Economy clearly the top concern of residents
By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
With Japanese travelers staying away from Hawai'i and Mainland arrivals below pre-Sept. 11 levels, a majority of Hawai'i residents see job losses and the state's sluggish economy as their biggest concerns, according to a public opinion poll to be released today.
The economy was mentioned as the most important issue by 44 percent of respondents — more than twice the number who listed education, the No. 2 response.
A year ago the two were in a statistical tie, with 40 percent of residents saying the economy was most important and 38 percent citing education.
"Residents' focus on a business-friendly environment has been more and more evident as the economy softened," said Carl Takamura, executive director of Hawai'i Business Roundtable Inc., a co-sponsor of the poll.
While the poll found an increasing number of residents who say they expect the economy to improve in the next six months, half say they do not expect improvement.
The poll is sponsored by the Hawai'i Business Roundtable, an organization of chief executive officers; Pacific Resource Partnership, an alliance of the Hawai'i carpenters' union and contractors; and economic development group Enterprise Honolulu.
Concern about jobs was highlighted as 52 percent said jobs were "hard to get" right now in their area, and one in three said economic conditions were "bad."
But despite such concerns, 60 percent said they still opposed legalized gambling as a way to improve the state's economy — up from 54 percent in November and 57 percent a year ago.
Instead, many respondents said they wanted to see more tax incentives for business, followed by efforts to reduce the cost of government and increase tourism promotion and worker training.
A total of 85 percent favored plans to spend $255 million on school repairs and maintenance. About half the residents polled said they would like the government to cover the $142 million to begin building a new University of Hawai'iiWest O'ahu campus.
"People have made the link that businesses create jobs and that we have to be pro-active in policies and marketing to keep businesses and attract new ones," Takamura said.
Despite the government's projected $300 million budget shortfall, more than two out of three people said they opposed tapping into the state's Hurricane Relief Fund to make up the difference.
OmniTrak Group Inc. developed the survey and polled 700 adults by telephone Feb. 2-12, 400 from O'ahu and 100 on each of the major Neighbor Islands. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Omni Trak conducts the survey four times a year and will publish the results in the Winter 2002 issue of The People's Pulse, a pro-business development newsletter published by the poll sponsors.
