Entries for 'Keli'i Akina PhD'

The very fact that such waivers are standard in emergencies reveals something that the Jones Act lobby doesn't want people to understand....

...This was my first back to school experience at the Kualapu‘u Public Conversion Charter School on the island of Moloka‘i....

Confucius said to the ruler: So long as when you get richer, the poor get richer....

...the most recent version of the proposed resolution requests an “independent forensic audit” of HART operations and contract awards....

...University of Hawaii college enrollment has plummeted by 15 percent in just six years, from a high of 60,300 students in 2012 to 51,300 as of 2017....

...a 1% increase in health care costs equals a $2 billion increase in unfunded liabilities....

Hawaii lawmakers are finally embracing the call for a “deep dive” audit of the Honolulu rail project, but how they follow through on that embrace could make it all for naught....

...despite the fact that City Auditor Edwin Young told the committee “the red flags were there”....

...Mahalo for helping this idea to catch on....

Texas has no personal income tax....

...Hawaii has no soda tax. But that's not for lack of trying.....

What does it say about the state of governance in Hawaii that endorsing basic standards of fiscal responsibility is a revolutionary act?

Hawaii may be giving millennials the short end of the stick when it comes to the state’s unfunded public pension liabilities....

...rail is like the cousin who is always hitting you up for money....

Dr. Keli’i Akina gave the following speech on June 30th, 2017, at the 2017 Maui County Affordable Housing Summit, hosted by the Maui Chamber of Commerce and Maui County Department of Housing & Human Concerns....

All employers need a few basic freedoms to be productive, among them the freedom to manage their employees....

“Crucial Recommendations for Achieving Fiscal Sustainability”

We hope that the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General will be moved to mount a comprehensive fiscal and engineering audit of Honolulu rail ....

Beneficiaries are calling for higher levels of transparency and accountability....

...state lawmakers are eager to capture $26 million dollars in tax money every year from short-term vacation rentals....

...it's something we should have done a long time ago....

...Despite multiple attempts to stop or derail it, things keep chugging along. And come July 1, it looks like Maui residents are finally going to start getting the care they deserve....

...the SOQ will allow OHA to engage an auditor or auditing firm to conduct an examination of not only OHA but its subsidiary LLCs, for a period reaching back five years....

...Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai counties are all considering raising the property tax....

...the lack of dissent allows tax-and-spend policies to move smoothly through the Hawaii Legislature...until....

...this audit seeks to identify areas of “waste, abuse and fraud...”

The most recent version of Rich States, Poor States has been released, and once again, Hawaii ends up on the wrong end of that title....

...HB165 (now headed to a Conference Committee) would modernize the existing Sunshine Law by requiring electronic posting of public agency meeting notices and minutes and making board packets available for public inspection....

When Governor Ige first announced his plan to double local food production, people wondered....

...Trustee Keli‘i Akina appointed to chair audit committee....

...bills heard this week (HB76, HB233, and HB234) attempt to amend the law passed last summer by adding new severance options for the hospital employees....

It's true that the session is far from over. And this bill could certainly end up morphing yet again....

County workers throughout the state make higher wages than nearly all of their mainland counterparts adjusted for the cost of living....

In just this legislative session, we've seen attempts to make the surcharge a permanent part of life.... We've seen proposed income tax increases. There's even an attempt to write a tax...into the state Constitution....

If it is possible to address the national security concerns of the Jones Act through other, more efficient and effective legislation, then we might clear the path to modernizing the Act....

...Akina Appointed to Ad Hoc Audit Committee....

Considering how often we are promised "effective" policy or political plans that "work", there's surprisingly little effort spent measuring that effectiveness....

The Board has scheduled voting on Akina's proposed audit for the February 8th meeting of the Resource Management Committee, a committee of the entire Board....

3,600 words full of spending proposals and sunny guarantees about the future....

Mercatus Center Healthcare Openness and Access Project – Hawaii Ranks 29th....

And what was the most memorable part of his remarks? The introductions of Rep. Kouchi's campaign manager and of the highest paid lobbyist....

...a contract for financial consulting services that ballooned from an initial $95,000 commitment to $723,000 from 2014 to 2016....

...some great scores...and some very, very poor ones....

Stop the unconstitutional use of public funds to turn native Hawaiians into a race-based tribe. Instead, focus on what would really help them -- like better schools, more housing, and economic development....

On Thursday, the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs held its second meeting since its reorganization....

...analysis of the financial statements of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs....

...OHA is relevant and of concern to the entire community....

...a prosperous society is where the rich get richer and the poor get richer....

I can't think of a single local family that doesn't have multiple service members in it....