Letters to the Editor
Postage on heavier packages skyrocketed
The recent news article about the increase in U.S postal rates failed to mention that the postage on heavier packages skyrocketed.
For instance, a 5-pound box that used to cost $7.70 priority mail will now cost us $12.15 for the same weight to the Mainland, which computes to a 58 percent increase. My understanding for the increases was that they were to make up the losses since Sept. 11. Someone at the U.S. Postal Service forgot that they needed to stay competitive to make money. With priority mail rates now higher than UPS ground service, many will choose the latter.
Also, the new rate table effective June 30 defies logic. If you ship a 6-pound box, it costs $12.30, or only 15 cents more than the 5-pound box. How you figgah?
Don Akiyama
Commentary caught the crux of problem
Anthony Clapes' June 30 commentary on Hawai'i's economy and the need for a strategic plan to help reverse declining job creation and living standards is the most insightful look at the results of Hawai'i's economic decline over the past decade.
Local academic economists, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, the Council on Revenue and other cheerleaders have used stilted statistics to make us feel good about our misery, and the Legislature has congratulated itself for its resolve in dealing with the state's economic problems by making cuts to social welfare programs and public education.
It is clear that little has been done by government except to implement tax cuts for selective businesses and wealthier constituents, float bonds and commence construction projects (some necessary, some absurd) to support the construction and tourism sectors of the economy.
While fiscal conservatives bellow against big government and expound on the efficiency of the marketplace, it is clear that neither governmental leadership nor market dynamics is working for many local people.
The political challenges in this state are well-represented in Clapes' article. The need for economic relief for the middle class, improved public education and job creation are the critical challenges for political leaders, who seem to dodge these issues and concentrate on same-sex marriage, anti-smoking bills, can recycling, camera vans and other navel playing.
Keith Chudzik
Kane'ohe
'Under God' usage was to be optional
News stories and right-wing religionists are ballyhooing the idea that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. Such is not the case.
In 1954, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution adding the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. At the time, civil libertarians were assuaged by the promise that those words were to be optional and that teachers were to ensure that students were taught that fact.
Over the years, the optional part of the addition has been forgotten by those who teach the pledge. Many now assume that the term has always been a part of the pledge. It has not.
Those who are castigating the court for deciding that students can't be coerced into reciting religious mantras have forgotten that it was an act of Congress, not an act of God, that added these words, and the purpose of these courts is to balance the activities of the legislative and executive branches. That is what happened here.
When the legislative branch added the extra words, it assured us that no one would be required to recite the new words. Forty-eight years have been enough of a test of the sincerity of that promise. All that the judges have said is that the test failed. And it's about time that someone did so.
Here's a tip for those who make the pledge and don't wish to engage in religious activity. When I make the pledge, I always insert the words "under none," which reflect the truth.
Del Pranke
Pahoa
Ethical atmosphere needs to be changed
In a June 30 editorial, candidates for the 2002 election were urged to run positive campaigns and disregard recent Democratic scandals.
Despite the corrupt practice of awarding contracts in return for political contributions, candidates are reminded to focus "on the issues." A federal grand jury is investigating political contributions by local contractors to the campaigns of several Island Democrats, including Mazie Hirono.
Isn't 40 years of one-party government that fosters such abuses enough? Is anyone happy with an ethical atmosphere that has seen so many Democratic legislators and government officials convicted of fraud and other offenses?
Restoring public trust in government is the issue. Hawai'i needs change.
It is easy to understand why so many of us are placing so much hope in Linda Lingle.
Carol E. Seielstad
Princeville, Kaua'i
Gasoline is cheap, even with high taxes
I see the matter of capping the price of gasoline has come up again.
When I bought a pre-owned '33 Chevy convertible coupe and started driving here in 1939, gasoline was 18 cents a gallon, and not much of that was taxes. Cheap? No!
The average family man with a pretty good job was paid 35 cents an hour. An engineer was paid $65 a month, about 37 cents an hour. Cannery workers, at 10 to 15 cents an hour, could only dream about cars.
In other words, it took about half an hour for the average guy with a pretty good job to earn enough to buy an 18-cent gallon of gasoline.
How long would it take the same guy working at a pretty-good-paying job at today's wages to buy a gallon of gasoline — 10 minutes? Less than 10?
Gasoline is cheap, even with taxes now making up nearly one-third of the price.
Ted Chernin
Bishop Museum should save culture program
Recently, the Bishop Museum honored Mary Louise Kaleonahenahe Kekuewa on her retirement after 30 years as a master feather worker and teacher.
Thirty years is a small part of what Auntie Mary Lou has contributed to the arts and culture of the Hawaiian people.
In 1972, the Queen Emma Civic Club embarked on a program for the preservation and teaching of all of the arts and culture. It had a small budget, $6,000 as I remember, but with people like Pilahi Paki teaching language and culture, Lottie Perry teaching lauhala weaving and Mary Lou and her daughter Paulette teaching feather lei creating, they were a dedicated group at a time when the Hawaiian language wasn't even being taught at Kamehameha Schools.
