By Jerry Burris
Advertiser Editorial Page Editor

One of the major issues this election season in Hawai'i is certain to be government itself: Is it too big? Does it tax too much? Is it providing the right services? Is it the right size for the economy that supports it?

Such questions never used to be a major part of political debate. But years of economic stagnation and struggles to balance the budget have changed that dynamic.

Along with education, government cost and size are sure to be central topics of the campaigns for governor, state senator and state representative.

The problem with this debate is that there is very little agreement on the facts, let alone on their meaning. Everyone has his own study or statistics on the size of the state budget, the amount of our tax burden and the like.

Gov. Ben Cayetano, for instance, argues that the state budget today is just about the "right size" given our economy, population and tax base. Others say we are in a "tax hell" that supports a bloated government.

It would be useful if the debate could go beyond whose numbers are correct to the larger philosophical issues of the proper role of government and how tax policy should be created.

Perhaps we'll never get there. But an article in this section by Honolulu consultant John Knox offers at least a glimmer of hope.

Knox, a former colleague at The Advertiser, jokingly calls himself the "Obsessive Data Analyst." He likes numbers, and he enjoys trying to make sense of them. In this case, a breakfast table conversation with his wife led Knox into a detailed comparative study of the size and scope of Hawai'i government compared with other states. In hopes of comparing "apples with apples," Knox based his study on U.S. Census data. This, he admits, has flaws since it required him to force data into Census categories.

Knox's two-volume study (no one commissioned it; it was a private labor of love) turned up some interesting items. You can read his article for a summary of the results. Effectively, he concludes that Hawai'i is not as overtaxed or overgoverned as some people would argue — at least compared with other states of similar size.

Knox will be the first to admit that his study is far from perfect, and that there are other statistical ways of looking at taxes and government in Hawai'i. All that is undoubtedly true.

But his work offers a sound base line place to start. Surely voters deserve more than another round of debate that cannot get past whose numbers are right and whose are not.

They deserve debate on underlying issues: Is our tax policy fair and equitable? Is government spending money in the right places? Is budget policy focused on a fair accounting of the public's money, or is it just more smoke and mirrors?

These are good questions for a political campaign. If they can be asked and answered, the voters will have been given a great gift.

(If you're interested in Knox's report, he can be reached at John M. Knox & Associates Inc. E-mail jmk@aloha.net.)

Reach Jerry Burris through letters@honoluluadvertiser.com.