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• <br /> MR. ISHIDA: This is the thing I am not grasping. <br /> I just don ' t quite understand. <br /> MR. SCHUTTE: Mr. Chairman. In regards to what <br /> Richard is talking about, I have a tendency to lean towards <br /> Commissioner Omonaka and I don' t think it is a point of <br /> whether the general public is smart enough to understand it, <br /> but that as a general rule, an individual is not necessarily <br /> likely to be receptive to reality. In other words, if there <br /> are taxes that have to be assessed, if he has the option to <br /> say, I would rather not have taxes, he doesn ' t necessarily think <br /> of the problems that may exist by not having these taxes and <br /> as a result,. there would be more indication of him going in and <br /> as Mr. Omonaka says, and requesting this particular thing to <br /> be rejected in matters relative to budget or taxes, etc. I <br /> don ' t think it is a matter of whether they are smart enough but <br /> the normal individual, I think, wishes to accept what he wants <br /> to hear, not necessarily what is necessary. <br /> MR. CADINHA: Mr. Chairman. I have given a <br /> lot of thought to this proposal. Being one that does not like <br /> big government to begin with, I can sympathize with a lot of <br /> the input that we have had, but I feel that our island economy <br /> is in a very formative stage. Right now, if you were to freeze <br /> all expenditures, you would see that Hilo has a greater amount <br /> of services, county services, available to its citizens than <br /> any other district, and that is, basically, because the vote <br /> has been here, and a lot of the revenues have been here. As <br /> our island grows, as different parts of the island become, more <br /> economically self-sustaining, ' and -become more important, there <br /> is going to be a need for really an investment, a long term <br /> investment of our county government in the way of governmental <br /> services to make these places grow and to nurture their growth. <br /> I am fearful that if you give the broad veto power against any <br /> further expenditure into the hands of the citizenry, a given <br /> district, or area, could just be stifled in terms of economic <br /> growth. Because, as I said, if you just stopped, rightriow, <br /> the citizens of Hilo would enjoy a much higher plane of <br /> governmental service than anyplace else. When you are looking <br /> at a lot of these services, there are investments over twenty <br /> years to help a given community and our governmental body may <br /> have to make those investments, may have some big decisions in <br /> terms of investing large amounts of money into some of the <br /> other areas of this island and they could be cut off at the <br /> pass and really hurt, the economic unit. So, I would prefer to <br /> see the financial and the fiscal completely left out of <br /> initiative and referendum. <br /> MR. SCHUTTE: Harlan, are you saying that you <br /> would like to see it left as it is? <br /> MR. CADINHA: Yes, that is right. Not included. <br /> MR. SCHUTTE: Is that a motion? <br /> MR. CADINHA: No, it is a statement of opinion. <br /> -26�- <br />