Cliff Slater's Second Opinion footnoted columns
from the Honolulu Advertiser

Traffic & Transportation

Public Education

Governments & Markets

Labor & Privatization

Other cities have shown rail does not work. October 9, 2006.

Rail planners spin a tale of rising ridership. September 25, 2006.

Rail justification must be carefully analyzed. August 3, 2006.

Transit policy veers away from rail ideas. June 15, 2006.

Scoping out the city's mass transit scam. January 3, 2006.

Will motorists accept charges for using roads? November 7, 2005.

O'ahu rail transit: the 'play to pay' game. October 25, 2005.

Time is money for Honolulu's commuters. October 11, 2005.

City's rail analysis must reflect reality. August 29, 2005.

You aren’t getting truth about city’s mass-transit plans. August 8, 2005.

Transit: What is happening elsewhere? June 13, 2005.

We’re still in denial: This ferry won’t float. January 31, 2005.

How to end the spin on O'ahu rail transit. November 1, 2004.

Congestion, transit barely tie in.  August 30, 2004.

An odyssey in the land of TOD. June 7, 2004.

We 'give in' on rail transit. May 4, 2004.

A proper BRT proposition. March 29, 2004.

Just stick to the facts, ma'am . March 8, 2004.

City's BRT has degenerated into a farce. February 16, 2004.

The Quest for the Holy Rail. February 2, 2004.

Transit alternatives abound. December 29, 2003.

Transit projections are hot air. December 15, 2003.

City: Visions and Revelations. December 1, 2003.

It's no way to run a railroad. November 10, 2003.

Traffic: Small can  be beautiful. October 20, 2003.

BRT: Pattern of deception? September 22, 2003.

Traffic: There's no silver bullet. September 8. 2003.

B RT: a ticking time bomb. August 25, 2003.

London offers lesson in traffic management. June 8, 2003.

The folly of the in-town BRT. March 31, 2003.

Is paying for transit a waste? March 10, 2003.

Driving force in commuting. January 27, 2003.

Tollroads becoming popular. January 13, 2003.

The BRT fiasco finally ending. November 11, 2002.

Drive-alones won't change. July 8, 2002.

Congestion? Not a Problem. June 24, 2002

Believing in rail transit is curable . June 3, 2002.

Bring back bus competition. May 20, 2002.

Traffic congestion is curable. April 23, 2002.

City's rapid transit vision will fade. September 4, 2001

City needs real transit experts. December 22, 2000 .

City lacks foresight for traffic mess. September 13, 2000.

BART: Vision or Illusion? July 10, 2000.

Why we commute by auto. May 30, 2000.

City playing lying game again. December 21, 1999.

Downtown ferry idea is all wet . November 29, 1999.

A desire named streetcar. November 8, 1999.

It's time to rethink TheBus. September 22, 1999.

Kalakaua pedestrian mall is a bad idea. June 2, 1999.

Light rail won't work either. November 30, 1998.

City rail plan is rubbish. November 12, 1998.

We ignore transportation alternatives . July 30, 1998.

We are determined to be poor in education.  April 17, 2006.

Education: Let’s get with the fundamentals. February 14, 2005.

Tough love and no excuses. January 3, 2005.

Education: Let reforms begin. January 19, 2004.

Give workers a virtual raise. July 14, 2003.

Learning what is important. June 30, 2003.

Celebrating a nation at risk. June 16, 2003.

Managing Hawai'i education. April 28, 2003.

Education: Learn from past? April 15, 2003.

Hawai'i education: Here's the answer. March 17, 2003.

Facts about Hawai'i education? October 14, 2002.

Letter to the Editor. May 8, 2002.

Greater expectations in education. April 8, 2002.

Let us shop for education. March 25, 2002.

Let's have schools compete. March 21, 2002.

School board plan worthless. March 4, 2002.

DOE: Rigor mortis has set in. January 21, 2002.

Why charter schools are hated. January 7, 2002.

Another education 'alert?' December 3, 2001.

Can we fix education now? October 23, 2001.

Felix reports disheartening. August 16, 2001.

Profiting off Hawai'i? No. August 7, 2001.

The wrong teacher discussion. April 18, 2001.

DOE problem is management. March 5, 2001.

'No Excuses' for Island schools. February 1, 2001.

A crumbling of school facts. October 24, 2000.

Keeping free market honest. October 3, 2000.

Teaching Hawai'i mythology . August 21, 2000.

Public schools: Let's be honest . March 17, 2000.

Another lesson for Hawaii. January 31, 2000.

Education isn't underfunded. September 13, 1999.

Education: take to the streets. April 30, 1999.

School, state need separation. February 25, 1999.

Parents must get mad. September 1, 1998.

Teacher quality must be improved. June 15, 1997.

