The issue of money in politics is here to stay, and the corruption that comes along with it needs to be addressed. House Bill 1481 would do just that by modernizing Hawaii’s outdated public funding program for elections. The state House passed the bill, and it is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee.
During Hawaii’s 1978 Constitutional Convention, delegates foresaw the problem of private money in the lawmaking process and fought for the partial public funding program we now have. Unfortunately, the program no longer gives candidates enough money to be competitive. In the past election, only one candidate in more than 100 House and Senate campaigns utilized it. It’s now time for an upgrade.
We don’t allow people in a courtroom to give money to a judge to influence how he or she interprets the law, yet when it comes to paying to elect people who create those laws in the first place, we let special interests dole out a majority of the campaign contributions. Monied interests have cornered the market on elections and "free" speech, and have left taxpayers in the dust.
Why would we want to modernize our public funding program for elections? To save taxpayer money and make policies built for the long haul. Make no mistake: Corporations donate to campaigns, hire lobbyists and rig laws because they get massive returns on their investments.
Last year, House Bill 2703 would have set target dates for Hawaii to start growing more food within the state. In the final committee, though, one legislator who is heavily funded by large seed companies — companies that opposed to the bill — removed the language and inserted language favored by the same seed companies.
Considering that about 85 percent of our food is shipped in on barges, and that we could create a much more robust and secure economy by growing more food in our state, it’s a wonder why legislation aimed at growing more food here is so difficult to pass.
The truth is that special interests essentially have a monopoly on elections and the lawmaking arena, and they don’t want to invite the general public to the party. Sure, individual citizens can donate, but our voices are getting drowned out by the largest campaign donors. To fully fund every House and Senate race, both winners and losers, would have cost each taxpayer a little over $2.50 per year. That’s a small price to pay for the public to take back control of our laws.
Most big businesses, special interests and even some politicians would argue that $2.50 is not worth paying, but their opinions are skewed.
Even though "we the taxpayers" are supposed to be represented by our legislators, we are left out of the very game that determines who gets elected — and consequently the laws that affect our daily lives.
It is hard to try and quantify the cost to taxpayers when special interests undermine the public’s interest, but you can be sure that for $2.50 per year, publicly funded elections are, indeed, the deal of the century for taxpayers.
