Posted on: Sunday, October 21, 2001

Focus
Sept. 11 hit our one-horse economy hard

By Galen Fox
State House minority leader

We are in Hawai'i's worst economic crisis since statehood. Gov. Ben Cayetano deserves credit for understanding how bad conditions are here. The governor also correctly focused on tourism.

We have a one-horse economy, and the events of Sept. 11 threaten that horse. No industry suffered more than the airlines when terrorists destroyed four aircraft, and no state is more dependent on airplanes than Hawai'i. Our hit was immediate and severe.

The governor's response included calling the community together and scheduling a special legislative session. We must use this session to focus on bringing back tourism, and stimulating the rest of our economy. Less-urgent legislation can wait for the January regular session.

We must keep airplanes flying, and we must take care of those laid off because tourists aren't flying. House Republicans favor suspending the landing fees charged airline companies, increased marketing to reassure travelers and improved airport security.

We encourage imaginative marketing that makes travel to Hawai'i more economical. We favor extended unemployment benefits and health coverage for unemployed workers.

And we support keeping threatened businesses open by delaying or suspending taxes, fees, rents and other fixed costs that make it hard to survive.

House Republicans want this economy turned around fast. So we support immediate suspension of the onerous 4 percent excise tax on food sold in stores — a tax on life's most basic necessity. Immediately, everyone will have more to spend on whatever they need most, and this will help put our economy back on track.

National Democrats and Republicans worked together earlier this year to give most Americans a tax cut. Now Democrats and Republicans in Washington are working on a second round of tax cuts.

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle recommends tax cuts that put money in the pockets of working Americans quickly. If we want to do the same here, we will suspend Hawai'i's 4 percent tax on food.

Republicans favor additional tax relief. We favor a weeklong early November tax holiday on goods under $100 sold in Hawai'i stores. Such holidays have worked well on the Mainland. We favor a renovation tax credit to encourage private-sector construction. And we favor eliminating the capital gains tax on investments made in Hawai'i now and held for at least two years.