| Banana Republic is a pejorative term for a country that is politically unstable, dependent on limited agriculture, and ruled by a small, self-elected, wealthy, and corrupt clique. The first known use of the term banana republic was by American author O. Henry in his 1904 book of linked short stories, Cabbages and Kings. The book is based on Henry's 1896-97 stay in Honduras, while hiding from federal authorities for embezzlement in the United States. The term was originally invented as a very direct reference to a "servile dictatorship" which abetted (or directly supported in return for kickbacks) the exploitation of large-scale plantation agriculture. -- Wikipedia |
HEAD ON - could it be?
Artist’s conception of the High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project (HHCTCP)
Ha Ha! Just kidding. Never in your wildest dreams. Here you go.
Hawaiʻi is the only U.S. state without local community control of public schools.
(BTW: Hawaiʻi ranks 50th for the amount of infrastructure funding spent per student.)
Here’s a really strange idea that addresses the problem. HUH? (01/15/2012)
Regarding the "APEC garb to grab" gossip:
Let us not forget Hawai‘i Governor William Quinn
gave his approval for Territorial workers to wear aloha shirts to work in 1958.
Kona TSA Screener Busted For Pinching Greenbacks (3/16/2011)
Gov. Abercrombie can't get away from pledge to not raise General Excise Tax (3/9/2011)
With several thousand homes without power and a massive storm
parked over the islands, HECO union workers decide it's a good time to strike? (3/5/2011)
While most governers look to trim budget Ambercrombie calls for an additional $728 million?
Does the Rail Route kill whatʻs left of Waikīkī and Honolulu? Try Look. (PDF)
Tom Welch reveals the problem with O‘ahu's rail succinctly! (Flash video, KITV)
Runaway Trains - is Obama's high-speed rail plan a fiscal pipedream? (Michael Medved, WSJ)
Visit Dave Shapiro for current coverage of the unbelievable events in the 50th state...
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Taxation with every transaction, regardless if you’re the buyer, the seller, the middleman or the messenger: G.E.T. is an unusual example of an excise tax found in the State of Hawai‘i. In lieu of a sales tax, the State of Hawai‘i imposes a General Excise Tax, or GET, on all business activity in the State. The GET is charged at a rate of 4% for most businesses and 0.5% for wholesalers. The tax is imposed on all business entities, so in essence, the tax is collected at every level of production (material supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer.) The GET is also charged on all business service activity such as real estate agent commissions, lawyer fees and the like. With Hawai‘i’s industry heavily dependent on tourism and tourist spending, the State regularly raises nearly half its government revenues through the imposition of the GET. Hawai‘i’s GET has been criticized for having a disproportionate impact on low-income families, owing to the fact it is charged on all intermediary transactions (such as those between wholesaler and retailer) as well as services, resulting in a pyramiding effect as costs rise in relation to final retail prices. -- Wikipedia |
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