The governor wants to generate $112 million a year

[Bullwinkle]

What impact on growth and real estate values the pension proposal have? Hawaii has long held out the no taxes on pensions to lure "retirees"

Out of state retirees have fueled much of the growth these last ten years. This may backfire and reduce the new income to the state imho.

more:

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawai...e_gap.html

[Kelena]

Not a good idea!

[pslamont]

Agreed. It certainly was a big player in bringing us here. I would rather see an increase in GET first. I know an unpopular stand, but it would at least distribute it evenly throughout the population. Hmmm, have to think about this one.

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[Rob Tucker]

In the Star Advertiser today there's an article about how the Governor is looking for concessions from the public employee unions. I find this interesting in light of statements from some conservative sources that Abercrombie is in bed with the unions. What might be disappointing to some is he is seeking to do this with a less confrontational path than Wisconsin is taking.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110...e_gap.html

[Bullwinkle]

I would be in favor of increasing the GET. Id bump it up enough to SOLVE education and the funding for children in need while at it. Seems to me investing in the next generation a no brainer.

On the other hand .... reading about some of those nightmare deals like the bulldozer and the Ocean View water well..... I'd carry a pretty big stick too........

[JerryCarr]

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.

[Bullwinkle]

All good points ...however I like the concept of a consumption tax... call it a user fee for importing all this "stuff" if you will.

Exempt basic needs like food, medical care to be fair to the poor and the middle class.

On the other hand taxing consumption on an island makes sense on energy conservation and recycling aspects as well.

edit: Gaming also looms large in this discussion of the ethical / fairness aspects of taxation in my opinion

[Obie]

Here is a very detailed report on the problems facing the states.Click on the highlighted report to read the whole thing.

http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/repo...x?id=56695

Here is an excerpt that deals with Hawaii

Hawaii.
The Hawaii Employees Retirement System had a funding level of 68.8 percent, a total liability of almost $16.6 billion in fiscal year 2008 and an unfunded liability that was about one and one-third times its payroll. Hawaii had several problems that contributed to its underfunded pension status. Its legislature diverted about $1.7 billion from annual contributions in the early years of this decade. Also, until 2006, all employees were in a non-contributory system, which means they did not pay anything for their pensions. This system is being phased out, with a new contributory plan that began in 2006

[rbbyrd]

Wow! If a tax on pension income passes, there may be a beautiful vacant lot in Leilani Estates up for sale.

Bummer.

RB Byrd
Flower Mound, TX

[macuu222]

What I want to know is how would Hawaii know how much retirement income I'm getting from another state (or country) that gets auto deposited in a bank on the mainland (or other country)...not Hawaii?