HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0792.001 2016-2018A
TESTIMONY RELATING TO BILL 102 DRAFT 2
MAY 912018 COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAII
ALBERT NAKAJI;RECEIVED
Time 1!. ,�®pm W��
Date MAY q. 20/ S
Thank you for this opportunity to offer my thoughts on Bill 102, Draft 2.
Idly name is Albert Nakaji, and I am a life-long resident of Hawaii, currently'
residing in Papaikou, where I have been since about 1960. 1 am currently t
retired and on fixed income.
Since I have spoken on this matter in the past, instead of repeating myse
opposition to the proposed .5% GET increase, I will add one more thought fore
your consideration. I _urge you to carefully consider this as you think about the
consequences of the subject bill.
Simply put, government, whether it's County, State, or Federal, cannot and
should not be all things to all people,' nor should it try to be. To attempt to do so
is an exercise in futility and, more importantly, counterproductive in many
aspects, albeit well -intended.
Consider California: It is considered by many to be the most liberal (some say
"progressive") state in the Union.. The LA Times, on January 14, 2018, r
published a piece written by Kerry Jackson, the Pacific Research Institute's
fellow in California studies, entitled, "Why is liberal California the poverty dal pal
of America?". Without going into the details, he stated, "California, -with 12% cf
the American population, is home today to about one in three of the nation's
welfare recipients. The generous spending, then, has not only failed to decrease
poverty; it actually seems to have made it worse". Well intended? Certainly.
Effective? No. Socio-economic ills cannot be solved simply by throwing money
at the issues. This truth is timeless and is reflected in even modern society,
including Hawaii. R
Comm. No.
Ref. To: El COCK -
Ref. Date Pv1�iY
,Our problems are socio-economic. Crime, homelessness, physical and
emotional abuse, underemployment or unemployment (government employMent
s'
t
figures are misleading as they do not count those who have been unemployed
for more than 6 months), high cost of living, high fuel costs, etc. Yet, they is
the tendency to try to fix these things by throwing money at them instead of
really examining the issues and coming up with realistic answers. Whether it's
because these answers are not popular, difficult to figure out, or something else,
it doesn't matter. Wishful thinking will not solve them, and just throwing good
money after bad is a large part of that wishful thinking.
Again, government cannot and should not attempt to be all things to all people.
Have a very clear focus on the essentials and core responsibilities of County
government. To not do so will rob this County of the resources it will need in. the
future to deal with critical issues and result -in even more problems than exists
f.
today.
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