Democrats have the key to isles' financial future

HAWAII is at a crossroads. With skyrocketing housing, gaso- line and energy costs, too many of our family and friends are working two or three jobs and still struggle to make ends meet. Too many of our keiki are forced to leave the islands because they can't afford a place to rent, much less buy. Too many families are ending up on the streets or in our beach parks. If we continue down this road, the gap between the haves and have-nots will widen into an abyss, impossible to bridge.

To turn the corner and make a better future for all of us, we need leaders who can go beyond issuing slick press releases and work with the Legislature to build the consensus needed to solve the challenges facing Hawaii.

Unfortunately, rather than seek a long-term cure for our social ills, the incumbent governor offers the Band-Aid of short-term tax cuts (Gathering Place, Aug. 22). Such ploys are common in election years, but provide no meaningful relief to Hawaii's families. After the next rent check or mortgage payment, the tax rebate would be a memory, but our problems would remain.

To bring down housing costs, there is no substitute for increasing the supply of affordable housing, especially affordable rentals. And by "affordable," we don't mean what someone earning 140 percent of median income can afford; we mean what someone earning minimum wage can pay and still have enough left over to put food on the table and clothes on the keiki. To do that, we need to increase funding for affordable housing, offering targeted incentives to encourage the private sector to build more affordable units, promoting self-help building programs and making appropriate state lands available. In the short term, while the supply of affordable housing comes on line, we must help Hawaii's families keep a roof over their heads by giving rental assistance and tax breaks targeted to those most in need.

Real relief from high gasoline prices and utility bills will come only from kicking our addiction to fossil fuels, not by giving a tax rebate to cover a few trips to the gas station. In islands blessed with abundant sun, wind and waves, and with agricultural land lying idle, there is no excuse for our continued dependence on oil and coal for more than 90 percent of our energy needs. We need aggressively to promote alternative energy sources for both transportation fuel and electricity generation, which not only will provide energy security but also help fight global warming. We should pursue the full suite of alternative energy sources -- solar, wind, wave, biofuels, hydrogen -- taking care to implement them in culturally and environmentally appropriate ways. We must promote vehicles that run on alternative fuels, with state government setting an example by converting its fleet to electric, hydrogen and/or biofuels.

We vitally need this type of long-range thinking in countless other areas. We must invest in quality education for our keiki by recruiting and retaining skilled teachers and repairing our crumbling school facilities. We must fully fund programs that protect the forests, beaches and reefs on which we all depend for subsistence, recreation, perpetuation of our host culture and to continue to attract visitors to spend money here.

During the past four years, the current administration has shown itself to be better at talk than action. This election, Hawaii voters have the chance to choose leaders who are dedicated to long-term solutions that will make Hawaii a better place for all of us. Isn't it time for a change from politics as usual?

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