As the issue of affordable housing continues to permeate Hawaii, one way the government has addressed this is by working with the private sector to more efficiently build new housing. This enhancement of the public-private partnership, as evidenced by City Council Bills 3 and 7, is welcome and a terrific step in the right direction.

This approach is reminiscent of the policies implemented in New York in the 1960s and ’70s. At the time, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller increased the size of New York’s public education system by issuing bonds as a way to raise funds that weren’t completely at the expense of the taxpayer. This example of a government working with the private sector shows the applicability of this model.

By integrating the private sector into affordable housing development through financial incentives and the reduction of burdensome regulations, we’re allowing the free market to do what it does best: allocate scarce resources.

Kala’e Kong

Pearl City

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