Hawaii State Teachers Association President Corey Rosenlee might do better in persuading voters to support the new education tax if he would stick to the facts and not, “Do we vote for our keiki, or do we vote for these wealthy developers?” (“Tax would help kids and deter rich outside investors,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Sept. 16).

The proposed constitutional amendment does not determine what constitutes investor property. It does not require they be out-of-state owners nor does it specify how the revenue will be used.

Rosenlee claims that Honolulu pays the lowest property taxes in the country, but we also have the highest valuations and are taxed on everything we touch, even Girl Scout cookies, health care and food.

Many states have enacted a lottery for schools, but their legislatures figured out that for every dollar collected from the lottery for schools, they can subtract that much from the usual general fund allocations. The same will be true of a new property tax for education.

Garry P. Smith

Ewa Beach

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