Talk Story
ACCORDING to the Law of Unintended Consequences, no good deed goes unpunished and every undertaking, however well intentioned, yields unforeseen repercussions that often overshadow the principal endeavor. Terror’s unintended
consequence: Political
harmony at the CapitolFor example, we design an interstate highway system to evacuate urban masses in the event of nuclear attack, but it leads to urban sprawl, unsightly strip malls and daily traffic jams. You get the picture.
Turn the law around and it means no bad deed goes unrewarded. Any undertaking, no matter how evil, begets some good.
Since Sept. 11, we've seen a shaky presidency, paralyzed by partisanship and hamstrung by a contested election, take control and exercise strong leadership. We've seen a divided nation united by a patriotic determination to bring those responsible to justice.
We've seen our Cold War antagonists, Russia and China, offer support against our terrorist enemies. Amazingly, we even see the possibility of Russian oil easing our dependence on the Middle East and changing the calculus of our national interests in the region.
We've seen the civilized world shocked into reevaluating priorities and renewing commitments to home, church, family, friends and what's truly meaningful in life. We've expressed new appreciation for police, firemen, the armed services and emergency workers.
We've experienced a tightening of security in our airports, post offices, stadiums and other public places. Measures to make these systems safer and to end the complacency and sham of past practices were overdue and should pay off in time.
Yes, Hawaii took an economic hit when the airlines were grounded. Visitor arrivals dipped to 30 to 40 percent below last year while unemployment surged from 4.5 to 6 percent. For companies already strapped by persistent recession, the dip in visitor spending was the tipping point for layoffs, bankruptcies or closures.
We've recovered a bit already, however. Unemployment filings are down from late September levels and visitor arrivals have improved to 20 percent below last year.
This week's special session "to relieve the economic crisis in the State of Hawaii that resulted from the terrorist attacks on the U.S. that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001" promises to do some of that.
It began yesterday with Democrats praising the weeks of nonpartisan collaboration that produced a package of 17 bills. These were quickly moved along to a public hearing in the Capitol Auditorium today. "Now is the time to act as one," said Rep. Marcus Oshiro.
However, while Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono worked a festive union rally outside the chamber, inside Rep. Galen Fox protested one bill "giving the governor a blank check to rewrite the laws as he sees fit." Fox also pitched a Republican proposal to eliminate state tax on food purchased by Hawaii residents, which observers say is unlikely to pass.
The GOP stopped short of criticizing Cayetano's recent trip to Japan to drum up tourism, but Fox said it was time for real change and Hawaii should "stop looking to Japan to pull our bacon out of the fire."
Still, it looks like easy sailing for most of the temporary measures proposed. These include extending unemployment benefits, funding the immediate needs of social-service agencies, offering new health-care options, loosening some procurement requirements, improving airport and harbor security, extending the hotel renovation tax credit to residential renovations and cutting some slack on state withholding taxes.
Construction unions were conspicuously missing from the rally at the capitol. So was the governor's proposed billion-dollar bonanza in state construction projects. Legislators, including Speaker Calvin Say, balked at the $100 million a year price tag on a billion-dollar debt.
Besides, there is plenty of construction work in the pipeline. As Rep. Ed Case puts it: "With $200 million in contracts already let and ready to go and another almost $500 million in (construction) already authorized, there is more than enough to maintain the stability of this industry."
The Sept. 11 hijackers never imagined that their villainy would goad Hawaii politicians into getting something useful done in a hurry. This unintended consequence hasn't happened yet, but it's on track.
John Flanagan is the Star-Bulletin's contributing editor.
He can be reached at: jflanagan@starbulletin.com.