaries by about twice the inflation rate and investing in our future competitiveness by increasing the school year a modest two weeks. In the end, he settled for seven more instruction days and a whopping 17 percent more in salaries over the contract period.
Good for the teachers. They won fair and square. The squeeze is on, however. Government can't continue to grow faster than the ability of taxpayers to foot the bill.
