02-28-2019, 07:50 AM
Note that Maui is the only county which hasn't passed a GET surcharge.
I don't know the nuances of local gov on Maui compared to here, but I suspect Maui's higher appeal is more in keeping with a vacation destination economy. Maui has beaches and hasn't been shy about developing them as resort destinations. Maui is smaller and as such the overall infrastructure costs are lower. And when you cruz around their small cottage industry kind shops, art galleries, restaurants, etc, are full, brimming over in many cases, all day long. Walk around Paia, Lahaina, etc. And, on top of all that, Maui's property values are through the roof compared to ours.
When you compare what raw materials we could capitalize on as Maui its beaches, I suspect we missed the boat when we didn't get behind that undersea high voltage transmission cable back when it was on the table. All that geothermal would not have been pretty, and it would in the long run not have created a lot of jobs, but we would probably be flush with whatever surcharge we could have grabbed by being the source of all the energy it takes to run the state. But, no matter, we don't have what it takes to compete as a vacation destination, even though we are trying.
So, no mater what, less revenue stream, larger island demanding way more infrastructure, and now we have a thread about the sewage issue.. water issues.. it's always going to be the same.. Big Island.
I don't know the nuances of local gov on Maui compared to here, but I suspect Maui's higher appeal is more in keeping with a vacation destination economy. Maui has beaches and hasn't been shy about developing them as resort destinations. Maui is smaller and as such the overall infrastructure costs are lower. And when you cruz around their small cottage industry kind shops, art galleries, restaurants, etc, are full, brimming over in many cases, all day long. Walk around Paia, Lahaina, etc. And, on top of all that, Maui's property values are through the roof compared to ours.
When you compare what raw materials we could capitalize on as Maui its beaches, I suspect we missed the boat when we didn't get behind that undersea high voltage transmission cable back when it was on the table. All that geothermal would not have been pretty, and it would in the long run not have created a lot of jobs, but we would probably be flush with whatever surcharge we could have grabbed by being the source of all the energy it takes to run the state. But, no matter, we don't have what it takes to compete as a vacation destination, even though we are trying.
So, no mater what, less revenue stream, larger island demanding way more infrastructure, and now we have a thread about the sewage issue.. water issues.. it's always going to be the same.. Big Island.