As a visiting haole, I was taken in and made to feel welcome and one of the family. I learned enough of the culture and arts to want to know more, and have since dedicated a large part of my time to furthering my knowledge.
Mary Lou has made kahili for museums around the world, and Paul, her husband, now deceased, made a beautiful and authentic cape for the museum.
The Bishop Museum should be trying to further this great lady's talent, expertise and genuine love of her art. Rather, the program is being discontinued.
I ask that in the name of a truly remarkable career and love of her people, that the museum rethink this decision and give many others the same opportunity that I had and that has so enriched my life.
Elsie D. Hollingsworth
Government's focus is always on tourists
I do enjoy the letters sent in to your publication by your readers. They are well-written and very informational. However, overall they appear to indicate that the people of Hawai'i are uninformed as to the role of our government in the 21st century.
Hawai'i is a tourism-based economy. Tax revenues are collected and distributed by our government. The government bases the distribution of tax revenues, in theory, on where they can do the most good for the largest number of people.
The mentally ill in our society will always get a very small piece of the pie. The important thing is that they are not visible in areas that are highly frequented by tourists.
Ditto for junked cars. Outlying areas will always have a seedy appearance, with the presence of junked cars, trash, etc. Certainly, Waikiki and the tourist beach areas will always be clean and well-kept.
Farrington Highway is another example of the priorities of our government. Traffic volume and safety concerns will continue to be ignored because tourists do not regularly frequent these areas. Complaints will also continue to be ignored unless they deal with those beautiful areas where the tourists congregate. That is simply a fact of life in any tourist-based economy.
The high cost of living (higher in Hawai'i) translates to the dollars not going as far as they used to. Thus with the economy in a downturn, the decreased tax revenues will be stretched even thinner. The government may give you more promises, but do not expect better services.
William Mulholland
Wai'anae
Hawai'i's economy survived cataclysm
Republican state Rep. Galen Fox writes on June 27 about a Hawai'i that doesn't look a thing like the one I live in. His Hawai'i has an awful economy, an anti-business climate and is ruled over by an uncaring anti-business Democratic machine.
Let me describe the Hawai'i I live in. It is one that's had to deal with about the worst economic conditions any state has suffered in our lifetimes. At the start of the 1990s, Hawai'i's economy was propped up by 4 pillars. No. 1, tourism, suffered terribly when the Asian economy tanked. No. 2, defense spending, dropped precipitously with the end of the Cold War. Nos. 3 & 4, sugar and pineapple, all but disappeared.
In short, we suffered conditions that easily could have resulted in an economic cataclysm. Yet, at its worst, our unemployment never reached 8 percent.
Today our unemployment is a mere 4.2 percent. If this were the national average, Alan Greenspan would be raising interest rates to cool an overheated economy.
Hawai'i's economy has done an outstanding job of weathering the cataclysm. And, to the extent that government affects economic conditions, ours deserves great praise.
Recently we've seen incredible investment in our state. Many new airline flights have been added. Neiman Marcus, Home Depot, Costco, Walmart and Best Buy, to name a few, have recently made huge investments in our state. Do you think they're investing in Rep. Fox's anti-business Hawai'i? Or, do you think they're investing in the amazing Hawai'i I know and love?
Lastly, I'm a retired engineer. There's one axiom that's stood me well through my engineering career: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Take a good look around.
Rick Lloyd
Abandoned-vehicle system needs change
The recent media coverage about abandoned vehicles has me a little surprised and appalled.
Granted, I haven't lived in Hawai'i long, but I well remember one of my first impressions during my first visit to Hawai'i. Seeing all the abandoned cars, I wondered why residents would allow their beautiful state to be diseased with these pustules. I now understand: It is the bureaucracy.
It seems to me that the contract system is not working; therefore, it should be abandoned for something better. Why not have a competitive system that reimburses expenses and gives towing companies tax credits rather than lucrative contracts?
Let all towing companies register with the city. When a car is reported abandoned, the first company on the list is called. If it cannot commit to tow the car within 24 hours, call the next company on the list.
By rotating the list, every registered company gets its fair share of opportunities to tow away our eyesores. Any company that accepts a commitment and fails to make it would be suspended for two weeks. Tax credits could be given at the end of the year based on the number of cars actually towed by the company.
Additionally, when a car is towed, the city could charge the owner of the vehicle for the towing. It isn't as if cars can appear on the island without any record of their owners. If it's illegal to abandon a car, arrest warrants could be issued if the fine is not paid within 30 days.
Let's do something more positive about the abandoned cars, especially with the upcoming travel agent convention. Those visitors will remember all their impressions of the Islands, not just the wonders. Our Islands and our economy deserve better treatment than they are currently getting.
Cheryl Vail
Insurance discount should be provided
I am writing in regard to the recent "Driving schools are a ripoff ... " letter. First of all, I think that $10 is too low for the Department of Education to charge. I think the DOE should be charging $150 for driver's education.
And the state should repeal the mandatory driver's education for kids under 18. It should enact a law for the insurance companies to give 10 percent discounts for teenage drivers who pass a driver's education class. And if they pass at 90 percent or better, give them a 15 percent discount.
Derek Stephens
Wai'anae
