Ex-Hawaii gov to Trump: End 'wasteful' rail project that will change beauty of Honolulu

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/21/ex-hawaii-gov-to-trump-end-wasteful-rail-project-that-will-change-beauty-honolulu.html

Excerpt:

One of Hawaii’s most well-known governors is appealing to President Trump to end funding for the state’s most notorious government “boondoggle” project.

The controversial 20-mile elevated heavy steel rail system now under construction on Oahu is slated to cost $10 billion or $500 million per mile, former Hawaii Gov. Benjamin Cayetano said, “the most costly rail project in the world.”

“As a lifelong Democrat and former governor of Hawaii, I opposed your candidacy,” said Cayetano in a statement published in a full-page newspaper advertisement in The Washington Post on Friday and provided to Fox News. “I must admit, however, that you are on the right track scrutinizing wasteful spending on pork barrel projects.”

“Honolulu’s rail project does not deserve a single dollar more from the federal government,” Cayetano said. “It has become a poster boy for how politics, incompetence, disinformation and outright lies are at the root of wasteful rail projects which do little for the public except raise taxes.”

If we legalized marijuana, we could extend the rail completely around the island.

If we legalized marijuana, we could extend the rail completely around the island.

We did legalize it. With restrictions. Doesn't that count? Can't we just go the last 10 miles with our restricted legalization of marijuana?

We did legalize it. With restrictions. Doesn't that count? Can't we just go the last 10 miles with our restricted legalization of marijuana?

No, I mean like Colorado. http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/legal-marijuana-ways-it-can-make-you-money.html/?a=viewall

Maybe Ben reads 2AHI and gets the idea of writing to Trump to bring down this city and state incompetence.  Meanwhile everyone lets Hanabusa who was part of HART just skate on by and not held responsible for her part in this mess.  Same like Coral Andrews who headed the wildly successful and now defunct Hawaii Health Connector..
 

Maybe Ben reads 2AHI and gets the idea of writing to Trump to bring down this city and state incompetence.  Meanwhile everyone lets Hanabusa who was part of HART just skate on by and not held responsible for her part in this mess.  Same like Coral Andrews who headed the wildly successful and now defunct Hawaii Health Connector..

Corruption, incompetence, waste, lack of transparency, and lack of accountability are "built-ins" in government, the more so in a one-party state like Hawaii.  And the scales are overwhelmingly tipped in favor of all those practices continuing and the people who enact them remaining in power for the foreseeable future. This is one time I hope a Democrat gets what he's asking for from the federal government. 

No, I mean like Colorado. http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/legal-marijuana-ways-it-can-make-you-money.html/?a=viewall

Out of the total marijuana sales of $1.3 billion, marijuana tax, license and fee revenue collected in 2016 almost hit the $200 million mark. To be exact: $198.5 million.
Colorado charges three different taxes on marijuana sales: a 15 percent excise tax, a 2.9 percent tax on both medical and recreational sales, and a 10 percent “special sales tax” on retail sales. The state has a Marijuana Tax Cash Fund from which it distributes dollars.
So where is the state using the tax dollars pouring in from pot? These places, based on appropriations approved by the state Legislature for fiscal year 2016-2017:
•   The first $40 million collected each year from the excise tax goes into BEST – the Building Excellent Schools Today fund, which will back construction projects to renovate or replace deteriorating public schools
•   More than $18 million went to the Department of Public Health and Environment to fund many different programs. They include the Marijuana Education Campaign ($7 million), a state-run program that “encourages young Coloradans to think about how their goals will be easier to achieve without marijuana.” Another $6.7 million went to substance abuse prevention grants.
•   The Department of Agriculture received $3 million for pesticide control, inspection services, 4H and FAA programs and other services.
•   The Attorney General’s office received more than $1 million, including $286,766 for a special prosecutions unit.
•   The Department of Education received $8.4 million for a variety of initiatives, including programs to stop bullying at schools and reduce the number of school dropouts. About half of the money went to the Early Literacy Competitive Grant Program.
•   The Governor’s Office received $216,944, most of which funded the Office of Marijuana Coordination.
That's money mostly spent on EDUCATION !
Maybe we should sell pot, collect the taxes and use the money  to educate our politicians on how NOT to waste money on rail .

