The Real Travis Allen That You Haven't Seen -- UNTIL NOW!

OUCH!

Just when you thought that REAL Travis Allen is the man that the CAGOP needs, just wait until you see how his financials really measure up.

This is one long eblast, but it outlines at length why Travis is NOT the man we need for Chairman!

Too much debt, money not spent where it should have been spent.

WHAT?!

Dear CRP Delegate, There’s been a lot of negative campaigning going on (via “spoofed” emails and not to mention a certain blogger) attacking one of the candidates for CRP chair. A “Sherman’s March to the Sea” operation. A scorched earth tactic so to speak.   And while the source of the negative e-mail campaign has not been revealed, the Allen campaign certainly has not refuted, nor condemned it. The blogger is being paid for his work and is well known.   So, in the interest of “leveling the playing field”, a sharing of some of Travis’ “baggage” and “dirty laundry” is contained herein. You may draw your own conclusions and opinions after reading. It is all based on publicly available records.   A Brief summary as of February 12, 2019   Travis's Fundraising Prowess revealed Candidate Races 2012 Assembly:   $9250.00 in debt remaining   2018 Assembly:   $61,096.10 in debt remaining   2018 Gubernatorial:     $25,954.37 in debt remaining   Total candidate debt remaining from two Assembly races and one failed gubernatorial race:    $96,300.47.   Why can’t the big-time fundraiser retire this debt? If he can’t raise $96k, including $9,250.00 from SIX years ago, how will he raise the millions it takes to run the CRP?  Gas Tax PAC   Over $500k raised. Spent $100k more than that. End of June, over $100k in debt.   End of 2018 debt reduced to $700, under highly dubious circumstances. In a nutshell, $50k was “reduced” with no explanation and no indication that the vendor forgave the debt AND another $50k just “disappeared” from the filing.   This is grounds for an FPPC enforcement action. Not good for someone who wants to be CRP Chair.  Take Back California PAC  NO year-end report filed as of 02/12/2019, paper or e-filed. EXTREMELYsuspect.  WHAT IS TRAVIS HIDING THAT HE'S WILLING TO BREAK THE LAW FOR??   While the above debt is not unusual, or illegal, the unexplained “reduction and/or disappearance” of over $100k is AS WELL AS FAILING TO FILE A REQUIRED REPORT.   A call to the FPPC confirmed the above, however a complaint would need to be filed. Stay tuned.  End of Summary    Now for the details 2012 Assembly Won, but finished the campaign $136,703.62 in debt. Current status, still not cleared with $9250.00 of debt as of December 31, 2018. SIX years later and still not paid off.   2018 Assembly Dropped out to run for governor. Not even on the primary ballot as he ran for Governor as well.$68,923.16 in debt as of June 30, 2018. As of December 31, 2018, debt remaining is $61,096.10.   2018 Governor’s Race Lost in the Primary. $28,454.37 in debt as of June 30, 2018. As of December 31, 2018, the campaign still has $25,954.37 in debt waiting to be retired.   That’s $96,300.47 of outstanding liabilities from just three candidate committees AND ONE OF THEM IS SIX YEARS OLD! Now normally when you win a race, donors flock to you and any debt is easily retired within the next cycle however it usually takes fresh donors who have not previously contributed the maximum. When you lose or drop out it’s even harder. Not an easy task either way it would seem in Travis’ case based on the debt he still carries. Could it be they see through his chest-thumping, King Kong act? Will you? Obviously, Travis is not the PT Barnum of fundraising he claims to be. It gets even better though. Read on.   Repeal the Gas Tax PAC   Repeal the Gas Tax PAC (FPPC ID 1396427) that FAILED TO TURN IN A SINGLE SIGNATURE, yet raised and spent almost $500k, spent another $100k it didn’t have and ended the campaign in June 2018 with $101,733.44 of debt. As of December 31, 2018, debt has allegedly been reduced to $700.00, which is a loan from Travis.   All is not as it would appear though. An interesting item to note (and after a careful review of its December 31, 2018 filing) is that the debt shown as being retired between July and December is only $51,439.66 and that was a “reversal” of the charges, with no explanation we might add. There’s also a discrepancy (outright deletion) of $50,293.78 in the debt balance (prior accrued expenses) that has no explanation. It’s just "gone" from the report. His treasurer uses a well-regarded, hosted compliance solution to file and the transactions would have had to be intentionally deleted or they would have carried over. This was a deliberate act intended to make people think his debt was paid off. How was the first $50k “reduced” without showing it as an in-kind contribution? Where did the other $50k+ in debt go? The creditor could have forgiven it but that should be disclosed. It cannot just be "reduced" or “removed” with no explanation. BTW, his treasurer at one time was one of the top four offenders on the FPPC’s “bad boy” list. Seems old habits may never die. It remains to be seen.   