With the debt ceiling negotiations still up in the air and fears about what the tumultuous process to date means for the U.S. financial standing in the global system, don’t you wonder what Hawaii has at stake?
Senator Inouye’s clout in Washington, and the state’s strategic location, have added up to higher than average federal expenditures in the state. Usually that’s a plus, but if the checkbook runs dry, it seems to mean we’re up there among the states that could feel the greatest impact.
There are different numbers floating around.
The Northeast-Midwest Institute, using federal data for FY 2008, calculated Hawaii ranked #6 among the 50 states in per-capita federally expenditures.
Broken down by categories of spending, Hawaii was #2 in federally-funded wages and salaries, #11 in federal procurement, #16 in retirement and disability payments, #23 in grants, and #34 in “other direct payments.”
The Consolidated Federal Funds Report for Fiscal Year 2009 prepared by the U.S. Commerce Department and the Census Bureau ranks Hawaii #3 among the states in per-capita federal spending (just click for a better look at this chart).
Whatever the current numbers, it appears likely, based on these figures, that Hawaii would be among those states hard hit by any disruption in federal payments resulting from the congressional impasse.
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The greater problem could be that the immanent threat of default on the part of the federal government merely exposes (and perhaps accelerates) the long-term trend of fewer federal dollars reaching Hawaii.
Who seriously believes that ten years from now federal funding in Hawaii will be what it has been all these years? In fact, how many of the reasons for federal largess in Hawaii even apply today? The federal government was once seen as an infinite cornucopia. In fact, even the county governments in Hawaii are often viewed that way by the least educated segment of Hawaii’s population. Not only is there a changing of the guard in Hawaii’s Congressional delegation, meaning weaker representation, the federal government itself is never going to be what it once was.
A Congressional delegation serve a dual role, serving both a local and a national constituency. It could be that in the current situation, Hawaii’s delegation has effectively been neutralized in terms of the local mission; they won’t be bringing home the bacon the way they used to. That could become a permanent situation.
Perhaps more troubling is that Hawaii’s Congressional delegation do not fulfill their national mission either. As an example, let us take into consideration some comments made by Senator Inouye recently and reported by the Star Advertiser.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110603_Inouye_warns_against_US_letting_down_its_guard_in_Asia.html
Richard Borreca writes:
“Inouye is a strong supporter of a strong U.S. military presence in Asia, noting how in 1992 he toured the region “from Sydney to Beijing, meeting with the highest ranking officials from presidents, prime ministers and dictators.” “Without hesitation, they asked that the U.S. not leave the area,” Inouye said. … This comes at a time when already there is a backlash forming in Congress, led by Inouye’s perpetual nemesis, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who along with two other senators say the Defense Department should review its plans for South Korea, Guam and Okinawa.”
There is a further assessment of the speech by two professors of the US Naval War College.
http://the-diplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2011/05/11/inouye%E2%80%99s-asia-pacific-warning/
The final paragraph of their article reads:
“While Inouye implored Washington to keep up diplomatic ties with Beijing, along with military-to-military contacts, he also prophesied that Asia and the United States are entering the ‘most challenging and potentially dangerous period’ in recent memory. While the senator pronounced the thought of another Pacific war dismaying, he also reported concluding ‘over long years’ of life as a military man and officeholder that ‘war is nearly inevitable.’ Such sentiments are sobering coming from the chairman of the Senate Defence Appropriations Subcommittee, but at the same time, public officials seldom speak with such brisk candour. As Washington and Beijing renew military-to-military dialogue, they should follow Inouye’s example. Frank discourse with friends is important. It’s critical with prospective strategic competitors.”
It is somewhat grim that Inouye would predict that war, implicitly with China, is almost inevitable.
However, if one takes cyber warfare into account, it could be argued that the US is already at war with China — and China is winning.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304259304576373391101828876.html
But the point is that Inouye’s thinking on the issue of China foreign policy is old fashioned. One can agree or disagree about the threat posed by China, but the point is that it is not being adequately addressed by Inouye, and that this might be symptomatic of a greater obsolescence of Hawaii’s DC delegation.
That is, not only do Hawaii’s Congressional delegation no longer serve a functional purpose in the local economy as they once did, but the role that they used to play on the national stage likewise has been compromised.
What kind of return on the dollar does the federal government get in taxes? What is Hawai’i’s rank in that regard relative to other states?
Here’s one example.
http://www.usaliveheadlines.com/2215/a-revealing-infographic-shows-where-federal-tax-dollars-come-from.htm