Wherefore Art Thou, Hawaii Earmarks?

It’s the end of an era. Hawaii’s lucrative earmarks are gone. President Obama has vowed to veto the earmarks which have helped to spur Hawaii’s economy since Senator Dan Inouye made his way to Washington.

The Dan and Dan show brought of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual earmarks; money which helped to bolster Hawaii’s economy for the past few decades.

Don’t call it belt tightening. Call it budget slashing. Or, perhaps budget bludgeoning.

Whatever you call it, say goodbye to the gravy train of government money brought to you by Dan and Dan. Earmarks are vestiges of a by-gone era. We’ll have to make it on our own.

The saving grace is that Hawaii remains a strategic location for parking America’s military might, but don’t expect more money. Expect less.

Hawaii is a strategic location for the growing stream of middle-class tourists from China, too. Will the Chinese fall in love with Hawaii the way the Japanese did for the past 30 years? And, if they do, will the Japanese take Hawaii off their travel shopping list?

The two don’t get along all that well, you know? The Chinese often point out that the Japanese learned everything they know from the Chinese back in the 6th century. And, the Japanese point out that the Chinese haven’t learned much since.

That part of tomorrow has yet to play out, but for today, the islands are no longer the beneficiaries of largesse from Dan and Dan. Their generation has come and gone. And so has their money.