03-16-2008, 02:49 PM
Yes, Damon, that was pretty much what I was thinking about, although a grid or spreadsheet would be easier to compare side-by-side.
Just another thought that doesn't relate directly to this tax discussion: household energy use in Hawaii must be relatively cheap, i.e. not much of a heating/AC bill, if any. As I recall from my childhood days, we had no AC, and I'm not positive we even had a heater. In the month or two of chilliness in the winter, I vaguely remember just putting on a sweatshirt or a light sweater once in awhile.
By comparison, my AC bills in Bakersfield, CA, routinely run $300 - $400 per month from May pretty much straight through to late October (it's freekin' hot here most of the summer), then heating bills run $250 - $350 from mid-December through February. The other 4 months a year, it's about $150-$200, which represents the baseline cost of lights, hot water, cooking, tv, etc., which is probably comparable anywhere you live. I live in a 1,750 sq. ft. well-insulated house. I've never calculated a total yearly bill, but it's got to be upwards of $3,000 - $3,500.
I know this is apples and oranges, and I don't want to derail this thread, but I'm just throwing it out there as one of the costs of living, that I can almost rationalize as a tax. I know it's not; I could sweat in the summer and shiver in the winter and save money, and taxes are not voluntarily controllable in that way. I'm just saying it's an additional cost of living that most Hawaiians don't have to pay. Wonder what the heating bills are in Minnesota, AK, or NJ?
Aloha! ;-)
Just another thought that doesn't relate directly to this tax discussion: household energy use in Hawaii must be relatively cheap, i.e. not much of a heating/AC bill, if any. As I recall from my childhood days, we had no AC, and I'm not positive we even had a heater. In the month or two of chilliness in the winter, I vaguely remember just putting on a sweatshirt or a light sweater once in awhile.
By comparison, my AC bills in Bakersfield, CA, routinely run $300 - $400 per month from May pretty much straight through to late October (it's freekin' hot here most of the summer), then heating bills run $250 - $350 from mid-December through February. The other 4 months a year, it's about $150-$200, which represents the baseline cost of lights, hot water, cooking, tv, etc., which is probably comparable anywhere you live. I live in a 1,750 sq. ft. well-insulated house. I've never calculated a total yearly bill, but it's got to be upwards of $3,000 - $3,500.
I know this is apples and oranges, and I don't want to derail this thread, but I'm just throwing it out there as one of the costs of living, that I can almost rationalize as a tax. I know it's not; I could sweat in the summer and shiver in the winter and save money, and taxes are not voluntarily controllable in that way. I'm just saying it's an additional cost of living that most Hawaiians don't have to pay. Wonder what the heating bills are in Minnesota, AK, or NJ?
Aloha! ;-)
Aloha! ;-)