Letters to the Editor

Declare moratorium on state weight tax

So, our $2 billion oil company settlement has been whittled down to $20 million.

OK, Governor, now you have a chance to do the right thing for the people of Hawai'i who have been ripped off by the oil companies. Instead of wasting our money in some fund, I have a simple suggestion as to how you can fairly reimburse Hawai'i's drivers and help stimulate Hawai'i's economy.

Simply grant a moratorium on collecting the state weight tax on the annual auto registration fees on each car in the state for one year by paying this tax out of the oil settlement money. Each owner pays about $25 per vehicle per year for this tax, which means the state collects about $20 million per year from it (based on about 950,000 registered vehicles).

The $25 saved on each car registration would stay in the economy and act as an economic stimulus. Since the tax is based on the weight of the vehicle and gas usage is generally proportional to vehicle weight, it would be a fair way to give us our money back.

James T. Wigdel

Let's have a lawsuit over raiding of fund

As a homeowner, I paid into the Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund with the understanding that this money would be available to me in case of hurricane damage. There was never an understanding that it would be used for other reasons.

Now that the state cannot spend within its means (never has), our fearless leaders want to raid the fund to cover other budget shortfalls.

If the state takes money from this fund for use other than its original purpose, then it is a tax levied on homeowners only. This is taxation without representation.

I am waiting for a competent lawyer to step forward and initiate a class-action lawsuit against the state to either protect the fund for its original purpose or return the money to the homeowners who paid into the fund.

As usual, the Legislature and citizens shudder when the state says it will "cut human services and other areas" if it cannot raid the fund. This action gets a lot of people screaming to protect their individual issues without looking at the real picture. The real picture is bloated state and city governments spending money they do not have.

During this economic downturn, many families and businesses have had to change their spending habits and forego the "nice to have" items. Many businesses have laid off personnel or even filed for bankruptcy. Has the state or city adjusted their spending habits or reduced personnel?

Is the HGEA so strong that its members can't lose their jobs like so many private citizens?

Oh, by the way, I want to purchase my neighbor's property, but she doesn't want to sell. Can I get the City Council to condemn it?

Don Thigpen
Waipahu

Oregon's death law improved end of life

In response to David Shapiro's March 12 commentary "Assisted suicide: no easy vote," I would like to comment on something that has unfortunately been downplayed throughout this entire "debate."

One of the most significant achievements of the Oregon law was not that it allowed terminally ill patients the right to hasten their own death, but more importantly, it propelled the religious and medical communities into improving care and pain management.

Religious opponents of the bill opened or improved hospice facilities, with at least one even creating a dedicated hospital unit for dealing with the dying. The use of medical morphine, considered a leading indicator of whether terminally ill patients are receiving adequate pain medication, increased 70 percent.

Medical students at the Oregon Health and Science University are now required to take a course in management of chronic pain, and the program is expanding into other schools. Owing in part to better pain management and end-of-life care, nearly 70 percent of Oregonians were able to die at home, not in a hospital.

Would any of this have happened without the Oregon "Death with Dignity" law? No, at least not as rapidly and as completely as it did.

If Hawai'i does not adopt a similar law, countless residents who would never have even considered the option of physician-assisted death will continue to suffer because needed improvements will be delayed, if implemented at all.

Roland L. Halpern
Social Justice Council, First Unitarian Church of Honolulu

Judge's ruling against Harris appreciated

It's about ethics and it's about time!

Hurray for Judge Sabrina McKenna and her ruling that Jeremy Harris can't have his political pie and keep hitting us in the face with it, too.

No more blatant misuse of my tax dollars to further his campaign.

Martha Harding

Harris controversy all comes down to money

Oh, please, this is too rich. Mayor Harris' hired gun, Robert Klein, feels the populace's fundamental "right to vote" is being affected.

Pray tell, how? Is any registered voter currently (or for that matter at any time since his last mayoral campaign) unaware that Harris has intentions toward the governorship?

Is he worried that Harris will be forgotten by the populace? Maybe it's just me, but that seems a bit farfetched, seeing as the mayor gets more press than even Bill Gates could buy.

Let's get real here. This has nothing to do with fairness, democratic or political institutions, or who can run for office. It all comes down to money, and the votes and favors that money buys. Interrupt the cash flow, and the status quo is affected. Unions and special interest can't ensure their agenda is carried forward. Without a bought ear, endorsements are harder to come by.

And that is the real threat to Harris and his boys.

Sorry, Bobby Klein, but I'm not buying what you are selling.

Eric Duerr
Holualoa, Big Island

A different approach to looking at cameras

Your March 7 editorial on the traffic cameras essentially said that if the cameras were canceled, it would be almost impossible to get new enforcement methods approved.

Closer to actuality would be, if the cameras were canceled, it would be a lot more difficult for government to introduce new scams, ripoffs and ways to harass the people.

Carl R. Lyman

Public education must be No. 1 priority again

I am so tired of hearing "we have no money" from the city and state. That is why our schools are falling apart, and the kids don't even have books or equipment for their everyday studies.

Don't these officials realize that these children are our future and if they don't get the education they so deserve in a safe and healthy environment with adequate equipment that there will be no more raises for them because there will be no one working at good jobs so they can pay their taxes?

If school is so important, then we need to get our schools back up to par and quit giving raises to every Tom, Dick and Harry who works for the government. If I can live on $2,000 a month, so should they. They will just have to stay in a cheaper house, drive a cheaper car and send their kids to public schools, like the rest of us hard-working people. Then maybe we could get our schools back to the way they were when education was a No. 1 priority.

I need a raise, too, but I can't raise taxes to get it.

Jodi Martinez
Kane'ohe