Maybe we should sell pot, collect the taxes and use the money  to educate our politicians on how NOT to waste money on rail .

Yeah, because we wouldn't want to live in a country where the citizens had the freedom and liberty to grow their own (untaxed) cannabis in their own yard. You know, just like you can't grow your own untaxed tobacco or make your own untaxed beer... right? 

Maybe Ben reads 2AHI and gets the idea of writing to Trump to bring down this city and state incompetence.  Meanwhile everyone lets Hanabusa who was part of HART just skate on by and not held responsible for her part in this mess.  Same like Coral Andrews who headed the wildly successful and now defunct Hawaii Health Connector..

I think Trump is more likely to sell Hawaii to the Russians for lucrative oil deals. Sessions would counter sign the deal.

Out of the total marijuana sales of $1.3 billion, marijuana tax, license and fee revenue collected in 2016 almost hit the $200 million mark. To be exact: $198.5 million.
Colorado charges three different taxes on marijuana sales: a 15 percent excise tax, a 2.9 percent tax on both medical and recreational sales, and a 10 percent “special sales tax” on retail sales. The state has a Marijuana Tax Cash Fund from which it distributes dollars.

If recreational marijuana was legally available in ABC Stores, tourism would triple and we could have a PFD like Alaska.

Reuters / Thursday, April 20, 2017
California "weed nun" Christine Meeusen, (R), and India Delgado, who goes by the name Sister Eevee, smoke a joint at Sisters of the Valley near Merced, California. Based near the town of Merced in the Central Valley, which produces over half of the fruit, vegetables and nuts grown in the United States, the Sisters of the Valley grow and harvest their own cannabis plants. The group says its Holy Trinity is the marijuana plant, specifically hemp, a strain of marijuana that has very low levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in the plant. Members turn the hemp into cannabis-based balms and ointments, which they say have the power to improve health and well-being.

In other words, I won the election so don't question my support of the rail.

http://www.honolulu.gov/cms-csd-menu/site-csd-sitearticles/985-site-csd-news-2017-cat/27231-04-21-17-mayor-caldwell-statement-on-washington-post-ad-about-city%E2%80%99s-rail-project.html?utm_source=newsletter_5593&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mayor-caldwell-statement-on-washington-post-ad-about-city%E2%80%99s-rail-project

Regarding the Sisters of the Valley, I wonder if they sell marijuana blessed by Pope Francis?

wonder what his motives are. Did he lose out on kickbacks? Or does he truly care about Oahu?

Reuters / Thursday, April 20, 2017
California "weed nun" Christine Meeusen, (R), and India Delgado, who goes by the name Sister Eevee, smoke a joint at Sisters of the Valley near Merced, California. Based near the town of Merced in the Central Valley, which produces over half of the fruit, vegetables and nuts grown in the United States, the Sisters of the Valley grow and harvest their own cannabis plants. The group says its Holy Trinity is the marijuana plant, specifically hemp, a strain of marijuana that has very low levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in the plant. Members turn the hemp into cannabis-based balms and ointments, which they say have the power to improve health and well-being.

the devil is smiling...

Why can't people like Cayetano just stay gone...


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#DefundHawaii

The face of honesty.

wonder what his motives are. Did he lose out on kickbacks? Or does he truly care about Oahu?

Maybe this has something to do with Ben's motives.
http://khon2.com/2017/04/20/recovery-plan-for-rail-required-by-fta-is-not-complete-at-this-stage/
Also KHON interviewed some political analyst who said maybe the timing was due to the HI judge irritating Trump about immigration.
To me a good time to write to AG Sessions or even the prez about rapback, SB898 and other probably unconstitutional local laws is in early July if Ige signs the law to proclaim HI as a sanctuary state.   If he doesn't sign, the letter to Sessions can be adjusted without the sanctuary state theme.

If the CIty doesn't get money for the rail from the Feds ...guess who they will turn to....us.
How many of you want to be taxed for the rest of our lives to line the pockets of those political elite?

The face of honesty.

For a person that makes about $300k a year and whose "part time" job is almost double his salary as Mayor, how can he relate to the average Joe citizen Hawaii. He can't. All he cares about is the end game. His golden parachute.

Whatever someone feels about the rail project, at this point it's too far underway to just abandon it. Might as well finish.