So, total debt owed is approximately $96,300.47 plus another $51,439.66 in unsubstantiated "reduced" debt, plus that aforementioned $50,293.78, whereabouts unknown, from the Gas Tax Repeal Committee.   That’s $198,033.91 of debt for an incoming CRP Chair.   Can you say WOW?   There’s also an open FPPC investigation involving his 2018 Assembly committee, Gas Tax Repeal PAC and gubernatorial committee. Details are sketchy, as it’s ongoing, but initial publicity alleges misdirection of funds involving his Assembly campaign and PAC to benefit his gubernatorial campaign. Imagine a future Sac Bee headline if true:   California Republican Party Chair Guilty of Money Laundering.   If true, very serious indeed however it can take years for the FPPC to resolve these matters, so it would haunt him his entire tenure as Chair. Interestingly enough, the complaint was filed by Aaron Park, author of the Right On Daily blog and the driving force behind a non-stop barrage of negative campaigning against the leading candidate for State Party Chair. Thy enemy one day is thy ally the next. Politics certainly does make for strange bedfellows doesn’t it?   Take Back California PAC Oh, and let’s not forget Travis’ Take Back California PAC, FPPC ID 1406792. The one he’s using to raise money for his Chair race. Another questionable practice that exposes his alleged donors to unnecessary public scrutiny.   The year-end filing shows, wait for it ….. NOTHING, as his treasurer has yet to file either a paper or electronic report, 13 days after it was due!!   A highly unusual situation but one with several possible explanations, none that help Travis. We're betting amendments get filed real quick, and with lots of "spin", after this email gets out. Door #1: One explanation is that he hasn’t raised what he claims to have raised (no surprise here) so the $25k threshold requiring online filing has not been met. Fair enough, but where’s the paper filing? All committees have to file year-end reports, at least on paper. All filings are also public record and a copy of the paper filing can easily be obtained via email from the SOS. In an email to them on February 12, the SOS indicated they had not received it yet. A full 12 days after the deadline. Highly suspect! Door #2: Another explanation is that he’s crossed the $25k threshold but is nowhere near his outlandish fundraising claims and doesn’t want to reveal the real numbers as it would destroy his credibility. This could be a calculated move on his part and he would eventually file AFTER the CRP election on February 24th. A delay such as this would cost his committee about $500. A small price to pay to be State Party Chair??? Door #3: The third explanation is that his treasurer just hasn’t filed. Not a likely scenario based on their history with the FPPC. So, something doesn’t add up. Either Travis is embellishing the facts (ya think?), his treasurer hasn’t filed for whatever reason or he's instructed her not to file until the 25th. Our money's on Door #2.   Can you say"integrity", or lack thereof?   So that’s four committees he’s either a candidate or controlling principal of with $96,300.47 in combined debt yet to be retired (plus $51,439.66 that was just “reversed” with no explanation and another $50,293.78 whereabouts unknown), an open campaign finance violation case (and maybe more on the way) and an active PAC he is the principal of (which brings up a whole other issue to be addressed further along in this conversation). And he wants to be Chair of the CRP? Is this what they call “leading by example”?   Do you see a pattern here?   Travis likes to run up a tab with no means to pay it, he’s not as good at raising money as he says he is and he'll say anything to get elected.   