By Hawaii State Senator Shan S. Tsutsui
With the election season officially over, it is now essential that the people of Hawaii refocus our attention to the challenges that face our community and work together to find the best ways to shape and improve our state.
We see the signs on the daily news, hear them in the concerned voices of friends and family, and feel them in our wallets. The effects of our slowing state economy are beginning to show across our community. Local businesses face higher costs for energy, rent, and health insurance, while confronting lower gross revenues. And even as we search for solutions, we share an uneasy sense that reduced visitor arrivals, changes to the landscape on Wall Street, and fluctuating oil prices may be permanent conditions. People nervous about spending their money, in part because we can assume that when the economy improves, tomorrow’s business landscape will not look the same as yesterday’s.