instead of pros and cons of our clout in congress, we should take a page from some other states, notably california, and make local laws that shame the federal government and its bought politicians. we have the power to tax, regulate and restrict almost anything that concern our state. what no one wants the public to know is that 71% of all working people make less than $50K per year and 42% make less than $20K. 30% make between these two figures and 30% make more, but i imagine about 20% of the 30%, make less than $100K a year. its probably only 10% that make $250K to millions per year. i think this statistic is about right for hawaii also, but, our  leaders consistently use a figure much higher than this to determine what 'low cost units' are when the rich are building towers in kakaako. go back a hundred years and look at the times of prosperity and you find that taxes on the rich were over 80%. recessions coincided with low taxes.