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And in addition - fail rail has not even thought out where they will get the power to run this project or what to charge the average schmuck who will ride this antiquated sub standard system to no where .
Yes we all will pay- we always have and always will.
These thoughts come from territorial days and plantation era decades old way things are done here.
Cant change the local ways that are over 120 years old in how to fund Oahu infrastructure .
Mrs.Mimosa
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“The TAT affects people who can afford an increase,” San Buenaventura said. “I don’t like the fact that this has become a neighbor island versus Oahu dispute.”
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How does she know what other people "can afford"? This lady is clueless.
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Anyone that thinks high hotel taxes won't affect tourism need to check on what happened to Chicago after they raised fees and taxes on McCormick Place to exorbitant levels. They lost many, many large conventions with the costs being the factor listed by the convention planners.
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Two rail opponents lay out their argument against Honolulu's distressed mass transit project:
http://hawaiipublicradio.org/post/conver...-28th-2017
AinaloaGirl
AinaloaGirl
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Yet we keep (re)electing these idiots....
What level of incompetence and indifference to the economic survival of the state's residents is it going to take to change the political landscape in Hawaii????
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How does she know what other people "can afford"?
She may not know what some people can realistically afford, but she can be pretty sure which segment of the population can't afford an extra tax on their food and clothing.
Healthcare (Medicaid) and Welfare is almost 1/3 of the state budget:
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/hawa..._pie_chart
The Donner Party really wasn't that great of a party, was it?
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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quote:
Originally posted by Mimosa
And in addition - fail rail has not even thought out where they will get the power to run this project or what to charge the average schmuck who will ride this antiquated sub standard system to no where .
Yes we all will pay- we always have and always will.
These thoughts come from territorial days and plantation era decades old way things are done here.
Cant change the local ways that are over 120 years old in how to fund Oahu infrastructure .
Mrs.Mimosa
On the one hand, I almost completely agree with you-us paying for a project for the richer island is some real evil. Even if a rail project would help out one of Oahu's biggest problem, the massive road congestion, I am familiar with the hateful illusion called "trickle down economics." What that really means is the rich take everything, and then piss on you when you're on fire, and only because they needed to take a piss and they can't exploit ashes.
On the other hand, rail, in and of itself, isn't fail. Modern light rail systems could revolutionize a place like Oahu that simply cannot build more roads. It's just the people doing this project were grossly incompetent. Hell, if they did this the RIGHT WAY, a light rail system could even help the Big Island out by helping Oahu generate more income for the state. Unfortunately, living in geographical paradise does not seem to attract competence, at least not on the political level
Aloha
Aloha
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She may not know what some people can realistically afford, but she can be pretty sure which segment of the population can't afford an extra tax on their food and clothing.
Sanbuenaventura, like most of our clueless politicians, seems unable to think outside the box or come up with fair ways of paying for rail. (That's assuming one accepts the dubious assumption that rail is worth paying for in the first place.) There are other options besides the GET and TAT. If Oahu really wants rail, set it up so they can pass a special local option sales tax that isn't applied to off-island wholesale or on-line purchases. Or let them raise their property taxes. The sad truth is that Oahu doesn't want to foot the bill for this fiasco, and Sanbuenaventura is afraid to stand up to them.
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There are other options besides the GET and TAT.
Yes. I'm just guessing, but it's probably because GET and TAT are the easiest tax extractors available for use by the legislature without additional effort. Fish in a barrel. Candy from a baby.
The sad truth is that Oahu doesn't want to foot the bill for this fiasco
Nope, they don't, especially when the price tag kept going up, up, up. Like children, they still want it, but now they don't want to pay for it.
The Donner Party really wasn't that great of a party, was it?
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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I recently heard some statistics about the last big Honolulu project - the H3 highway. 37 years in the making, 50x (I think) over budget and costing more than $1000 per inch.
