We are blessed to live in the United States where citizens can determine their economic future. To preserve this freedom, the government, whether federal, state or local, must facilitate private businesses and keep more money in the hands of the
We are blessed to live in the United States where citizens can determine their economic future. To preserve this freedom, the government, whether federal, state or local, must facilitate private businesses and keep more money in the hands of the consumer. Likewise, consumers must make wise decisions with the money they work hard to make for themselves and their families.
Government expansion in Hawai‘i, which has intensified under Democrats’ leadership, has significantly reduced the consumer’s role in the state’s economy. State and local government agencies subsidize some businesses and place barriers on others, meddling with a free-market, consumer-based economic system.
In an analysis of Hawaii’s business climate, Sam Slom, state senator and president/executive director of Smart Business Hawai‘i, writes, “We are facing even more tax increases, fees, health premiums for employees and regulations that together add to the cost of doing business here and stop others from starting businesses or investing in Hawai‘i.”
Particularly in Hawai‘i, government expansion comes at the expense of the private sector. Although seven of every ten jobs in Hawai‘i are non-public union positions, Democrats continue to promote policies that hamper private business from prospering and prop up the public sector and their public unions. A strong private sector is crucial to long-run economic stability and Hawai‘i lawmakers must encourage investment in and growth of the Hawaii’s private sector.
Excessive taxation, which the people of Hawai‘i are heavily burdened with, is particularly damaging to one’s ability to choose what to buy and how to spend. According to The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research and educational organization based in Washington DC, Hawaii’s tax rates rank the highest in the nation. Reduced taxes allow consumers to have more freedom of choice and ability to consume. However, tax hikes have become a go-to option for lawmakers looking to pay for programs the government simply cannot afford. The people of Hawai‘i should have the choice to spend and save their own hard-earned money; overtaxing consumers will decrease consumption and drag down small and private businesses.
Finally, in these tough economic times every purchase, even holiday gifts, should be considered an investment and be motivated by spending within your means. Consumers should practice fiscal responsibility as they decide between investing and spending, producing and borrowing. Especially during the holidays, consumers are courted by retailers with special deals and big discounts to buy things they often cannot responsibly afford.
American psychologist Madeleine Levine criticized this consumer-based economic system as “a shift away from values of community, spirituality and integrity and toward competition, materialism and disconnection.”
Home-baked banana bread and handmade gifts exemplify the aloha of the season more than pricey and extravagant gifts. We as consumers must make responsible decisions as we decide when to spend and when to save.
Just as Republicans believe in empowerment of the individual, we also understand the importance of individual responsibility. Consumers must be wise with their money and not buy themselves into insurmountable debt this holiday season. While so many of us find it difficult to deny our friends and family the wonderful gifts we know they deserve, consumers cannot be pressured by retailers or a sense of patriotic duty to spend beyond their means. Reckless spending by both the government and American consumers facilitated our current economic crisis. This holiday season let’s not make the same mistakes.
• Jonah-Kuhio Ka‘auwai is the chair of the Hawai‘i Republican Party.
