HONOLULU - Hawaii public schools are closed most Fridays, rats scurry across bananas in uninspected stores and there may not be enough money to run the next election...
Hawaii's money troubles are creating a society more befitting a tropical backwater than a state celebrating its 50th anniversary and preparing to welcome President Barack Obama home for Christmas this week.
Hmm. Let me see. A presidential visit usual require additional security from local law enforcement. Look for some overtime costs to further unbalance the budget!
Hawaii now has the shortest school year in the nation after the state and teachers union agreed to shutter schools for 17 days a year, leaving 171,000 students without class on most Fridays. Negotiations to reopen them collapsed last week.
—Food establishments often go uninspected, a fact highlighted by an Internet video showing rats roaming freely across produce in a Honolulu Chinatown market. The state has just nine health inspectors on Oahu to handle nearly 6,000 markets and restaurants.
—The state Elections Office said it may not be able to afford a pending special election, which would leave half of the state's population without representation in the U.S. House of Representatives until September 2010.
—Homelessness is on the rise as mental health, child abuse, welfare and daycare programs run short on cash.
And next year may be even worse because tax revenues continue to plunge with the economy.
Trouble in paradise. Search as you might, the two words you won't see in this article about Hawaii's social and financial collapse are "liberal" and Democrat". It does talk obliquely about a "lack of leadership". Maybe the author thought that who largely constituted that leadership went without saying...
Cross posted at Say Anything
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Wow,,,Well EVERYTHING has to be 'imported' to the state from the mainland so things are sure to get worse.
ReplyDeleteIn Michigan here, so very used to economic disasters brought to us by democrats and even 'imports' meaning our governor is from Canada i.e.; socialist democrat.
People had better wake-up.
Back to Hawaii,I would venture to say at least 85% of their imports come from California and just look at the state of their affairs????
Not one person will be immune to the coming Nationwide Economic Disaster,this recession will look like childsplay in comparison.
The article mentioned how "Hawaii... largely withstood the housing market collapse"
ReplyDeleteBig, "Duh" there! Compared to Detroit, where you can buy a house on your credit card for $7,500, Hawaiian real estate is not likely to take too much of a hit. If they can't improve their own economy, though, they're going to be looking to an influx of people with money buying those houses soon.