The maximum state income-tax rate was cut from 10 percent to 8.75 percent for 1999 as part of a state reduction that saves residents as much as 23 percent over four years. Despite recent hints of improvement, especially in math scores, Hawai ' i's public-school students as a whole have consistently scored below average on national achievement tests. The National Assessment of Educational Progress ranked the state near the bottom in reading and writing during the past decade. High-tech experts, economists, business leaders and others say top schools are key to training tomorrow's work force as well as attracting business opportunities. Despite some restructuring, small businesses and entrepreneurs still say taxes, fees and regulations are aimed more at protecting the status quo than promoting competition and needed risk-taking.
Some economists suggest revisions to state tax structure.
This will be key as the state's unemployment rate drops and employers are constricted from expanding. Hawai ' i benefits greatly from its placement and image as an ethnic and cultural center of the Asia-Pacific region. With that, however, comes a recent history of being slow to embrace change. In an age when success often means being open to new ideas, this wariness can work against the Islands. Diversification is a slow process, and despite some progress in areas such as agriculture, the economy remains dependent primarily on the vagaries of this single sector.