Honolulu Lite
HERE'S a story that was NOT sent out over the wires this weekend: Hawaii is a paradise,
thanks to one-party ruleHONOLULU (Dreamers News Service) >> Hawaii's 30,000 public school teachers are once again the highest-paid teachers in the country, thanks to a new agreement reached with the state.
Negotiations lasted only a half-hour because once again, money was not an issue in a state that runs like a finely tuned engine, having been under the control of one political party, the Democratic Party, for 50 years. Just last week, the state also awarded professors at the nationally acclaimed University of Hawaii a new contract that puts them on a slightly higher pay scale than their colleagues at Harvard. The truth is, labor news in Hawaii is no news, thanks to the foresight by selfless political leaders who took advantage of a rare opportunity to run a state for decades without having to engage in a destructive two-party system.
"We're lucky," said state House Speaker Calvin Say. "Hawaii truly is a workers' paradise. Everyone predicted that having only one political party in control for so long would lead to waste and corruption. But by sticking to the firm ideals of the Democratic Party, the party of the common man and woman and the party of compassion for the little guy, we've managed to create a state where the quality of life is high and the cost of living low. You couldn't have accomplished this in a state where politicians spent all their time running for office and raising campaign funds."
Indeed, several members of the Honolulu City Council recently asked the Campaign Spending Commission if they could contribute some of their unused campaign funds to charities because they had no need of the cash. The last investigation by the commission into irregularities centered on Councilwoman Rene Mansho, who paid for a luau for her campaign staff out of her own pocket. Mansho was ordered to stop spending her own money on campaign expenses. That was when it was disclosed that several other Council members also were using their own money for campaign-related activities. Council President Jon Yoshimura admitted buying a tuxedo out of his personal funds to attend a campaign rally. He promised to reimburse himself out of his campaign peace chest.
Gov. Ben Cayetano, considered a likely vice presidential candidate because of his insightful, sensitive tenure as Hawaii's governor, is proud but not surprised that negotiations with Hawaii teachers went so smoothly.
"Thank goodness we are all Democrats and can all work together and respect each other," he said. "I can't even imagine what it would be like to live in a state where the government and unions are at each other's throats. We have no strikes, we have no political scandals, housing is affordable, traffic is not a problem, we have no sales or income tax, the schools are all modern and air-conditioned, and we have two teachers in each class. Thanks to 50 years of compassionate control by one party, we are a showplace for the rest of the country. The voters know that. And that's why they continue to support us year after year."
Alo-Ha! Friday compiles odd bits of news from Hawaii
and the world to get your weekend off to an entertaining start.
Charles Memminger also writes Honolulu Lite Mondays,
Wednesdays and Sundays. Send ideas to him at the
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210,
Honolulu 96813, phone 235-6490 or e-mail cmemminger@starbulletin.com.
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