Posted on: Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Letters to the Editor

Private accounts would be a mistake

Social Security is the most successful domestic program in our nation's history. I vigorously oppose the creation of private accounts that take money out of current Social Security cashflows.

Taking some of the money that workers pay into the system and diverting it into newly created private accounts would weaken Social Security. Borrowing to finance this scheme is irresponsible, and it would lead to benefit cuts, new taxes and more debt. We have way too much debt already.

Despite what President Bush said in his State of the Union speech, as it stands today, Social Security will be able to pay every penny of promised benefits until 2042.

The only guarantee you can count on with private accounts is that they can lose money just as fast as they can make it; check out your own 401(k). Whatever our income levels, a guaranteed safety net is vital to protecting our retirement security planning.

I agree with President Bush that we need to fix the Social Security system for the long term, but let's look at all reasonable alternatives calmly and rationally. Social Security is not about to go broke!

We should do better in fighting tobacco

How many more preventable deaths must occur and how many more children must become addicted to cigarettes before we say "enough"? We have the ability to ensure that our children will not be victims of tobacco. All that is needed is the political will.

A study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the American Journal of Public Health shows that if states would spend the minimum amount on tobacco programs recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they would lower youth smoking rates by 3 to 14 percent.

That translates into lives and dollars saved.

Unfortunately, according to the American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2004, most states have failed to look beyond their immediate budget situations to allocate funding for tobacco programs at CDC-recommended levels. Fortunately, Hawai'i is among the few that have funded programs at CDC levels. But we still have a lot of work to do. According to the CDC, if current smoking patterns continue, youth under age 18 in Hawai'i could become future smokers and a third could die from smoking-related illnesses. Anti-tobacco funding decisions today will have great impact tomorrow.

Our state — and the nation as a whole — can and should do better. The American Lung Association of Hawai'i calls on Gov. Linda Lingle and our state legislators to adequately fund strong, effective tobacco control policies to prevent future tobacco use and help current smokers end their deadly habit.

We aren't fighting war on terror in Iraq

So pretty much the only reason why we're still in Iraq is to clean up the mess President Bush made. Seriously, there are no weapons of mass destruction; there never were.

My heart and prayers go out to all the brave soldiers and their loved ones because we are fighting in a never-ending war with no real purpose.

Don't tell me we're fighting a war on terror. There are more terrorists now as a result of the war. We are not fighting for freedom; we are fighting for a man who doesn't know what he's doing.

Sorry, Bush, but there can be no war without purpose. And yet, here we are.

Consumers must be given list of all prices

In a recent article on increasing consumer protection on prepaid funeral plans, you state that "prepaid plans are typically sold at a discount years in advance of use." It is a deceptive business practice to offer discounts or to mark products up when writing a pre-need contract. Consumers must be given a general price list that states all prices.

Furthermore, families are not saved from making decisions at the time of death. They must still go to the mortuary to arrange services. At this time, they are often pressured to purchase additional services, or find out some goods and services are no longer available.

Twenty-eight states require 100 percent trusting of pre-need funds. New York state offers 100 percent trusting, 100 percent refunding and annual reporting of accounts to the consumer. Consumers in Hawai'i are faced with overly aggressive sales tactics and inadequate information.

It is unethical and should be illegal to allow the pre-need authority to keep 30 percent of the contract price while delivering no goods or services in exchange.

Pearlridge Borders also deserves credit

I am writing to express appreciation for your Feb. 2 article regarding book donations made by the Windward Mall Borders Express to 40 O'ahu schools. Please also acknowledge the Pearlridge Borders Express, which, through its Angel Tree donation program this past Christmas, encouraged its customers to donate $10,000 worth of assorted books, toys and stuffed animals to our families receiving early intervention services through the Hawai'i Department of Health.

At Early Intervention, we provide services to children age birth to 3 who are developmentally delayed or at risk for delay. Services focus on the areas of communication, cognitive, fine motor, gross motor, social or emotional, and self-help skills. Services are provided statewide and at no cost to children and their families.

The impact of the donations from Pearlridge Borders Express helped some of our families who are financially unable to buy books to encourage their children's communication and cognitive development. With these donations, early intervention can help enhance the learning experience of these children and prepare them for school.

It is generosity such as this that will forever impact the growth and development of keiki in Hawai'i.

Physician-assisted suicide not the answer

I am writing to add my voice against the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS).

