[ OUR OPINION ]
Only Oahu taxpayers
should pay transit costsA leading Democrat in the upcoming Legislature is suggesting a foolhardy increase of the state's general excise tax as an alternative to Governor Lingle's sensible proposal to give counties more taxing authority. The governor's proposal is aimed primarily at giving Honolulu the means to build a light-rail transit system. A statewide tax used solely to build the transit line would be unfair to neighbor island taxpayers who would not benefit from a transit system on Oahu.
THE ISSUE
The state Senate's transportation chairman is calling for a 1 percent increase in the general excise tax to pay for a Honolulu light-rail transit system.
Construction of a rail system as planned between Kapolei and downtown is badly needed as the population continues to expand. Property taxes, which are the prime source of counties' revenue, don't generate enough to pay for such a project. The authority to assess an excise tax is needed to build the transit line, but neighbor island residents should not be forced to pay for it.
The state's general excise tax is now fixed at 4 percent, and Lingle wants to authorize the counties to impose a general excise tax of 1 percent. Honolulu needs that revenue for rail transit, estimated to cost $2.6 billion. Other counties could use their share of the revenue for other purposes. The proposal is supported by the county councils.
Senate Transportation Chairman Cal Kawamoto of Waipahu says he will propose instead an increase in the state's general excise tax to 4.5 percent, with the revenue to be used specifically for building the transit system. The revenue would amount to $1.3 billion over a 10-year period, and matching federal funds would be sought to cover the remainder of the transit system cost.
Not surprisingly, legislators from neighbor islands object to such a scheme, and the proposal will not be in the Democratic majority's legislative package. Lingle also opposes raising the state tax.
Kawamoto says the state tax increase is needed quickly to meet fast-approaching federal deadlines. If those are not met, he says, the state may have to wait for six years for the next opportunity for federal funds.
The Legislature can just as quickly enact legislation authorizing the City Council to impose a 1 percent general excise tax to be spent on the transit system. Kawamoto says his proposal would take the heat off the City Council. Close coordination with the Council would be preferable to such misplaced compassion.
BACK TO TOP |
N. Korean move hints
at chance to end crisisNORTH Korea's offer, accompanied by the usual threats and bluster, to suspend its nuclear programs in return for international assistance is nevertheless a hopeful sign that the lingering crisis will soon come to an end -- until the next time. China plans to send a special envoy to Washington soon to discuss arrangements for a second round of six-way talks on the issue. The Bush administration should listen beyond the insolent language of North Korea's overtures and cushion its own words to reach an end to the standoff.
THE ISSUE
North Korea has offered to suspend its nuclear programs in return for economic assistance and a guarantee of security.
North Korea offered early last week to suspend testing and production of nuclear weapons and even the operation of its nuclear power facilities if Washington guarantees its security and it receives aid from the United States and neighboring countries. President Bush has insisted that Pyongyang take the first step by dismantling its nuclear program before assistance is provided.
The offer, which North Korea described as a "bold concession," hints at a compromise, even though it fell short of Bush's insistence that Pyongyang take the first step. Secretary of State Colin Powell called it "an interesting step on their part, a positive step. We hope that it will allow us to move more rapidly toward the six-party framework talks."
China, Russia, Japan and South Korea sat down with the United States and North Korea in negotiations last year in Beijing. A second round had been planned for December but China's preparations of a pre-negotiation statement were not completed. It apparently has decided that no such statement is needed.
Several days after North Korea made its offer, it issued a blustering statement that the United States "is seized with hallucination" that Pyongyang would follow the actions of Libya in opening its secret nuclear facilities to international inspection. A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said through the country's news agency that such an expectation "is as foolish as expecting a shower from clear sky."
Bush has said he "loathes" Kim Jong-il and has called for a regime change in North Korea, but that confrontational language should be set aside and the North's even more blustery language ignored. The substance of the issues is more important than the rhetoric surrounding it.
