Talk Story
Legislature’s opening
finds governor and
his party at oddsWHAT'S all this ballyhoo about Hawaii's monolithic Democratic Machine?
A couple of weeks ago, we visited the governor -- titular head of the Democratic Party. He laid a PowerPoint presentation on us titled, "Overview of State Finances" prepared by the State of Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance.
Budgeteer Neil Miyahiro ran the slide show, which said we're spending the lion's share (52.4 percent) of state money on education. It breaks down to 40.2 percent spent on kindergarten through 12th grade and 12.2 percent on the University of Hawaii system.
When we get together with friends and neighbors we might not be calling him the "Education Governor." Nevertheless, Ben Cayetano points to a 45.7 percent increase in Department of Education appropriations over the eight years from 1995 through 2003 compared to 15.2 percent for the rest of the state government.
Yes, the Felix decree has a lot to do with the surge in spending. Still, Ben says the government has been "right sized" and there's really no room to cut, unless you want to slice some meat off the sacred cow: education. Far be it from me to suggest such a thing.
The Gov has built his economic plan on a three-legged stool:
First, there's a billion dollars worth of state construction projects he wants to kick-start economic recovery and sustain the construction industry.
Then, there's the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund, which he wants to suck up into the general fund. Without it, he says the budget goes $115 million into the red. Assuming he doesn't cut DOE or UH, that would mean he'd have to slash every other state department by 12.4 percent. Too much, he says.
Finally, he wants to double the liquor tax. If you thought the tourism industry was irritated by the idea of a smoking ban, consider asking the food and beverage folks to cough up their share of another $40 million dollars in taxes at a time when the bars and restaurants have lots of empty tables.
Meanwhile, as the Leg opened for business on Wednesday, House Speaker Calvin Say was handing out sea salt and calendars to all his colleagues in the House and sending an environmental message about "preserving what we have" and keeping out "alien weeds that burst like terrorists upon the scene."
OK, Uncle Cal's a little "out there," but lucky for us his top two priorities are to pay attention to tourism by fixing up Waikiki and to diversify the economy. Can't disagree.
After that, well, we're back to sea salt. Budget shortfalls aside, Say says Hawaii should lead the world in hydrogen fuel development and focus on protecting itself from alien plants, insects, animals and diseases.
Then, Marcus Oshiro, House majority leader, laid out the Democratic caucus' plan:
First, don't cut the excise tax on food. State government needs the money and, besides, tourists pay 30 percent of it.
Second, don't promise what we can't deliver. Hawaii's growth in state spending is the third slowest in the nation, so let's keep it up.
Third, we can't use attrition to offset tax cuts because we can't cut the number of teachers, prison guards and other key personnel. Rather than spending our way out of our problems, we need a commission, like the federal military base-closing commission, to review all state programs and decide if they are essential, worth keeping or unneeded.
So much for "right sized."
Fourth, we need to decentralize the public school system, partner with Kamehameha Schools and support the Felix spending witch hunt ... um, I mean, investigation.
Oshiro also called for an automatic recount in close elections, a prescription drug plan for all citizens and a review of employer-mandated health coverage.
Then, Oshiro then put it on the line: The House majority won't approve another billion dollars in construction spending. After all, he said, they've already approved more than $2 billion for projects that have been delayed.
Moreover, the hurricane relief fund isn't moving. "It's not if but when," a hurricane will hit Hawaii, Oshiro said, and the fund should be used for it's intended purpose.
Not a word about gambling, by the way. When I asked Oshiro about that, he shrugged and said he didn't want to bring it up. "We'll have some hearings," he said, leaving Senate President Bobby Bunda to carry water for the gambling interests.
What Democratic Machine? The governor, erstwhile party leader, and the House majority are clearly out of sync.
With this kind of fun, who needs a two-party system?
John Flanagan is the Star-Bulletin's contributing editor.
He can be reached at: jflanagan@starbulletin.com.