THE 2002 HAWAI'I STATE LEGISLATURE
We must do things differently

By Galen Fox
House Minority Leader

Galen Fox

The first step we take toward recovery is to look truth squarely in the face. There are two parts to facing the truth---the surface and the deeper reality. On the surface, we see the harshness of people losing jobs, and of businesses going under. At a deeper level, we must be honest with ourselves about the inadequacy of the solutions we have tried in the past. This time, it is essential that we do things differently, and do them better. As Albert Einstein said, insanity is "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." The deeper reality Hawai'i faces is the need for new and different solutions.

So our second step toward recovery is to embrace a vision powerful enough to generate real change. The time has come to rely instead on ourselves, on our skills. Sure, we need military spending and tourism, but the vision driving us to a brighter future can only be one of Hawai'i doing it ourselves, all Hawai'i pulling together, using all Hawai'i's talents, Hawai'i controlling its own destiny.

The Hawai'i we see today still relies too much on a core--the power core--people who trade on their outside connections to work insider deals. Working within a core marginalizes those with fewer resources, less education, or who are less culturally sensitive. This is yesterday's way, because it leaves out too much talent, actual or potential.

We cannot afford any longer to waste our human resources.

I'm glad you ask, "How?"

First, we must fix our broken education system. To make progress, we simply have to break up Hawai'i's bloated, single school district and create seven independent, local school districts--one for each neighbor island and four for O'ahu--each with its own elected board and its own superintendent. We must create local districts while keeping our current equitable statewide collection and disbursement of funds. And to make local control work, local school boards must have the power to put all their principals on performance-based contracts, while providing principals, resources, and authority they need to allow them to be the effective CEOs we need.

Second, government must be smaller, government must be more efficient, government must be less costly, and government must help business take the lead in doing what business does best---create jobs. In the current crisis, the legislature can fix the relationship between government and the people it serves by living within our means and by cutting expenses to meet all projected declines in revenue. We can further rebalance the relationship between government and the people by returning any excess funds--special, revolving, or otherwise--to the people as tax reductions. And we should start by eliminating the excise tax on food, on medical services, and on rent.

Mahalo.