Where are the teachers? April 18, 1997.

Why teachers get no apples. February 25, 1997.

Clinton is right on education . February 14, 1997.

Hawaii needs charter schools. January 10, 1997.

Schools need more autonomy. September 2, 1996.

Only parents can fix schools. July 10, 1996.

To reform schools, fix DOE . April 14, 1994.

OHA's 'stealth Akaka bill' still dangerous. July 21, 2006.

Plight of Native Hawaiians not dire. June 4, 2006.

Let’s keep those Mainland folks laughing. May 18, 2006.

Conservation:Cooperation or coercion? December 19, 2005.

Big Oil’s “excessive profits” are good for us. December 5, 2005.

Keep the government’s hands off oil. September 12, 2005.

Hawai'i's tax burden: We're movin' on up. July 25, 2005.

Hawai'i pension fund is stealth debt. July 11, 2005.

Tourism up but don't go on spending spree. January 18.2005.

A new light on some economic myths. December 7, 2004.

Affirmative action has not served U.S. well. November 22, 2004.

Short of water? parking? nurses? September 27, 2004.

Illegal immigrants: Let's get real. September 13, 2004.

Only the experienced need run. August 16, 2004.

Economics lessons are needed. July 19, 2004.

Tyranny of taxes limits our freedom. July 4, 2004.

Let's understand free market.May 17, 2004.

Best-seller changed history. April 12, 2004.

Commentary: Philosophy, not law, basis of Michigan-case ruling. December 21, 2003.

'Pay to play'? Not everyone. July 28, 2003.

Mixing law and economics. May 12, 2003

Let Chinatown do forecasting. January 6, 2003

Government cannot create jobs. December 23, 2002.

It's time to look at job creation. December 9, 2002.

Competition is our savior. November 25, 2002.

Shoppers could rescue us. October 1, 2002

Basques offer lesson here . September 2, 2002

Market always corrects itself. August 5, 2002.

Tax Foundation needs help. May 6, 2002.

Free market can help airports. December 11, 2001.

Cooler heads are needed. July 5, 2001.

State must change accounting. June 18, 2001.

Let's have Civil Grand Juries. May 22, 2001.

Anti-globalism: a little shrill. May 8, 2001.

Our legislators' dilemma. April 2, 2001.

What is downtown Honolulu's future? January 3, 2001.

Don't try to predict the future. December 5, 2000.

Mad as hell? Do something. June 21, 2000.

It's time to cut the Paradise Tax. March 31, 2000.

Much ado about hot air. October 14, 1999.

Hawaii can learn from Ireland. July 18, 1999.

Investing in Island black holes. April 22, 1999.

Tourism won't bail us out. February 9, 1999.

Our folks don't bring home the bacon. January 4, 1999.

Mainland will raid Isles' finest. September 23, 1998.

Please don't hike our 12% sales tax; it's high enough. February 8, 1998.

Democrats control us. September 29, 1997.

Let's rethink our economy. July 18, 1997.

Economy's stuck until ... June 6, 1997.

How to cut crime in half. May 13, 1997.

Where's the beef in 'pork?' December 11, 1996.

Environmental rules costly. October 4, 1996.

Rising medical costs: Internet to the rescue. January 16, 2006.

Pay workers only what they're really worth. September 26, 2005.

Medical cost growth rate will increase. March 3, 2005.

Outsourcing not the evil it's made out to be. June 21, 2004.

Jones Act costs us big bucks. August 11, 2003.

Privatizing is not just saving money. February 24, 2003.

Hawai'i's drug costs need help. August 19, 2002.

Reducing Hawai'i’s medical plan costs . July 22, 2002.

Healthcare soon unaffordable. February 18, 2002.

Repeal bars to cruise ships. November 8, 2001.

Don't raise the minimum wage. March 23, 2001.

HGEA wrong on privatization. April 28, 2000.

Letter: Labor director's rebuttal is blatantly wrong. April 23, 2000.

Minimum wage as welfare. March 1, 2000.

Minimum wage minimizes jobs. August 9, 1999.

Here's why we must privatize now. May 26, 1999.

Big Island prison won't work. March 24, 1999.

Shop for public services. May 27, 1998.

Why privatization now. May 26, 1998.

Legislators must allow for more privatization. April 19, 1998.

End Jones Act Now. March 9, 1998.

Start reform with unions. December 19, 1997.

Jones Act reform needed now. November 12, 1996.

Hawaii needs private prisons. August 2, 1996.

Minimum wage hurts poor. May 29, 1996.

Cliff Slater is a Honolulu businessman, an Adjunct Fellow at the Reason Foundation and a former Community Scholar in the University of Hawaii Economics Department. Second Opinion , his regular bi-weekly column in the Honolulu Advertiser covers public policy matters.