Vulnerable Docks, Hawaii's Lifeline

Anybody who is a baby boomer or older who grew up in Hawaii can relate to horror stories of empty supermarket shelves as shoppers hoarded everything from rice to toilet paper because Hawaii's lifeline had been cut off by dock strikes.

But a whole couple of generations since the mid-1970s have no idea what it was like to be cut off from the mainland from where most of Hawaii's food and other essentials arrive. After the last major dock tie-up, one bank economist wrote a telling brochure on what it means to have Hawaii's docks closed down, calling Hawaii "the most vulnerable state in the nation." That piece was an attempt to get federal legislation adopted to prevent the dock workers from shutting down the state and stranding the population of Hawaii.

Inasmuch as the harbor system is not only our supply lifeline but our economic lifeline too, state leaders need to recognize that the harbor system is important to Hawaii's future. If goods cannot be efficiently moved in and out of the state, the inefficiency will sour our economic future. That inefficiency will only contribute to the high cost of living in Hawaii and will shave any kind of competitive edge Hawaii made goods have on the world market place.

The same goes for the Neighbor Island ports. As Hawaii's economy grows, the importance of maintaining its shipping lifeline becomes more critical. Maintaining Hawaii's harbors as working ports, as opposed to developing them for glitzy hotels or office buildings, should be of concern to all taxpayers and their elected officials. Similarly on the Neighbor Islands, the advent of passenger ship arrivals will also compete with the working cargo ships that bring goods to the Neighbor Islands. While those passenger ship arrivals help to boost the economy of each Neighbor Island, those arrivals and use of the docks must be balanced with the needs of each island's community.

More importantly, policymakers and administrators need to recognize the importance of our state's harbor system and how our state's economy is intertwined with its docks.

??Why not help the State of Hawaii to be less and/or completely self sustainable. We can start by Growing, Selling, and buying our own food instead of selling our goods to the mainland and buying them back??

WHAT DO YOU THINK??

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