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READ: Do No Harm: How Hawaii State Government Can Mitigate the COVID-19 Economic Crisis
May 14, 2020
A new report by the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center, suggests cutting government funding will hurt our communities and compound the economic hardships brought on by COVID-19. The report emphasizes that in order to contain COVID-19, cushion the collapse of the local economy, and better position Hawaii for recovery, state government should take these urgent steps:
- Make emergency investments in agencies critical to the pandemic response, so that Hawaii has the capacity to identify, investigate, and contain infections before they become clusters.
- Stabilize but do not cut spending across state government to avoid compounding the private-sector crisis.
- Take full advantage of federal relief funds and the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility, which can buy state bonds at historically low interest rates
- Develop long-term plans for surgical cuts, targeted revenue enhancements, and strategic investments to return to balanced budgeting as the economy rebounds
READ: Do No Harm: How Hawaii State Government Can Mitigate the COVID-19 Economic Crisis