[ OUR OPINION ]

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Drivers, stop striking
and get back on road

THE ISSUE The walkout by Teamsters Union members appears to have no end in sight.

THE STRIKE by Teamsters Union members drags through its fourth miserable week with dim hopes for a settlement that would send buses rolling through Honolulu again. While the arrival of the union's big bosses from the mainland bearing promises of money for strikers may be inspiring to TheBus employees, their presence does little to move negotiations forward. In fact, they may serve to further polarize the situation.

Enough already. The strike has gone on too long. Bus riders are fed up. Motorists are fed up. In all likelihood, even some union members, who have failed to win the support and sympathy of the public, are fed up. What little bus employees may stand to gain in their wage proposals has already been lost in the 25-day work stoppage.

Although the City Council probably will increase fares to make up the $6.8 million in revenues needed to avert service cuts and layoffs, drivers and other transit workers cannot expect passengers to bear a larger financial burden in these tough economic times. Almost everyone in Hawaii is feeling the pinch, and transit workers should not think they are entitled to what others have had to forgo. The stalemate over a $1-an-hour increase in wage and pension benefits doesn't merit a lengthy strike.

Meanwhile, Governor Lingle has not involved herself in the city government issue because, she says, it has not presented a threat to life or property. Lacking strong union ties, Lingle may not have clout with organized labor to influence negotiations. Nonetheless, the strike is taking place in the state's capital, the center of Hawaii's economic activity. Although there has been no official accounting of its harm on businesses, the strike certainly is doing some damage.

Too much bad blood has flowed between the union and Mayor Harris for the mayor to take the lead in ending the strike, and federal law prohibits the city's involvement in negotiations. However, Lingle could use the influence of her office to push the two sides back to the bargaining table.

The Teamsters Union and Oahu Transit Services, the management company contracted by the city to run TheBus, have not had a negotiating session for more than a week. OTS -- and the city through the fare increases -- have already conceded to the Teamsters' demand for no job cuts. But, like many cities and municipalities across the country, Honolulu has no spare cash right now. When revenues increase, union workers can try to get more money, as OTS has proposed.

If the union remains unwilling to budge, the city should see if it has the legal authority to cancel its contract with OTS and find another operator, as Council member Charles Djou has suggested. While such action would be extreme, it could give both OTS and the Teamsters a strong incentive to end the strike. It's time.

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Hawaii’s Internet tax
should be eliminated

THE ISSUE The U.S. House has approved legislation that would make permanent state sales tax exemptions for Internet service fees.

HAWAII'S tax hell soon may become a degree or so cooler, thanks to Congress. The House has approved a bill that would extend a ban on state taxes for access to the Internet. The bill would end an exemption for Hawaii and eight other states that had been taxing Internet access before the ban went into effect five years ago. Inclusion of Hawaii in the ban would improve the state's professed attraction to high technology.

Imposition of Hawaii's 4 percent general excise tax on charges by Internet service providers contributed to its last-place ranking among states last year by the Small Business Survival Committee, a 70,000-member advocacy group. The tax means that people paying a typical monthly fee of $23 for dial-up Internet access pay an additional 96 cents to the state.

"It's just a little bit too expensive for a lot of people," said Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, the bill's sponsor. "A nick here, and a little bit of nickels and dimes here, would add up to a serious amount of taxation for most people." Hawaii has been farcical in claiming to be high-tech friendly while charging the tax.

The exempted states collect $80 million to $120 million from taxing ISPs, ranging from $3.6 million to Texas's $45 million, according to a study by the Congressional Budget Office. Hawaii's intake probably is near the lower end. Fifteen other states have enacted taxes on Net access when bundled with voice services, and three other states now charge sales taxes on DSL service by regarding it as a telecommunications function. The bill would end those practices.

A similar Senate bill also would ban taxes on bundled voice and Internet services and would provide a three-year phase-out period for Hawaii and other states exempted because of grandfather clauses. The Bush administration supports the legislation.

The legislation does not affect sales taxes on goods sold online, nor should it. Taxes on goods are appropriate however the transactions are made. Hawaii is among 40 states belonging to an organization expected to propose a plan next week aimed at streamlining sales tax collections on Internet commerce.