To the Governor, to the Speaker, to all who recognize the crisis we face in Hawaii today, thank you. All Hawaii, Stand Together
Galen FoxThe first step we take toward recovery is to look truth squarely in the face. There are two parts to facing the truth--the surface and the deeper reality. On the surface, we see the harshness of people losing jobs, and of businesses going under. At a deeper level, we must be honest with ourselves about the inadequacy of the solutions we have tried in the past. This time, it is essential that we do things differently, and do them better. As Albert Einstein said, insanity is "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." The deeper reality Hawaii faces is the need for new and different solutions.
So our second step toward recovery is to embrace a vision powerful enough to generate real change. Perhaps here too, we are all on the same page. Hawaii is the most isolated populated landmass in the world. Yet our history is one of depending on outside forces to save us, whether markets for sandalwood, whale oil, sugar, or pineapple; whether military spending or tourism. The time has come to rely instead on ourselves, on our own skills. Sure, we need military spending and tourism, but the vision driving us to a brighter future can only be one of Hawaii doing it ourselves, all Hawaii pulling together, using all Hawaii_s talents, Hawaii controlling its own destiny.
The Hawaii we see today still relies too much on a core -- the power core -- people who trade on their outside connections to work insider deals. Working within a core marginalizes those with fewer resources, less education, or who are less culturally sensitive. This is yesterday_s way, because it leaves out too much talent, actual or potential.
We cannot afford any longer to waste our human resources. We are small, and the world is moving too fast. We must uplift all our people, we must educate them, and we must give them jobs.
I'm glad you ask, "How?"
First, we must fix our broken education system. To make progress, we simply have to break up Hawaii's bloated, single school district and create seven independent, local school districts--one for each neighbor island county and four for Oahu--each with its own elected board and its own superintendent. We must create local districts while keeping our current equitable statewide collection and disbursement of funds. Any "reform" that preserves the DOE_s top-down running of Hawaii_s schools is false reform, fake reform, and must be fought by all who believe that local needs are best met by local control of schools. And to make local control work, local school boards must have the power to put all their principals on performance-based contracts, while providing principals the pay, resources, and authority they need to allow them to be the effective CEOs we need.
Second, we must reshape the current relationship between government and Hawaii_s citizens by remembering that government is the people's servant, not the master. Government must be smaller, government must be more efficient, government must be less costly, and government must help business take the lead in doing what business does best--create jobs. In the current crisis, the legislature can fix the relationship between government and the people it serves by living within our means and by cutting expenses to meet all projected declines in revenue. We can further rebalance the relationship between government and the people by returning any excess funds--special, revolving or otherwise--to the people as tax reductions. And we should start by eliminating the excise tax on food, on medical services, and on rent. These actions will create jobs and stimulate the economy. And economic recovery will help pay for better education.
We are due, if not long overdue, for the real change Hawaii needs for all our people to share in the fruits of these blessed islands. It_s time for:
All Hawaii stand together
It's now and forever
To raise our voices, hold our banners high.
Mahalo.
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