The CRP has been there and done that with Chairman Brulte’s immediate predecessor, Tom Del Beccaro. He lost the trust of Board (and the caucuses and major donors) when he spent TWO MILLION DOLLARS on a redistricting lawsuit WITHOUT BOARD APPROVAL AND NO MEANS TO PAY FOR IT! He spent the CRP into oblivion. It’s the reason he served only one term. Does the CRP really want to go back to those days, i.e. invoices from vendors shoved off in a corner and ignored, unable to pay bills? Over a million dollars in debt in just two years. If you thought it was bad then, think of how much worse it would get for the Party financially if Travis is elected?   Reality check for all you grassroots Travis supporters out there: The CRP doesn’t run on bravado and goodwill. It takes cold, hard cash and plenty of it and Travis has not shown a propensity to raise that kind of money. His million dollar a month plan from grassroots supporters doesn’t even BEGIN to pay the bills over a two-year period. And besides, he’s promised to spend all of that on voter registration (a noble effort btw as we certainly need it) but where would the rest come from?   If you don’t already know, the CRP is a $30-$35 MILLION per-election cycle operation. The largest State Party operation in the country. That’s just under $1.5 MILLION a month on average for operations and candidate support over a two-year period. Not chump change by any means so where will it all come from without the support of the Legislative caucuses and major donors which he does not have? They do not trust him, again much the same as it was with Tom Del Beccaro.   Are the so-called grassroots donors willing or even capable of making up that difference? Past history says no.   Take all of the aforementioned campaign debt and compliance issues and we now start to have serious legal, ethics and conflict of interest situations, if Travis is elected as CRP Chair.   For example: As Chair of the State Party, he will become the de-facto fundraiser-in-chief for the CRP. There’s no disputing that. The Chair is the face of the party and the one who gains the trust of the major donors and the legislative caucuses and “brings home the bacon”. The Chair’s title, and subsequently their ability to raise money, carries more clout than any other within the Party and the CRP CANNOTsurvive financially without that core financial support.   So, here’s the ethics question: With all that debt (and creditors do want to get paid after all) from his prior campaigns and PACs, how does Travis raise money to retire that debt while at the same time raising money from those same or new donors in the name of the party? The CRP can accept unlimited contributions from all legally permitted sources, it’s just a matter of which account it goes into so any funds he would raise should go to the party and yet there’s that nagging debt hanging over his head and the urge for him to solicit CRP donors to help in retiring that debt. The proper direction to take would be to suspend fundraising/debt retirement on his part for his past and current committees until he’s no longer Chair. But are his creditors willing to wait at least another two years for any sort of payment? We’re talking at least $100k here. Maybe as much as $200k. Creates quite the ethical dilemma don’t you think?   It’s called a conflict of interest.   Here’s another example. Let’s say all this prior debt is paid off. How does someone who has a PAC, Take Back California, juggle both as Chair of the Party? This would be another huge ethics issue and with the ego we’ve seen, Travis isn’t going to give it up. Again, it goes back to who will he be raising money for? The PAC or the Party? Can’t do both with a straight face when you’re the Chair. Like it or not, as chair, the party “owns” your fundraising efforts. There can be only one destination for money raised.   And we won’t even go into his plans to run for governor again. Oh what the hell, why not?   So, let’s say he runs again. He says he’s not, but……. he is Travis. The campaign would have to start in 2020 however CRP bylaws do not allow an officer to run for statewide office and still serve as such. Hence, he’d have to step down as chair to begin his campaign. How will “cut-and-run” tactics such as that sit with his supporters? Not to mention the rest of the delegation and Republican voters throughout California.   Here today, gone tomorrow.   The choice is yours on Sunday, February 24.     This document was not authorized by any candidate, was prepared using publicly available information and no candidate was aware of it prior to distribution.   We are fellow delegates to the California Republican Party. If you wish to unsubscribe, please respond to this email with the words "Remove Me" at the top of the response. but please do not mark this email as spam. Thank you for taking the time to read this!!!

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Jay Leno: This is How to Stay Out of Debt

NBC "The Tonight Show" comedy host Jay Leno was the funniest comedian of the three plus comedians who tried to carry a late-night talk show. He was witty, mocked both sides of the aisle, stayed away from embittered political punditry. He also relied on submissions of funny photos from the audience. Having watched some of Johnny Carson's segments from previous broadcasts, I think that Leno was funnier than Carson.

When Leno went among the public to question them about basic current events, he poked fun at their lack of knowledge, but never trashed them or made them feel about themselves. He made fun, but he wasn't cruel or bitter. At the beginning of every show, Leno reached out the audience and connected with as many of them as he could.

And he was a tireless worker. He did a nightly return at the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach to make sure that he stayed fresh and vibrant. His temperament on screen and off indicated that he had a centrist, perhaps even conservative leaning mindset.

Lo and behold, the way he managed money in his private life, from his first career to the present, suggested a strong fiscal discipline which all of us could learn from.

CNBC reports:

Jay Leno never carried debt, even before he was a big earner. He stayed out of the red thanks to one simple strategy: He didn't buy on credit.

"I rarely used credit cards," the comedian tells CNBC Make It. "I didn't buy anything I couldn't afford to pay for in cash. I always liked, 'Here is the money, give me the thing, transaction over.'"

Makes sense. Don't get into a habit of going on credit if you have the money to begin with.

Leno started his career with a minimum wage job at a McDonald's as a teen. A few years later, when he was jump-starting his career as a comedian, he had to supplement his comedy gig earnings with money he made working at a car dealership. At first, the paycheck from the dealership was the bigger of the two, so he banked that and lived off the other.

He started hosting "The Tonight Show" in 1992 at age 42, a job that reportedly earned him as much as $30 million a year. But even today, he prefers not to pay for anything in installments, he tells CNBC Make It: "When you own something and you don't have to write checks every month, you're just better off."

This conservative philosophy gives him financial peace of mind. "I own everything. I own my buildings. I own my cars. That way, if it ends tomorrow, I know what I've got," says Leno, who now hosts CNBC's "Jay Leno's Garage." "It's a little old fashioned, I suppose, but it seems to work pretty well for me."

When you're getting started as an independent adult, it's important to establish good credit — that will allow you to make larger purchases in the future, such as a car or a home — and one way to do so is by opening a credit card. The good news is, if you stick to a few basic guidelines, you can easily use one without going into debt.

But if you find yourself not making payments in full, or if you have already racked up credit card debt, Leno's cash-only solution may work for you.

There's more to the story. Where did Leno learn these habits?

From this parents, who had survived the depression. They knew what it was like to live in dire poverty, and not know when they would get out of it. A generation of Americans died with all their life savings saved in mattresses in their homes because they had lost all their money when the stock markets crashed in 1929, and then financial liquidity dried up all over the world because of bank runs and government meddling.

Leno's parents taught him to live frugally, turn off the extra heat, electricity, etc. These habits are good to build upon. Leno has a thriving business, life, practice, everything. He has done quite well for himself, one could say.

Stay out of debt, pay with cash when you can, work, save, invest, and live well.

California Debt Crisis Now Affecting High School Cheerleaders

                 

Now this is really shocking.

KCRA offers some hard-hitting, down-to-earth reporting, unlike much of what is available in the Los Angeles/SoCal market. The producers have criticized Obamacare, uncovered the lies and false promises of liberal lawmakers.

They also feature conservative activists in the Placer and North County regions.

This story caught my attention because it shows how public debt is even affecting schools, and not just the districts at the school board level. Even individual departments are under fire, losing money, unable to sustain themselves.

The principal at Lodi High School told the cheerleader squad that they were in debt, and because of their accounts in arrears, the school could not have a cheerleading squad for next year. Parents were understandably outraged, and students were writhing in rage and fear.