What makes this idea so tempting? It feeds our collective desire to avoid life's end in illness, suffering and dependence. However, if given the choice for a legal PAS, what do people really do? Based on the Oregon experience, approximately 0.1 percent will choose PAS. In Hawai'i, that would be 8 out of the 8,000 deaths every year. What are we doing to help the remaining 7,992?

We need to create a new choice. Not the choice of PAS, but of an effective, easily accessible health and social system for the care of the seriously ill. Palliative medicine is the foundation of such a system. It is a growing specialty that is highly effective in alleviating the suffering and improving the quality of life in those with serious, chronic and fatal illnesses. It is combined with efforts to cure the diseases, as long as the diseases are curable.

Our moral and legislative obligation is to do first what will serve the majority.

That is why I have to say a compassionate "no" to the legalization of PAS.

Education has become the No. 1 economic priority

The Japan-America Institute of Management Science (JAIMS) was recently privileged to host a public forum and executive roundtable with John Naisbitt, the world-renowned author of "Megatrends."

Naisbitt had a lot to say to the executive roundtable, held Jan. 20-21, comprised of 40 eminent senior management executives from Hawai'i, the U.S. Mainland, Japan, South Korea and Australia, all of whom were eager to learn about the "megatrends" that will shape the future of business in Hawai'i and throughout the world. The same could also be said about the more than 200 Hawai'i business and community leaders who attended the public forum on Jan. 19.

Naisbitt presented thought-provoking ideas that challenged participants to define their own mindsets and domains along the twin paths of decentralization and globalization that the world is taking.

Considering his focus on the global economy, it was profoundly exciting to realize that throughout both events, Naisbitt repeatedly returned to one theme: that education is now the No. 1 economic priority in today's global context. Citing examples of countries that have thrived after focusing its resources on education, such as South Korea, Finland and, most recently, China, Naisbitt emphasized that education is the single best way for countries to improve their position in the global economy.

From parents to teachers to government officials, no one would argue the need to develop a world-class education system here. Certainly the desire exists in Hawai'i to do just that. The challenge for us is to understand how to achieve the academic environment our children deserve to function effectively in this era of globalization. There are no easy answers, only the assurance that investing in our children is the best investment we can make in securing a place for them and Hawai'i in the global economy.

As Hawai'i businesses strive for international success, we would do well to remember this lesson. We wish to thank Naisbitt for recognizing that Hawai'i has the talent, geographic location and aloha spirit to design its own personal domain of success. Our questions are, "Are we willing, and do we have the proactive will to do it?"

Iraq: afraid but never alone

The Iraqi election was a seminal event.

I stood on top of a police station for hours watching thousands of people vote freely for the first time. As our convoys passed, they held their inked index fingers aloft, proving their exercise of freedom.

These people were undeterred by the previous night's firefight in their neighborhood. They were emboldened against the threat of suicide vests or gunmen. A goodly third of the happy throng were women proud to vote.

The hundreds of police and Iraqi army soldiers in our task force were proud and strong. They stood with a father's pride as they watched their people vote. We lost three police last week to enemy fire. I sat in the police cafe watching them smoke in thick clouds, enjoying the local cable channel chronicling the lines of voters and an electorate happy to have a voice.

We have seen much this year. We have seen the broken bodies of soldiers as we stroked their heads and held their hands while the medics tended to their wounds. I have seen admiration and hatred from children. We have walked into homes in midnight raids feeling the terrible feeling that these people looked at us as if we were Nazi storm troopers attacking a Warsaw ghetto in the tenuous effort to apprehend a bomb maker.

My soldiers and I have helped manage projects worth millions that erected schools, clinics, paved roads and street lights. I have had the extreme privilege to lead an outstanding rifle company — men who can claim victory in how few shots they fired. My men braved oven heat and bitter cold.

These soldiers understood that their mission and respect for humanity kept them from becoming tyrants.

As I stood watching the Iraqis reclaim their country, I grasped a sense of finality for this year in combat. We helped forge a nation. I felt this pride over late-night tea — sitting in a room with the police and Iraqi leaders of our task force. These men drank sweet chai and spoke as free men. These men are founding fathers and fitting company.

I look forward to having some time to capture what I learned this year. Until then, my guard is not down and I have to get my boys home safely.

I have never prayed as I did this year. I have felt the fear of going on an operation knowing that the planning is over and everything rests on my soldiers' skill, intelligence and compassion.

I have been afraid many times, but never alone.