Posted on: Saturday, December 18, 2004
Letters to the Editor
Social Security fund just meaningless IOUs
On recent Sundays, The Advertiser printed the same optimistic but false information about the Social Security system: that the "Trust Fund" will not run out of money until 2042.
The Social Security Trust Fund is a sham. Its assets are worthless pieces of paper promising that at certain future dates the U.S. Treasury will repay hundreds of billions of dollars that it has "borrowed" to pay for current spending.
The Treasury does not have the money to make those payments. The only way it can get the needed money would be to raise taxes on our children and grandchildren.
If I put a $10,000 IOU into my IRA account each year for the 20 years before I retire, does that mean I will have $200,000 to live off during my retirement? Of course not! I will have 20 worthless pieces of paper and will be looking for a job flipping hamburgers to pay my rent.
Tom Macdonald
The mishandling of asbestos-containing materials is not uncommon here in Hawai'i.
The recent intermediate school contamination is a good example of rampant ignorance and the "hang loose" attitude endemic to Hawai'i government. That school should have been cleaned up 15 years ago.
If I were the parent of a student, I would keep my child out of that school and any school until I had reviewed their Haz-Mat documents. Hawai'i school administrators from top to bottom who had any responsibility for the lack of due care should be fired. Then they, the school staff, maintenance department heads, the principal and the contractor should be sued.
A news report indicated that there was a small amount of asbestos and short-term exposure for the students and staff. So what? There is no known safe level of exposure.
That the contractor's stupid workers borrowed a leaf blower is comical and a serious violation of asbestos-abatement protocols.
The building should have been enclosed in plastic, and negative air machines (hogs) should have been used. HEPA filtered vacuums should have been used. Worker decontamination units should have been installed. A third-party hazardous materials consultant should have been on site. Independent air monitoring, both ambient and worker-protection air monitoring, should have been utilized. An independent Haz-Mat lab should have done the testing of materials before, during and after the job.
Furthermore, the job should have been done at night.
Mike Lawler
I want to offer a big mahalo to the police officers, the civil defense workers and volunteers, and the state and county highway crews for their outstanding efforts in keeping the roads on the North Shore passable on Wednesday during the giant surf. I had to run the full gantlet in the drive from my home at Kawailoa Beach, around Waimea Bay, and along the North Shore to my job in Kualoa.
The crowd gathering for the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau surfing event at Waimea Bay in the predawn and early morning hours was undoubtedly the biggest in North Shore history, and the police and other public safety workers were more than up to the task.
I wanted to make sure that these often-unthanked public servants know how much we appreciate all the hard work they accomplish for us. The fact that they kept traffic moving in the face of overwhelming hardship and extreme numbers of people in the area and vehicles on the road is simply outstanding.
Lee N. Kravitz
I'm sure Congressman Abercrombie doesn't need others to stand up for him, but I found Dalton Tanonaka's allegation that Neil was not doing his job somewhat offensive, considering that Neil's mother just passed away and that Neil's vote was not going to be pivotal on the issue cited.
At some times in life, there are priority decisions to be made. I don't question Neil's priority decision in this case.
Lance Bateman
What a class act! Dave Shoji and the Rainbow Wahine. Not "we were tired, we were cold, we didn't have our hometown crowd." No excuses, just positive, proud emotion.
Martha Harding
Rosita Sipirok-Siregar's Dec. 15 letter about how Australia deals with aging is right on. As the former legal counsel for the Tennessee Commission on Aging, I dealt with aging issues for many years. And I was impressed most favorably by the Australian approach to aging and medicine when my wife and I spent a month in Oz.
We were also impressed by how the Aussies dealt with the nuisance of pennies. They simply banned them and rounded off all prices to the nearest nickel. Such a simple and effective way to get rid of pennies, which nobody wants to fool with. Not even children or homeless people will stoop to pick up a penny anymore. Let's get rid of pennies the way the Aussies did. They're not worth a red cent!
William M. Stephens
Hats off to Grace Pacific Corp. No investigation, no finger-pointing, no blame, just an honest statement saying it was at fault for the boulder. What a wonderful way to show the true meaning of aloha. A tragic accident happened, but the men and women of Grace Pacific should hold their heads up proudly. What a wonderful group of people to stand up for what is right.
Janice Dinken
Kane'ohe
School contamination case was mishandled
Retired asbestos-abatement contractor, Kailua, Kona, Hawai'i
Efforts to keep roads open were outstanding
Hale'iwa
Allegation offensive
Kalihi Valley
Positive emotion
Waimanalo
People Down Under are on top of things
Kahana, Maui
Honesty appreciated
'Aiea
