Gambling proposal is a bad idea

In The Maui News on Jan. 10 was an article about the state legislature wanting to pass a bill for gambling to be legal in Hawaii. This would only be for a card room and sports betting, and only on Oahu at first with other places on the Neighbor Islands later.

They used the excuse that this would be a big tax incentive for the state. I think not.

How much would one tax on Texas hold ’em make? You would need a lot of games. They only fill up when they have a tournament, and in Las Vegas, a lot of casinos are limiting the size of their poker rooms that offer all kinds of poker, as the interest is waning.

Sports betting may be a draw, but you can do most of it at home and not worry about Uncle Sam taking his cut.

They also mention that Hawaiians go to Las Vegas a lot. Most stay downtown because they can get good deals on airfare, room and food. From Oahu for five nights and airfare, plus three meals a day, for $929 per person — why stay in Hawaii to gamble? United charges $758 for just the flight. To go cheaper, Southwest charges $601 if they are flying.

Plus, the Boyd casinos cater to the Hawaiian visitors. It is just like being on the islands with so many friends meeting there. School reunions go there a lot, and I don’t think they would go to a card or sports betting building for that.

It hasn’t passed in the past, and it shouldn’t be now. The revenue collected wouldn’t be as much as the problems. Las Vegas has 35,000,000 visitors a year. We certainly don’t need that many. Las Vegas is also the “ninth island” and has about 25,000 Hawaiians living there. They go there to work because they can’t get a job here.

I don’t think a card room and a sports betting room could hire that many. So, they still would be leaving. Let it go.

STEVE ASHFIELD, Lahaina

Questions on the Olowalu Fire Station

Here we go again with Joe Pluta and the WMTA trying to raise monies for a fire station in Olowalu.

I say, let’s finish one project before soliciting monies for a new one… for example, the West Maui hospital. My husband donated $100 many years ago for the hospital, and he is still waiting for a finished result.

It is all well and good to raise funding for good causes, but results need to be in place before asking for more money. Sure, the WMTA raised money for the Napili Fire Station, but do you realize it took over two years before it was staffed and fully functional? One must learn from history instead of ignoring it or not researching it.

I see that Olowalu Homes Inc. is committing two acres — of course they are, so they can build their million dollar homes in Olowalu. Without a fire station close by, why the hell would anyone want to buy a million dollar home and live in a fire zone? It would be better to build a fire station in Kahana, where there is already preexisting homes and condos?

I guess money talks and…

SU CAMPOS, Napili

How to avert the looming property tax crisis

Hawaii’s population has been declining for six straight years, and if policymakers don’t do something quickly to avert the looming increase in county property taxes, that is likely to continue.

That’s because taxes are a key component of Hawaii’s high cost of living, which surveys show is the No. 1 reason people have been leaving.

As I wrote in my Dec. 17 column, “Counties should not profit from Hawaii housing crisis,” the potential spike in county property taxes is due to higher property assessments, which in turn are due mostly to high home prices and accelerating inflation.

Since property taxes are based on property assessments, the counties stand to receive a windfall of tax revenues — without even having to raise their rates.

No doubt, some county officials would love to get their hands on that extra money. But for Hawaii homeowners and renters, it would mean an unanticipated and possibly disastrous higher cost of living. It would mean having to sacrifice spending on things such as food, medicine, clothing, transportation and simple entertainment just so they can keep roofs over their heads.

Is it any wonder so many Hawaii residents are struggling to make ends meet, that so many people in the state have left or are planning to leave, and that so many residents are homeless?

I am not making this up. This is really happening. And it looks destined to continue happening — unless county officials step up and find ways to counter it.

For county lawmakers who haven’t settled on what to do about this situation, I have a few suggestions:

In the short run, lower the property tax rates to offset the valuation increases.

Another short-term option is homeowner exemptions. In the longer run, all the counties should review their property tax systems to eliminate favoritism and promote simplicity and fairness.

To ensure that property taxes don’t spike in future years, the counties could put a cap on how much the property tax revenue can increase in any given year.

For example, the average annual increase over the past decade was 6.05 percent, so a limit of about 5 percent a year would prevent the counties from profiting from Hawaii’s housing crisis.

In general, at both the state and county levels, taxes should be lowered. Whether we’re talking about property taxes, income taxes, corporate taxes, excise or other taxes, tax reduction is one of the most powerful tools we could use to make Hawaii more prosperous and affordable.

This isn’t a time for half-measures. County lawmakers must act now to prevent a damaging property tax increase.

Let us end the trend of people leaving Hawaii, which has been tearing apart our families and communities and weakening our economy.

This isn’t just an opportunity to prevent a crisis. It could also be the first step toward making Hawaii more affordable for everyone.

DR. KELI’I AKINA, President/CEO, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii