Contact info
e-mail: vantanabe@yahoo.com
PMB #290
4725 Bouganville Dr.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818

"Employment"

"Employment"

Living in Hawaii we have a unique situation regarding employment. Since the majority of our employers live abroad they don't see what it's like trying to make a life for ourselves or even how hard raising a family can be in paradise. What their looking for is profits and if the rate-of-return is not as good as what they may get on the mainland they simply sell off their company or close their doors. But, before they do that they'll ask the employees to take wage and benefit cuts for the good of the company. This is why I feel that our government must encourage and support local businesses with more tax credits and incentives. Government must take a positive roll in regards to employment instead of the negative downsizing we've seen for over a decade. If we are to move forward and succeed in the new millennium we must think out of the box. So I am proposing to transform Kalaeloa into a "Six Flags Hawaii and Seaworld Hawaii". The intention is to build and maintain these entities, I just used the brand names to let you know that these will be world class attractions second to none. Since we're going to develop the area why not throw in three five star hotels to sit next to Hawaii's newest attractions. We have just created over 35,000 good careers on the Leeward coast of Oahu. Remember that these are all state run facilities, thus creating state revenue. The only difference is that instead of taking 4% of the dollar, the state gets the whole dollar. My intentions in regards to building hotels are not to under-cut my neighbors at Koolina or even down at Waikiki but rather to make the state a player in Hawaii's tourism industry. We've been hearing for the past couple of years of how our tourism industry is breaking records in hotel occupancy and room rates. Then why is it that hotel workers have to threaten to strike just to get a 2% raise, go figure. The profits that these hotels make don't even stay in our state, sure they make many community contributions, but this money is just a very small fraction compared to what leaves the state. All the money that is generated at "OUR HOTELS" and "OUR AMUSEMENT PARKS" will stay in Hawaii and be used as state revenue. By creating this much new revenue we can now start to reduce some of our taxes and even eliminate our taxes on food and drugs. This is not only for the poorest of the poor but for everyone in Hawaii. Just think, by creating 35,000 good jobs on the Leeward coast of Oahu we will also be eliminating the traffic congestion into Downtown. Imagine not having to spend 1 hour sitting in traffic to get to work, but 10 to 15 minutes to get to a great career. Oh, one more thing. Since "OUR HOTELS and OUR AMUSEMENT PARKS" will sit on seeded land 5% of all proceeds will go directly to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. See what we can achieve by thinking out of the box.

Aloha and Mahalo

Van K. Tanabe