02-27-2011, 07:56 AM
GET is a regressive tax in that poorer families pay more as a percentage of their incomes than wealthier families. I do not support raising it under any circumstances. If the governer sticks to his proposal to only tax pensions over $35,000, I have less of a problem with that as a relatively small number would be affected and the first $35K would presumably be exempt. I find any tax increase in the current hard economic times to be a bad idea, though. When families, companies, and private charitable instutions are being asked to make sacrifices and get by on less, the government should do the same and not resort to its power to take from others.
I find it laudable that Abercrombie is willing to ask the public employees unions for more concessions, but let's see what he gets with that. The simple fact is that we have more state (and county, for that matter) government than we can afford. I suggest an audit on the bureaucracy from the top down, focusing on higher level paper pushing positions with a goal of eliminating administrative jobs. Layoffs and furloughs are simplistic and usually have a more profound effect on "grunt-level" service providers. I'll never forget the woman I met at a party in Kea'au a few years ago who had a job in the State Education bureaucracy. I asked her what she did and she said that she facilitated communication between two other bureaucratic departments in that agency. I couldn't help myself and suggested that if those people couldn't communicate without a college educated and presumably well-paid facilitator, perhaps they needed to be replaced. She thought I was joking, laughed, and said, "Then I'd be out of a job." I just gave her a look that let her know I was serious, and she walked away.
I find it laudable that Abercrombie is willing to ask the public employees unions for more concessions, but let's see what he gets with that. The simple fact is that we have more state (and county, for that matter) government than we can afford. I suggest an audit on the bureaucracy from the top down, focusing on higher level paper pushing positions with a goal of eliminating administrative jobs. Layoffs and furloughs are simplistic and usually have a more profound effect on "grunt-level" service providers. I'll never forget the woman I met at a party in Kea'au a few years ago who had a job in the State Education bureaucracy. I asked her what she did and she said that she facilitated communication between two other bureaucratic departments in that agency. I couldn't help myself and suggested that if those people couldn't communicate without a college educated and presumably well-paid facilitator, perhaps they needed to be replaced. She thought I was joking, laughed, and said, "Then I'd be out of a job." I just gave her a look that let her know I was serious, and she walked away.