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POSTED: Sunday, December 14, 2008

LAST OF FOUR PARTS

It's being billed as the largest public works spending program since the interstate highway system was built and it promises to be the new deal that helps lift the country out of its economic doldrums.

               

     

 

 

About this series                 THURSDAY         » A “;perfect storm”; develops as needs grow and resources shrink.         FRIDAY         » Residents struggle to pay for food, rent and other necessities.         » The silver lining? Lower prices for gas and travel.         YESTERDAY         » Dwindling 401(k)s force retirement delays.         » Parents of college-bound kids face tough decisions.         TODAY         » Find help in brutal economic times.         » What relief Hawaii residents can expect from government.

President-elect Barack Obama has laid out his vision for an economic stimulus package aimed at propping up an economy that he predicts will get worse before it gets better.

Highway and bridge improvements, new building construction, investment in renewable energy projects and a vast broadband network that would connect even more people to the Internet are all on the agenda.

Those projects would create or save an estimated 2.5 million jobs.

“;I have no idea what the final plan will be, but I know that the president-elect has a massive public works stimulus package - one that will exceed a trillion dollars, so it is not small,”; said U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. “;It involves, for example, over 300 bridges, miles upon miles of highways and buildings of all kinds.”;

As Hawaii's tourism-based economy reels from the global financial meltdown, worried residents are expecting their local and national leaders to lead them out of this crisis.

Inouye will be at the forefront of implementing whatever plan Obama puts forth. As incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Inouye will be making key decisions on what projects to recommend - or shoot down - for funding.

“;I looked over the Hawaii list, and we've got an ambitious one,”; Inouye added. “;I'll do my best to see that we get our fair share.”;

Any such projects and federal money that Hawaii's elected leaders could secure for the islands would be welcome among an anxious population worried about job security, mortgage payments and mounting bills.

“;We'll get through this,”; Inouye said confidently. “;We're not sitting back.

“;I've spoken to labor (groups) and labor is willing to make sacrifices like anyone else, and I think they'll so demonstrate it, so I feel good. On the federal side, we'll do our best.”;

Planning is the key.

Obama has indicated his willingness to work with states to identify barriers that would prevent “;ready-to-go”; projects from starting quickly.

“;A critical component of my plan is identifying and funding infrastructure projects that will strengthen our long-term economic growth while also immediately putting more Americans back to work,”; Obama said in a recent letter to Gov. Linda Lingle.

Lingle, like Inouye, said the state will be ready.

In the coming weeks she plans to unveil projects on renewable energy and broadband access that she says are in line with Obama's strategic goals.

“;I think we are going to be very well-positioned,”; Lingle said.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has done his part to secure federal money as well.

Last week he joined eight other mayors in Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for a $25 billion economic stimulus package on behalf of 154 cities. The package could be worth $500 million for Hawaii that could be put toward 2,900 jobs and up to 28 one-year projects in areas of housing, public safety, transportation and sewers.

Closer to home, Lingle is moving forward with one prong of her five-point plan to help the economy.

Tomorrow, Lingle plans to unveil a list of construction projects that a special task force has targeted for permit fast-tracking.

Listing the projects serves the dual purpose of getting the projects moving and instilling the public with confidence that things are happening, Lingle said.

“;I think being able to actually see the projects and the spending taking place, I think that will start to boost confidence among the companies that are involved in construction and among the workers themselves,”; she said.

Senate President Colleen Hanabusa says construction spending is perhaps the one area that state lawmakers can affect immediately.

“;Whether its retooling what we've already appropriated or seeing what we can add and what we can release, if you were to ask me what we can do right now, that's probably the thing that comes to mind immediately,”; Hanabusa said.

Democrats, who control the Legislature, and the Republican governor have pledged to work together to try and bring Hawaii out of the economic crisis.

Hanabusa says legislators will get a better idea of whether that's possible on Dec. 22, when the governor releases her biennium budget proposal.

“;I think it's going to be like everything else in that it depends on how we, respectively, define the priorities,”; Hanabusa said. “;If we don't agree on that, we're going to have to try and work it out.

