IT'S never a good time to be poor, homeless or disabled. But, especially in this tough economy, the first people to face losses too often are those who had the least to begin with. Balancing budget
on backs of the poorAt times during the recent legislative session, you would have thought public officials had declared open season on the poor.
The Senate at one point proposed to balance the state budget by cutting nearly $200 million and eliminating some 90 jobs from programs serving the poor and disabled. Negotiations with the House and Gov. Ben Cayetano produced a fair compromise, but not before causing great apprehension for some of the neediest people in the community.
At City Hall, Mayor Jeremy Harris floated a proposal to eliminate the city's real property tax and replace it with a 3 percent sales tax. The effect would have been to lower the tax burden on those fortunate enough to own property and increase taxes on those who have little. Fortunately, the proposal drew little support.
It's always good to reduce waste -- in good times or bad. But that's not what this is about anymore. We've cut beyond waste and left holes in the basic safety net for the needy. It's about a smaller pie. Somebody has to get less and, politically, it's least painful to take from those least able to fight back.
It's time to refocus on who we are and what we stand for. Yes, these are tough economic times and there's not as much to go around. But we're still a relatively wealthy society and our greatness has always been founded on our generosity in helping those who can't help themselves.
Do we really want to be a people whose first impulse is to pick on the powerless? Do we really want our leaders to think they can curry favor with the more affluent among us by piling a greater burden on those least able to bear it?
Give Cayetano credit for swimming against the political tide and speaking up for the poor. During contract talks with teachers, he insisted that programs for the poor had been cut enough and that he would not agree to teacher pay increases that would force further cuts in social services. He took the same firm stand in budget negotiations with the Legislature.
More than a political issue, it's one we must deal with on a personal level. Private social service agencies are taking as much a beating as their government counterparts as people find it more difficult to keep up with charitable giving.
But tough times are when it's most important to keep giving -- even if it's a little less, even if it hurts a little, even if we have to find more creative ways to give. If we don't take care of one another, who will?
THE beauty of it is that the person who gives gets as much from the transaction as the person who receives. When we give priority to the needs of others, it's amazing how our own needs also get served.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society Hawaii Chapter this week gave its Hope Award for humanitarianism to Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Tatibouet and her husband Andre, chairman of Aston Hotels.
The Tatibouets are immensely busy, but they've always saved a big part of their lives for community service -- each participating actively in dozens of service organizations.
Cecily Tatibouet described the most important lesson she learned from her parents: "No act of caring or compassion is too small."
It's excellent advice to guide us in politics and our own lives.