Five Questions with Senator Slom

Senator Slom discusses the issues with KHVH radio’s Rick Hamada on HawaiiReporter.com’s “5 Questions” podcast.

Senator Slom’s Opening Day Speech

Hawaii State Senate – January 18, 2012.

Opening Day Remarks by Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom

Senate President Tsutsui, Governor Abercrombie, distinguished guests and overburdened taxpayers of Hawaii, on behalf of the entire Senate Minority, Aloha!

Hawaii still enjoys two competitive political philosophies within our government, not dependent on the number of senators. The majority philosophy stresses more government, taxation and control of individuals. Our philosophy rewards individual risk and accomplishment, encourages lower taxes on families and small businesses, promotes transparency in government, and advocates additional economic options for all of our residents and a strong belief in our people and the future of Hawaii.

Here’s what we’re going to do: we’re going to oppose bad programs. We are going to oppose bad bills. We will bring attention to irresponsible spending. And we will do our best to offer fresh ideas and new solutions.

Let me say right upfront we acknowledge the majority’s unilateral decision to once again suspend, as was done in 2010, our tradition of making Hawaii’s opening day colorful, special and unique, in order to appear more serious and business like. But we respectfully disagree. This lack of Aloha diminishes the citizens’ role and ownership of our government. It is their chance to be here and we have marginalized that.

Expenses must be cut back in the legislature – just as individuals, families, and small business have been doing for years – but not just for opening day.

I sincerely believe our nation and our state have reached a political, economic and cultural tipping point. Never before in history have our decisions been as critical as they are now.

We have the awesome responsibility to help determine whether our nation and state will advance and prosper, or whether we allow or facilitate further interference with individual choice and rights, slipping back into a lesser standard of living.

In neighboring states and a growing number of countries, bad government decisions – overspending, burdensome taxation and debt – are bringing misery and economic despair to countless millions. We have been taught to think globally but accept that all politics is local.

While there are many actions outside of our control, still, there are changes we can make to control and improve Hawaii’s destiny. We in this body, have an opportunity to think and act outside the constraints of past failed government policy.

We must require our government school bureaucracy to be accountable for the tremendous amount of resources they consume annually. We still wrestle with a balanced budget and will vote on supplemental expenditures this year.

Our recent bond issue resulted in savings and that is positive but borrowing is still added debt and a further burden on our families and children.

Last month, the state administration was cheering over a budget surplus that enabled it to spend more money. Look at the factors that caused this “surplus.” It came from Hawaii’s hard working families and businesses who had to shoulder an estimated $600 million in additional taxes over these two years, due to the tax increases passed last year by this legislature.

More than $400 million came from increased General Excise Taxes on contractors, businesses that sublease, airlines and others – most of which that was passed on to Hawaii’s consumers and businesses as increased costs. Now we are facing a new deficit in fiscal year 2014 and beyond.

The impact of the tax increases on the state budget was acknowledged by the Hawaii Council On Revenues at its meeting on September 6, 2011. The Council increased its forecast for state general fund tax revenue growth for the current fiscal year from 11.0 percent to 14.5 percent, noting “the increases in the forecasts for tax revenue growth in fiscal year 2012 and 2013 were mostly due to new tax laws that have gone into effect this fiscal year. Without the expected revenue increase of the new tax laws, the forecast for fiscal year 2012 would have been lowered to 9.5 percent due to uncertainties about the economy and about the number of visitors.”

A few weeks ago, the Council reduced its revenue forecast to 11. 5 percent; most rational private sector businesses and economists believe that estimate is still far to optimistic.

In this weak national and state economy, working families and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet or to make payroll.

Homelessness grows at an alarming rate because government creates more poverty through increased taxes, fees and regulations.

If the goal today was to show the public we understand their pain and tough financial straights, we should pledge that we will reduce taxes. We invite job-creating employers to this big square building to testify to what they believe should be done, then we ignore them.

We are all aware of our state’s severe economic challenges, many of which have been created by this very legislature. Some are still in economic denial of our actions and consequences.

Without systemic changes, we cannot improve Hawaii’s economy. Without holding ourselves to the same laws we pass, we cannot make what we do behind closed doors in this building more transparent.

The era of government free spending of other people’s income is over.

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Stop the Spending: Hawaii’s Finances Need To Be Controlled

By State Senator Sam Slom
Originally published in HawaiiReporter.com
November 8, 2011

The 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) showing the financial condition of the state government was just published, and it showed a substantial cost increase for medical services for state employees.

As Hawaii Reporter recently reported, “the 2009 CAFR shows an unfunded liability for the Employees Union Trust Fund of $7.2 billion and for the Hawaii State Teachers Association’s Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) of $1.6 billion for a total of $8.8 billion (for July 1, 2007, even though the CAFR is for June 30, 2009). Whereas the 2010 CAFR details unfunded liability for the EUTF of $11.5 billion and for the Hawaii State Teachers Association’s VEBA of $2.5 billion for a total of $14.0 billion. (These numbers are for July 1, 2009.).”

This is an increase of 60 percent or $5.2 billion in just two years, largely because Hawaii has among the most generous health benefits in the nation, but we have to do what we can to get these growing costs under control.

Every year at the Hawaii State Legislature, I sponsored senate legislation to establish fiscal notes, alternative budgeting, reform for health care and changes for the public Employee Retirement System.

The Administration is content with lame efforts to ‘slow the growth of the deficit,’ and the lop-sided Democrat Legislature has thus far been unwilling to seriously confront this problem.

We are running out of time and we must act aggressively and decisively to change direction to save what is left of economic security for the taxpaying families we represent.

If you are diagnosed with terminal cancer, you can’t settle for slowing the growth; you must get rid of the cancer.

We have had several options to deal with this problem but have not had the political back bone to do it. It is clear that the trend is devastating.

The 2011 CAFR will be worse than 2010 and so on until we are unable to act.

Taxpayers must hold the 2012 legislature’s feet to the fire and be directly involved in next November’s election to remove those elected officials unwilling or unable to stop this fiscal cancer.

The National Debt Ceiling

Originally posted September 2, 2011

The Government Plan to Hobble America’s Economic Strength

We are not creating private jobs nor improving our business and investment climate. But we can. The futurist and author Joel Kotkin addressed the Council of State Governments—West Conference in Hawaii last week. His admonition was to talk to the private job creators—not government—about adding needed income producing jobs. We need to incentivise private employers to spend more, invest more and add jobs thus creating a bigger wealth and tax pool.

Click here to read the story.

Just Say “No” the Raising the Debt Ceiling

…. we should not raise the debt limit, which was “modest” compared to the current national debt of $14.5 trillion ($ 46,450 per citizen), because there was a limit or ceiling for a good reason. We should instead, utilize fiscal restraint.

Click here to read the story.

Town Hall Meeting on the Closing of Foodland in Hawaii Kai

Town Hall Meeting on the Closing of Foodland in Hawaii Kai

Representative Gene Ward and State Senator Sam Slom held a Town Hall Meeting on the Closing of Foodland in Hawaii Kai

The demographics for the zip codes 96821, 96822 and 96825 shows approximately 92,000 people.

“It’s insane to think that Safeway and Costco can sustain a community and just Hawaii Kai, with almost 60,000 people,” said Paige Altonn a local resident who organized the town hall meeting and has started a petition.

For more information contact Representative Gene Ward at repward@hawaii.gov or Senator Sam Slom at senslom@capitol.hawaii.gov.

Text and video by Michelle Van Hessen

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