Furloughs and Layoffs Only Temporary

With all the discussions about furloughs and layoffs, what I haven't really heard is a plan for the future. These drastic measures are only temporary. They will not fix the problems caused by big government and irresponsible spending. The problems we face today will not be easily resolved. The culture of government has to change. Furloughs and layoffs are temporary fixes. What will we do next year? And the year after that?

From today's Star Bulletin,

Savings are estimated to be about $204 million over the fiscal biennium, which ends June 2011, according to the Governor's Office.

"The savings that we're going to get from the furlough plan -- it will be substantial, but it won't even come close to closing the budget deficit that we have," Lingle told reporters.

Also in the article,

With state revenues continuing to decline, Lingle said she would continue to explore all other cost- cutting options, including further spending restrictions on state departments and refinancing of debt.

Shouldn't we have explored "all other cost-cutting options, including further spending restrictions on state departments" a long time ago? Maybe before we decided to go on all those national and international junkets under the guise of visitor industry promotions. Before we spent so much on travel and conferences for non-essential purposes. How about before we decided to send a highway engineer to Kauai, from Oahu, EVERY DAY to observe the limited number of highway jobs on Kauai? I could go on and on but I think you all get the point.

We are a government of waste, like many other governments throughout the country. What disturbs me here in Hawaii is that we are trying to fix our fiscal problems at the expense of our children. When you look at classes of employees, you have essential and non-essential employees. Police officers, medics, and firefighters are essential to the safety of the public. School teachers are essential to the future of our children. Why are we messing with them? Why can't we see the long-range problems that a reduction of 17 days from the school year will cause. I am still hoping for a miracle. I am hopeful that the furloughs will be called off. Maybe I am a dreamer. We'll see what happens.