Hawaii Gov on how county refusal to assist incurred fund raid 

Kona, Hawaii – Video by Baron Sekiya, Hawaii247.org

The Governor of Hawaii spoke frankly during an address to the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce a few days ago, explaining the political motives behind recent state and county conflicts.

Linda Lingle explained her disappointment in the mayors of Hawaii’s four counties for not helping her to negotiate with the government employee unions during recent budget balancing efforts. Lingle says all the mayors are unwilling to stand up in opposition to the unions, because she says it was by union support that they were elected into office.

Lingle said that because of the county’s failure to negotiate a better deal for taxpayers with union officials, and because of the looming budget shortfall, the county share of the TAT – or transient accommodations tax – became fair game.

As one retaliatory tax begets another, the governor mentioned the harm that could come from a legislative alternative to raise the general excise tax. A 25% hike in the GET would result in an estimated loss of a thousand jobs, according to Lingle.