However, the cost extracurricular programs is nothing to sneeze. Schools and the administrative departments cannot continue picking up the tab for individual departments. At my high school, I remember cheerleaders talking about the massive cost to join: at least $1,000. Many cheerleaders in Torrance fundraised in order to join. It's expensive!

The principal agreed to let the program continue into next year if the cheerleader squads, their parents, and anyone else willing to help will raise to fill in the debt. This crisis of finance is hurting every level of government. Not just in school districts, but even within the schools, unfunded debt is the norm and a crushing problem, too.

Torrance Residents: Reject Trash Fee Increase!

Torrance residents!

Let me make this statement as clear as I can.

The city of Torrance wants to raise the garbage fees.

They are struggling to balance the city budget. They have put in place more fees and ticket programs, many of which are revenue positive, and very much so.

Why?

The pension liabilities, which are currently taking 23% of the annual budget.

While it is important to compensate our public safety officers, there is no reason to keep paying them over-abundant pensions and benefits.

If the city goes bankrupt, what's the point of trying to pay lavish anything to police, fire, and other city employees?

Cities exist for the citizenry, all of them. Not for labor unions, not for special interests, and not for the political ly connected power brokers

So, to every Torrance resident who is a trash rate payer.

VOTE  NO on Trash Fee Increases!!!

Make your voice heard on the document below.

Trash rate payers should have received this form below:

If not, contact city hall immediately. There is still time to make your concerns known.

Even with the fee increases. Enough with the rising rates. It's time for our elected officials to make all the tough decisions and start cutting the wasteful spending.

Hawaii Uh-Oh! Pension Tsunami, Cronyism, and Democratic Destruction Sinking the Aloha State

IS HAWAII NEXT?: Could the Aloha State be Headed for Bankruptcy like Puerto Rico? Guest editorial by former Hawaii GOP Chairman and State Senator John Carroll with HIRA president Eric Ryan "Sustainability".  While Hawaii's ruling Democrats actively destroy local agriculture by transforming irreplaceable farmlands into fast profits for politically-connected real estate developers and construction unions, these same big government liberals shamelessly pay lip service to the popular concept of "sustainability" or sustaining our way of life for our state's growing population. .  They have been whistling past the graveyard of 'sustainability' for decades.  That's why we import more than  But island conservatives are not fooled.  We have no doubt that the American Dream is under daily attack in Hawaii and that nobody is really doing anything about it.  We know that 'sustainability' is as much of a joke to Democrats as is their oft-stated intention of passing along the same standard of living enjoyed by the current generation to the next and the next.  Heck, anybody able to read newspaper headlines can connect the dots and figure out that Democrat-run Hawaii is in serious trouble. Anyone following the news around our nation and around the world will recognize the very same frightening combination of negative traits exhibited by Hawaii's state and local politicians that you've seen in the crisis-causing leaders of bankrupt Greece, bankrupt Detroit, and more recently (as in, just the other day) bankrupt Puerto Rico.  Indeed, the same deadly political combination of cronyism, greed, narcissism, and sheer hubris is why the Aloha State is on the fast track to becoming the next troubled locale which could have avoided the same sorry fate had we only paid attention and changed our ways. You remember Greece from the 2010 headlines, don't you?  At the direction of socialist leaders, Greece spent itself into oblivion by letting politicians promise unsustainable pensions to bureaucrats and unsustainable prosperity to a population which became less inclined to work for a living. And who could forget Detroit?  That's the big, Democrat-run American city where politicians promised an endless fortune in riches to special interest groups (like Democrat government employees) until the money ran dry in 2013. And then there's tourism-dependent Puerto Rico, which in 2017 bears such an uncanny resemblance to Hawaii that it's not even funny.  The now bankrupt (yes, literally and financially and legally bankrupt) island nation which has been siphoning life support off the U.S. mainland for so long that any consideration of building a truly "sustainable" economy was ignored by ambitious local politicians determined to keep winning re-election with costly promises. Sustainability was never a genuine commitment of Democrats and socialists in Greece, Detroit or Puerto Rico.  The irresponsible politicians in each of these locales resemble the first wave of looters who make off with the flat-screen TV's and the booze, while regular folks and their families will be lucky if they show up in time to grab a pair of tube socks amid the broken glass and burning storefronts. Back home in Hawaii, if true sustainability means that your kids should be able to look forward to enjoying the same standard of living that their parents and grandparents enjoyed, then Democrats Ige, Caldwell, Saiki, Kouchi and the rest of the cabal who govern our remote mid-Pacific state at the direction of PRP, HGEA, Matson and other special interest groups need to stop looting and start paying attention.  Those holding public office in our county and state governments who cannot see the remarkable similarities between Hawaii and Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Detroit, Hawaii and Greece, should be locked up in an insane asylum. All the warning signs are here and the statistics are beyond worrisome.   Clearly, Hawaii's politicians have already killed off the American Dream in the islands by creating a dystopian nightmare economy in which the kids probably still live at home because they cannot afford to move out . . . or they move away from Hawaii altogether since they can't envision upward mobility by remaining in the most expensive place to live in the country which pays the lowest wages in the country to work at poverty level jobs and charges the 2nd highest taxes in the country. Let's drill down a bit, cause it's not enough to simply know the main causes of our plight.  We all need to fully appreciate how and why Hawaii's unsustainable story does not have a happy ending.  As Margaret Thatcher perfectly stated, "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."  And thanks to the Hawaii Democrat Machine's deadly combination of cronyism, greed, narcissism, and sheer hubris, we are simply running out of money to feed the beast which governs us. --------------------------------------------- ENDLESS PAY RAISES Our state and county governments grow more costly with each passing day.  Democrat politicians are controlled by HGEA, UPW, HSTA, UHPA -- the powerful Democrat-aligned unions calling the shots and squeezing everyone to make sure that 75,000 government employees receive endless pay raises and more.  As Grassroot Institute recently reported, the county workers alone are the highest paid in the nation (or 6th highest if one adjusts for our cost of living).  This is unsustainable. MAJOR PERKS + PENSIONS As in Greece, Detroit, and Puerto Rico, these public workers were also promised a fortune in massive lifetime perks by Democrats, along with very generous lifetime pensions.  There's just one problem:  We can't afford such generosity.  According to the Grassroot Institute's Keli'i Akina, "Hawaii's unfunded liability crisis has topped $23 billion for pensions and health benefits for public retirees.  Salary hikes and pension spikes have worsened the debt, which is beginning to devour the state budget." In fact, after Democrats paid too little for too long into the pension and perks funds, taxpayers are now on the hook for an additional $385 million a year from taxpayers to make up for the shortfall, according to ERS Executive Director Thom Williams, who took over his position in November 2015.  