INCREASE OVER 7 YEARS TIED TO SEVERAL FACTORS

John Kawamoto (Letters, April 21) stated that from school year 1999-2000 to 2006-2007, the Department of Education's operating budget "more than doubled" from $972 million to $2.186 billion. He's right.

A large portion of the budget increase can be attributed to general-pass-through costs. General-pass-through costs for DOE employee benefits, debt service, and risk management totaled $605 million during 2006-2007. Previously reported under the state Department of Budget and Finance through 1999-2000, these substantial costs were transferred to the DOE in 2000-2001.

Special education costs and program transfers from other state agencies (e.g., student transportation, minor repair and maintenance) accounted for another $282 million.

In 1997, Hawai'i's consumer price index was 171.9; in 2007, it was 216.6, an increase of 26 percent. In other words, a $1 billion budget needs to grow by nearly $260 million over the same period just to maintain services.

We hope this information is helpful to Mr. Kawamoto and clarifies any "gas guzzling" misperceptions he has regarding the DOE.

SCRATCH LOTTERY BETTER THAN RAISING TAXES

There are other options to raise monies for the state and organizations in need of funding without raising so many taxes that will impact just about everyone living in Hawai'i. Scratch lottery is the safest and most controllable way to have people happy to pay and raise monies for a lot of the DOE, health programs and others in desperate need of funding. Those who oppose will surely be among the people who will suffer from higher taxes and city services fees about to be levied against all of us. You will once again hear those voices complaining and whining about having to pay more to survive here.

Scratch lottery is voluntary and offers a high percentage of payback rewards for those who participate. A win-win for the people of Hawai'i.

Scratch lottery is the most affordable means to operate and maintain. It can be implemented quickly and, when need be, stopped. We have a choice to be angry and forced to pay higher taxes or have people excited to give monies that may equal to or be more than raising higher taxes for the masses.

HIKES FOR WEALTHY, HOTEL ROOMS ARE FAIR

I support the state Senate-House conferees' proposal to raise the hotel room tax slightly and also to tax higher incomes at a slightly higher rate. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the wealthiest 20 percent of citizens had their taxes lowered a great deal. The state Legislature's tax plan would raise the taxes on the higher brackets back up to 1990 levels — similar to Obama's tax plan at the national level which only impacts the top 3 percent of income earners.

The hotel room tax hike does not seem much of a burden for visitors and it is lower than in a good many other states. Perhaps the hotels can lower charges on use of the phone in rooms or the high charges for minimal continental breakfasts.

The tax protesters here last April 15 were off-base — not realizing that anyone who makes less than $250,000 a year will actually have tax decreases, and many of us are now seeing those in our paychecks. The ones who are ripped off are the couples in same-sex relationships who, on average, pay $1,000 more per year in taxes because they are barred from filing a joint return. That's another reason why the civil unions bill (HB 444) should be passed.

COMPLETE STREETS

POLICY LOOKING OUT FOR ALL ROAD USERS NEEDED

I have served as a long-time member of the County of Hawai'i's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. I've seen the state highways improve dramatically over the years, in terms of accommodating nondrivers. But progress at the county level has been frustratingly slow. Time and again we've watched road projects that could have accommodated cyclists and pedestrians fail to do so, even when the expense would have been minimal and the project is named in Bike Plan Hawaii.

A statewide Complete Streets policy would help to ensure that as new construction and reconstruction of roads occurs, all users are taken into account unless exemption criteria are met. Senate Bill 718 would bring the counties together to address this issue. I applaud the Legislature for the support it has shown for this bill.

FIREWORKS

HOW CAN WE JUSTIFY SUCH POLLUTION?

We've banned smoking in public places, we've changed to carbon-reducing light bulbs, we're buying carbon-emissions-reducing cars and then we blow all our good deeds away by filling the air with carbon on New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July.

If we know secondhand smoke kills people, how can we justify filling the Islands with smoke so concentrated that it remains in the air? It's carbon-binging and it's making a lot of innocent people sick; it's making our environment sick. Let's find a better way to celebrate.

SAVING MONEY

CUT BACK STREETLIGHT USE, PUBLIC PAY RAISES

Here's an idea to save some money — turn off half of all the streetlights on O'ahu. When you fly into Honolulu at night it looks like Christmas. On the Outer Islands there are highways that go for miles and miles with no streetlights except at intersections or junctions. It seems that people of Honolulu want constant daytime. How much money would be saved by doing that?

Do we really need streetlights all the way up Likelike, Pali, H-2, H-3, or Kahekili?

I know some people have a hard time driving in the dark, especially senior citizens, but we need to sacrifice some of our comforts for the common good, especially now. It wouldn't be the end of civilization if we did that.

Another thought. If you are making the same amount of money as last year, that is actually a pay raise. Why? Because most people's salaries in the private sector, which makes our economy go, went down. And our politicians voted for a pay raise? What a slap in the face! I will not vote for any politician that voted yes for their own pay raise.