Hawaii continues to have financial, social problems
The State of Hawaii, despite its so-called surpluses, continues to have a number of practical financial and social problems. The state’s pension fund, which includes about 10 percent of its population, remains underfunded. We are short a number of ambulances and probably a number of dialysis clinics. We see homeless people everywhere; our classrooms are not all air-conditioned; affordable housing is either nonexistent or unavailable. More and more long-term rentals are disappearing.
More dangerously, we have no large places, high above sea level, which might house thousands of people in the event of an emergency. Our gasoline tanks are inadequate in case of emergency, and all generally in flood zones. We are responsible for thousands of tourists at any one time, but are not prepared to honor our responsibility.
On the other side of the ledger, we have spent tens of millions on a failed Superferry. We spend hundreds of millions on airport construction. We will end up spending $10 billion on rail transit. And now there is talk of spending $500 million on a new prison and another $500 million on a new Blaisdell.
This seems like madness to me, if not malfeasance.
Raphael O’Suna
Haiku