State of Hawaii needs to get their shit together

So the State of Hawaii is on the brink of destruction, and guess how our governor has decided to deal with the problem! Furloughs, yaaayyyy. Hawaii has no money, so instead of cutting back unneeded services, the politicians have to decided to take away money from the very people that need to SPEND money. What is going to happen when all these state workers get a 13% cut from their pay? Are they going to go out and stimulate the economy, or are they going to stay home and save cost anyway they can? I go for the latter...

We are not like the Continental U.S. Hawaii's economy is SOLELY based on spending; we are a tourist economy, and because this economic depression has hit the entire world, we locals are forced to assume the role of "tourist". This cannot happen, though, if a large part of our population is forced to take a 13% pay cut. We are essentially freezing our market and I will tell you this, unless something is done, Hawaii will reflect the highest unemployment rate in the country. Here's why:

Think about all the new commercial development in Hawaii: Target, Petco, Nordstrom, etc. These are huge buildings selling items for higher-than-walmart prices. In a few months, people (mainly addressing the state workers) won't want to pay more for something that walmart-down-the street sells for 3/4 of the price. These huge stores will then begin laying people off in order to balance out this loss of sales...boom, more unemployment...boom, less people paying for higher priced items...boom, more people laid off...boom, less people paying for higher priced items...boom, well you get the point. Before you know it, the only thing left will be Walmart.

So what can we do? I'm giving a lot of problems with no solutions, yah? There are two things that can save this State: Legalize marijuana and/or gambling

Legalizing marijuana would do two things for this state: reduce crime and increase tourism. Hawaii has become an extremely violent place; everyday, there are headlines of someone being murdered or beaten into a coma. Most times this is due to Alcohol (a legal drug) or Ice (illegal), but marijuana is never mentioned. There are a number of useless commercials out there preaching that marijuana is a horrible, elicit substance, but the one I would like to focus on is this: two guys sitting on a couch, not moving, just staring into space. The commercial then say's something like "my friends used to like to do fun stuff, now they just want to sit around and giggle." Well guess what, sitting around and giggling is a lot safer than half the shit kids do for fun nowadays! If everybody would just sit on a couch and giggle, instead of going to a bar--getting shitfaced drunk--then beating a stranger into a vegetable state, this world would be a safer place. Alcohol makes people extremely agitated and punchy, while marijuana is known for its calming effects...is this really even an argument? Legalizing marijuana would reduce crime.
Amsterdam; the name says it all and Hawaii could become the next amsterdam. Imagine how many people would flock to this state if we legalized marijuana! I use the word flock, because it would seriously look like a migration of birds...in fact, I think our hotel's would struggle to fit all the people! The choice for many college students would be this: Amsterdamn or Hawaii. Not even a choice...mix in the beautiful beaches, the gorgeous women, and the legalization of weed and we would become the ONLY destination spot for millions of people.

And then there was gambling. Yes, I know there are many cons to this source of capital, but there has to be a way to regulate who can and can't gamble. While Hawaii has one of the highest welfare rates in the country, there has to be a way that we could just ban people on welfare from using their cash to gamble. Actually, who cares? These people are stealing our tax dollars anyway, does it really matter if they waste it at the tables? The responsible welfare recipients would use it to support their families, but the irresponsible ones would probably just waste their checks on booze and ice...so either way, it's unproductive. For the rest of us, though, I think it would spark a HUGE economic boost. For comparison's sake, think of Las Vegas. Millions and millions of people travel to a DESERT to spend money at a craps table...let me emphasize: IT"S IN THE DESERT! There's absolutely NOTHING special about Las Vegas besides their casinos! While I am not hoping that Hawaii ever looks anything like Vegas, I am saying that bringing in a few casinos would dramatically boost our economy.

Well, enough of my ranting...what do you guys think?

Send troops home! To their bases!

First, let me say that I have no problems with troops; in fact, I commend them for their service...sure, many are arrogant fucktards, but most are both respectable and respectful. My problem does not lie with the troops...it lies with the military and their use of subsidized housing.

Hawaii is only so big and the island of Oahu holds the majority of the population. Obviously, there is a limit to the amount of houses that can be built on an island...and yet, the state finds room to keep building. Why? Because the U.S. military keeps sending troops here! I am sure that I am not the only person to notice the tremendous rise in military personnel within the past five years. When i'm stuck in traffic, who do I see next to me? a guy with a crew cut wearing fatigues. Has anyone driven into a shopping center near a base during lunch time? I say driven, because most times it is next to impossible to find parking. So what am I trying to say? We are overcrowded...there isn't enough room on this island for the amount of troops staying here. Here's another point to my rant...want to know why traffic is so bad??? because the majority of troops are NOT living on base...

I don't know how many people know this, but troops are given a housing allowance to live off base. We're not talking about a couple hundred bucks...nope, most times the allowance is enough to pay for a nice 2-3 bedroom home. I had a friend who was only a E-4, which is a somewhat low rank in the military; he was receiving 1500 bucks a month for housing. Oh, but he must have had a wife and family, right??? Nope, single guy living in a three bedroom town house with his girlfriend. Oh, but there must have been 100% occupancy on base housing...right? Nope. Most people have overlooked this fact, but on-base housing is EMPTY, and I say this with capitals letters. For those that don't believe, get a guest pass and go ahead and take a look; a few years ago, schofield closed down a golf course so they could build more homes...most of those homes remain vacant. So why do the troops decide to live off base? wouldn't it be an easier drive to live a minute away from their workplace? Well, there are rules when you live on base...and I guess most of the troops don't want to follow rules. So it comes down to this, there are houses on base that WE, the taxpayer, bought...but we have to pay AGAIN for the troops to live off base because they don't want to have to abide by rules. Oh, but thats not the final payment either...

Imagine that you're a landlord; you are charging a local family 1200 dollars a month rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in Mililani. Then the soldiers start coming in and you KNOW that they can afford more than 1200 dollars a month...so what do you do? "oh sorry ah, I gotta raise da rent. You can still pay 1600 a month, ah?" So the rent goes up to 1600 dollars, because of course you want to make more money...that's 400 dollars more in YOUR pocket. By having this subsidized housing allowance, we are allowing the landlords to charge OUTRAGEOUS rent because they know the military can pay for it, but the local family is shit out of luck.

So what can we do? Hell, I don't know. Write to your congressman. Write to a news channel. We have to do something, because this is out of control. I just took my dogs for a walk around the block. Within that block, I saw 10 houses with military people outside, and over 20 cars with base stickers on the front. So I said it before and i'll say it again: send the troops home...to their bases!