New year brings hope, challenges

Welcome to 2018. This is an election year. And if there’s one thing recent events have taught us, it’s that elections have consequences.

The elevation of Donald Trump to the presidency has triggered a whole raft of policy developments that will touch Hawaii residents in the new year. Among them:

>> Changes to the federal tax code probably will affect your tax liability, including what and how much you can deduct. And with tax cuts adding $1.5 trillion to the national deficit, Hawaii should expect a reduction in one of the pillars of our economy — federal spending.

>> The decision to repeal net neutrality rules will give internet service providers greater freedom to speed up or slow down certain online content — possibly your favorite websites.

>> Repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate penalty could reduce health insurance coverage and drive up its cost.

That’s just on the federal level. This fall, Hawaii voters will choose a governor and lieutenant governor, delegates to Congress, and their local representatives.

Also, for the first time in 10 years, voters will be asked if they want to convene another Constitutional Convention to review and possibly modify the state’s governing document. The last “Con Con,” in 1978, introduced term limits for the governor and lieutenant governor, a balanced budget mandate and advancements for Native Hawaiians, including the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

So resolve to vote, and do more to help make our communities better. But remember another lesson from 2017: Bare-knuckle politics is vicious, ugly and makes for a stressful, anxiety-ridden world. Let’s not go there.

There’s other work ahead, too.

Tourism has been going like gangbusters, boosting the economy but putting pressure on Hawaii’s natural resources and infrastructure. It also has fueled the growth of illegal vacation rentals, causing consternation in residential neighborhoods and the hotel industry. The city and state need to curb this practice, through a combination of enforcement and regulations that discourage, including on oversized, out-of-place “monster” houses.

The last year also witnessed some frightening and destructive hurricanes: Harvey in Texas, Irma in Florida, and most disturbing, Maria in Puerto Rico — an island community that was devastated, with massive loss of power, severe shortages of water and food, and a rising death toll. As residents of an island state vulnerable to rising seas and storms of greater intensity, we should be prepared. At the very least, we should resolve in 2018 to keep our two-week supply of food and other essentials up to date.

In our New Year’s Day editorial last year, we urged the state and city to come up with a financing plan to complete the rail transit project to Ala Moana Center. They did — or rather, the Legislature did, in a special session, providing $2.4 billion from a general excise tax surcharge extension and the transient accommodations tax. Assuming the plan passes muster with the federal government, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation will have to control costs with a vengeance; the project’s price tag has nearly doubled, and the public has yet to receive an adequate explanation. Going forward, both those trends must be reversed.

We also urged a major increase in affordable housing, particularly Housing First projects for the homeless. Progress has been made, slowly but deliberately. Both the state and city have taken concrete stops to address the homeless problem; the city, in particular, has moved to secure properties and increase the inventory of affordable rental apartments.

Still, the number of affordable units available remains far smaller than what’s needed. In the coming year, the work must persist and accelerate, with a focus on affordable transit-oriented housing development around rail stations.

There are many more opportunities awaiting us in 2018.

We hope the year will go smoothly, and if not, that we will rise to the challenge.

Happy New Year!