Big Island con con effects

[Richard B]

So many items to choose from but let me start with state and local taxes. Oahu lawmakers want the entire state to pay for mass transit on Oahu even though at least half of the population of the Big Island will never go to Oahu. Would we be able to, assuming we got enough backing, prevent one county from acquiring tax money from other counties for any reason valid or not. Somebody please educate me on this.

[Curtis Muraoka]

Anything is possible to propose, but it takes a popular vote to accept constitutional proposals.

Theoretically, there is an implied "common good" element of spending public money, but Honolulu voters tend to think in terms of "what's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine" when it comes to the common good. Having grown up in Honolulu, I can attest that until I moved to the "Best" Island, I had the same perspective.

It's not their fault we live out in the "provinces". They think we should pay for their $4billion rail system just like everybody else because Honolulu is the Capitol, and the Capitol serves everyone, right?

It is possible to get an amendment proposed to limit the reach of inter-island taxation, but would there be a flip side where the tax base of Oahu holds back funding for neighbor island counties for statewide functions like education, emergency response, health services, etc., more than is already the case?

I want to plug the education angle of a Con Con here briefly if I may:
One element that could be addressed immediately is greater autonomy for public charter schools.
For example, public charter schools bring over $20 million directly from Honolulu into the Best Island's economy through their "per pupil" budget allocations. Yet the Honolulu-centric BOE keeps trying to hinder their progress.

If there is any item that should be tended to, it is the education components of the constitution (Article X).

A benefit to the counties would be immediate.

[Richard B]

What you are saying does make some sense Curtis. The education issues aside, it seems that anything the outer islands would try to get passed to make their situations better (i.e. taxes, local economy, etc.), if it took anything away from Oahu, could get shut-down just from Oahu having a larger registered voter base than any of the outer islands. I would take this a step further and ask if that could happen, what's to stop Oahu voters from taking more from the outer islands than they already are? I don't mean to be a fear-monger, but are the possible benefits worth the possible drawbacks? I have heard more viable arguments for con con than against but that doesn't mean the worries and fears are unfounded. Our population now is much more diversified than it was even 10 years ago and even though the resolution stands a good chance of passing, it will be these new "locals" who will be deciding our fate because the average Hawaiian (at least the ones I know) has no faith in the electoral system, will not be convinced otherwise, and therefore won't be voting.