“;I think in these tough economic times, we should be able to work this out.”;

Lingle already has asked state departments to propose where and how they would trim up to 20 percent of their budgets, leaving intact as much of the state work force as possible.

“;Any permanent loss of government jobs would simply aggravate the financial and economic situation right now,”; Lingle said. “;At all costs I'm trying not to have any permanent reduction in the government labor force, but that means we have to make other choices.”;

Hanabusa and House Speaker Calvin Say agree that 2009 will be one of their most challenging in terms of prioritizing government services and finding creative means of funding.

Like last session, there likely will be no money for grants-in-aid that nonprofit organizations have relied on in the past.

“;Basically, there is no money for grants-in-aid,”; Say said. “;Let's be honest with the people of our nonprofit sector. They will have to fend for themselves like everyone else.”;

Say and others urge anxious residents to keep their wits about them in trying financial times and do some prioritizing of their own.

“;The federal government will not be able to bail out the state of Hawaii,”; Say says. “;State government will try its best.

“;If there's a will, there's a way and I'm very confident we will find it.”;

 

Readers weigh in on economy

Here are excerpts of several reader responses to the question: “;What are you most anxious about as the economy has gotten worse?”;

“;There seems to be no bottom on Wall Street. I could never get comfortable despite seeing (the) Dow go on the rise for a few consecutive days. I've seen it before only to go down again, and this time, below 8,000.

“;I am 26 years old and a 'freshman' to investment per se. Coming into this game, I kept in mind the three most important rules of investment: I have contributed as much as I can to my 401(k), I've established my IRAs and have put together a diversified portfolio. My intention, then, was to grow my stocks and use it to assist me in buying my first home.

“;At one point I was ready to cash out on some shares, (and) use that as down payment. However, I've lost most of what I've put in and I am pretty much back to level one scratch. Despite my great loss, I have the advantage of being at the age of 26. I am braving through these tough times, and I am confident that history does repeat itself and ... the economy will bounce back.”;

Jayar Daguio
Waikiki

“;As the economy tanks, I fear first that my aged parents, with my father so ill from dementia he can't care for himself, will be hit with some kind of catastrophic emergency and lose everything they've worked for and saved all these years. Just finishing a bachelor's degree at (the University of Hawaii-West Oahu), I've raised/earned and spent some $50,000 over the last five years as of next May when I graduate and am still $15,000 in debt and have at least another couple of years to go, as I need a postgraduate-level degree to teach at the collegiate level.

“;As a disabled person, I earn $750 a month but must pay $100 a month for health insurance, making my earnings too small to even cover rent. I work as much as I can and/or am allowed to. ...”;

Timothy Lee Adams
Honolulu

“;Having grown up poor taught me that we really don't need much to be happy. We 'live within or do without' and try to prepare for rainy days.

“;For years, our family spent Christmas morning supporting our North Shore friends by serving breakfast to those less fortunate than us. Then we go home and share a few simple and practical gifts. Our children have learned that Christmas is giving and not receiving.

“;May I suggest getting the family together to explain our anxieties and solicit everybody's help. Children are more resilient and understanding than we think. If families are not cooperative, talk with friends. Share your burden with someone.

“;To those who have lost jobs or are mired in deep debt, don't let fear and anxieties overcome us. Nothing is that hopeless yet. Seek counseling. Hang in there!”;

Choon James
Kahuku/Laie

“;My children's education.

“;With two in private school since preschool (they are now ninth grade and sixth grade), tuition costs along with maximized credit card debt might soon make this an impossibility.

“;Our youngest son is 7 years old and was born with Down syndrome. We've spent the past five years battling with the DOE with no results for a regular class for our child. He's been rejected at several private schools. We excitedly enrolled him in a charter school in October. But the DOE said he would have to return to his home school (Heeia Elementary) to receive a 'free appropriate public education,' and the charter school released him after one month. The school system did not involve parents in any discussion or decision that led to his release from school, going against his civil rights, special education laws and Hawaii's definition of charter schools.

“;We're once again faced with a decision of 'What do we do now?'”;

Linda Elento
Kaneohe