With that additional revenue, taxpayers would be paying $1.14 billion a year to help fund the pension plan, which provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits to more than 120,000 active, retired and inactive state and county employees.  This is unsustainable. THE RAIL DISASTER That additional $385 million per year for retired public workers is in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars per year diverted from your wallet to the Democrat Rail Cartel's train construction project.  Long before overtaxed Oahu taxpayers will begin paying much more than $100 million per year forever to subsidize operations and maintenance (O&M) of TheTrain system through higher property taxes (or a permanent GET increase), we are already being soaked in higher taxes and GET-impacted higher prices to help the Democrats at HART generate all the money they could ever need to 'finish' the rail project to Ala Moana Shopping Center.  But the City Charter amended by Charles Djou calls for HART to build 34 miles of heavy rail to UH Manoa, Waikiki and to Costco in Kapolei.  These extensions mean that construction will be never-ending and that we will be simultaneously paying for O&M while paying for construction.  Let's call that $400 million per year in money we don't have.  Again, unsustainable. THE SHIPPING MONOPOLY   Democrat Party megadonor and monopoly shipper Matson relies on Hawaii politicians to keep quiet about the Jones Act.  The absence of competition in shipping products to and from Hawaii results in a giant hidden tax on all goods and services which some estimates cause our cost of living to be one-third higher than the mainland.   This protectionist shipping monopoly hits the people of struggling Hawaii and bankrupt Puerto Rico in the same terrible way; suffocating our economy by requiring everybody to buy goods from an American-made ship with an American crew.  A major effort to exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act came too late (and not at all) to help the bankrupt island commonwealth.  As even the liberals at PBS point out, this awful 1912 era federal 'cabotage' law "limits business owners and jacks up everyone's prices".  While estimates vary, the Jones Act Reform Coalition says that Hawaii consumers pay approximately $800 million annually in higher prices or $2,050 annually per household.  Nope, not sustainable. CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE   The same Democrats who can't seem to fix our roads, reduce poverty or even synchronize the traffic lights are always dreaming up big new capital improvement projects to reward campaign donors with.  Currently in the pipeline of big and expensive ideas are replacing and updating the costly facilities throughout Honolulu's Blaisdell Center.  In addition, the Democrat built prisons seem to be outliving their usefulness, so it's time for new prisons.  Then there's the Aloha Stadium which was never supposed to rust, but is now falling apart and is situated right along the rail transit route (i.e. ripe for redevelopment). And now, we need to retrofit our overheated public schools so that air conditioning systems can be installed.  In addition, the sinkhole known as the Honolulu Airport never seems to be pau with construction and renovation.  And don't forget Hawaii county's new $100 million upgrade to the Kealakehe sewer plant to allow treated wastewater to irrigate crops in North Kona.  Surely, you understand that your family has been condemned to another decade or two of eating Top Ramen every time the politicians start throwing around phrases which begin "We need to build a world-class (fill-in-the-blank)."  Paid for with higher taxes and an increase in public debt, none of these luxuries comes for free.  Meanwhile, our streets, parks, highways, water and sewer systems, are constantly gobbling up a fortune in tax dollars.  Altogether, unsustainable. ---------------------------------------------   With Hawaii suffering the same chronic government overtaxation and overspending as Puerto Rico, the same unsustainable pensions and perks for state and county government employees, similar unaffordable make-work projects like rail, plus the same high cost of living as Puerto Rico brought about by Hawaii's identical price-inflating shipping monopoly, Hawaii is quickly heading down the same road as these other troubled economies. There's only so much which can be vacuumed from the pockets of the working people of Hawaii when the economy created by Democrats is a low-wage, service-based one.  Right now, one in six people in Hawaii live in poverty while half of people struggle from paycheck to paycheck, most with little to no savings. Hawaii is due for a wake up call.  Our standard of living is rapidly slipping away.  If we don't want to be next Puerto Rico, Detroit or Greece, it will take a concerted effort by Republicans to reverse the downward slide.  It will take a powerful, sustained, and united effort by the Hawaii GOP which hasn't been seen locally since local Democrats turned the tables on Republicans in 1954.  That was 63 years ago.  Today, the warning signs are all around us and the arguments are all on our side.  It's time to make the case, Republicans.  Our state's entire future is at stake. Currently, Hawaii voters are dis-served by liberal news media reporters and editors practicing a form of journalistic malpractice which refuses to connect the dots between all these disturbing patterns and a Democrat Party which refuses to own up to its responsibility for today's severe consequences and those which lie ahead.  Democrats are 100% incapable of turning things around.  Their party and their politicians are 100% controlled by the very special interest groups responsible for pushing Hawaii in the exact direction we are headed. Only one political party has the potential to lead the economic, political, and social revolution sorely needed in Hawaii to stave off our fate as the next Puerto Rico:  Hawaii's GOP.  Today, with six months having evaporated into thin air since the November 2016 General Election, it is our sincere hope that today's new GOP leaders in Hawaii will seize the opportunity over the next 18 months and beyond to wage a REAL war against the failed, destructive and completely unsustainable policies of Hawaii's Democrat Machine. Hawaii's clock is ticking and the next election is less than 18 months away . . .