The economy: Mainland report vs. state pride

Who do you believe about the condition of Hawaii’s economy – the mainland-based

Corporation for Enterprise Development or state officials?

That question

lingered in the wake of a report this week by the mainland, non-profit

organization that tracks economic development nationally. On a scale of A (top

of the line) to F (low as it gets), Hawai’i graded out at D for economic

development and F for the vitality of its businesses, according to the

group.

The poor marks didn’t end there. Among the 50 states, Hawai’i also

ranked nearly at the bottom in strength and its competitiveness with

out-of-state businesses, was 49th in spending on public education in grades

kindergarten through high school, and was last in teacher salaries.

None of

the findings were astonishing. Hawaii’s schools have been scorned for some

time, particularly in relation to teachers’ wages. And the National Federation

of Independent Business noted that business owners have long felt their

operations are unfairly hampered by state regulations.

But officials at the

state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism say Hawaii’s not

as bad off as the Corporation for Enterprise Development believes. For one

thing, they said, the report was based on statistics from 1997 to 1999, when

the state was indeed hurting economically. But Hawai’i is solidly on the

comeback trail now, the officials said, citing as an example the state’s

unemployment rate that has dropped more than a point from the 5.7 percent

detailed in the report. The state has also cut income taxes and reduced the

sting of the general excise tax, they said.

A year from now, when the next

report comes out, maybe we’ll find out who’s right.