Posted on: Sunday, June 12, 2005

EDITORIAL
New economic panel deserves your support

It's obvious by now that simply appointing a high-level "task force" is no guarantee that problems will be solved.

That lesson was learned after the creation of the Economic Revitalization Task Force of 1997, which was charged with finding ways to kick-start the Hawai'i economy. Many of the group's ideas ended up languishing on the shelf.

Still, few would argue that the effort was not worthwhile.

Now comes a new gubernatorial task force with a slightly different, but no less important, focus.

Rather than working on ways to get the economy moving, this "Economic Momentum Commission," announced by Gov. Linda Lingle, will look for ways to sustain today's robust economic momentum into the future.

That's smart thinking. The time to begin planning for sustainable long-term economic growth is now, when times are good. The commission, which includes both public and private as well as labor and management representatives, will focus on three areas: job creation, building a quality 21st-century workforce and protecting quality of life.

An important point: There are already a number of organizations working on precisely these issues, including workforce development and building a sustainable economy. It would be pointless to duplicate their efforts simply to put a political headline on the work.

To move ahead, this new commission must build on the work already under way and collaboratively find ways to turn ideas into action.

Finally, the panel's last objective — protecting quality of life — is particularly important. If economic growth comes at the expense of quality of life, as measured by healthcare, housing, social services and our unique and fragile environment, it is hardly worth it.

This commission has important work before it. It deserves full community support and, in turn, it must incorporate and acknowledge the community work on this very front that is already under way.