BOUNTY HUNTERS

TONE DOWN RHETORIC ON GRAFFITI 'FELONIES'

The height of the furor raised about graffiti is amazing. It has been raised to the level of a felony, with big fines and jail sentences. It was even proposed that there be bounty hunters with rewards for turning in graffiti artists.

Nobody has been hurt, no structure was damaged. The extent of this "criminal property damage" is only marking up a wall or fence with paint, easily "repaired" by simply painting over.

The maximum penalty when caught should be only to buy the paint from the city at a high price (the fine) and do the repainting and for them to do the same for areas for which nobody was caught, and maybe some community service — but no jail sentences.

Leave the prison space for real criminals who do real injury or real damage. Treating graffiti artists like they are dangerous criminals who rate bounty hunters after them is insane!

OLIGOPOLY

GAS CAP WAS WORKING FOR US; LET'S GET IT BACK

Oil industry consultant David Hackett states the gas cap's implementation was done at the wrong time (when prices on the Mainland were rising) and taken off at the wrong time (when prices on the Mainland are falling). He says it shows "gas caps don't work because government always gets it wrong."

Mr. Hackett apparently believes we consumers are morons. The OmniTrack Group poll of 700 Hawai'i adults said the majority of us believe the cap is not working for consumers and confirms we are indeed morons.

Bill Green, former Shell Oil salesman and Kahala Shell owner, feels stable high prices are better for us than prices that go up and down in tune with the Mainland markets. Gov. Lingle took the side of Big Oil (and took Big Oil political contributions) because she is not in favor of price controls in a closed, not open, market.

Our oil market in Hawai'i is an oligopoly. Students of economics understand there is little difference between an oligopoly and a monopoly.

Price controls are used by the Public Utilities Commission to keep the price of electricity fair to consumers (since there is no competition in Hawai'i). If Gov. Lingle has a philosophical opposition to price controls, she should suspend the PUC from setting the price of electricity.

It is apparent money, not philosophy, that is behind her position against the gas cap. With Chevron and Tesoro reporting record profits even with the gas cap in place, get ready for more reports of obscene profits in the months to come.

The gas cap was working for the people. Let your legislators know you want it back.

DISCRIMINATION

AKAKA BILL DESERVES A FULL AND FAIR DEBATE

Of the Akaka bill, some are yelling, "reverse discrimination." We say, "reversal of years of discrimination."

It is said that "A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation." Mr. Akaka is a true statesman.

Thank you, Honolulu Advertiser, for your May 4 editorial. The Akaka bill deserves a full and fair debate. We concur.

FULL-TIME WORK

MOTHERS SHOULD BE THERE FOR CHILDREN

For a long time, I have been thinking about writing a letter to the editor about today's so-called mothers. It is no coincidence that the crime rate has spiraled out of control since all the liberated mothers have gone back to work full-time.

I guess my generation (college class of 1959) was the last group to consider mothering as an honorable profession. The product (responsible progeny) was well worth the effort.

People even criticized me for working part-time (while the children were in school), but that was to meet expenses (mostly food, tuition and sports equipment/fees). My children learned to be responsible without me completely abandoning them by leaving them with tired grandparents (who deserve to enjoy life) or illiterate sitters.

Part-time work is the key; the mother has enough experience to smoothly enter the workforce full-time when she is done rearing successful children.

I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that many young mothers agree with me. The term "quality time" is a joke. The kids just need time (and a mother with eyes in the back of her head).

Women, if you can't afford children, don't have them. I am tired of the problems (and graffiti) that neglected children generate.

INCENTIVE TO KILL

THREE-STRIKES LAW COULD PROVE COSTLY

Dan Maloney (May 16 Advertiser letter) says he doesn't care how much the three-strikes law costs, he will pay for it. Sadly, this law is likely to cost us all a lot more than money.

Research shows that homicides increase after three-strike laws are enacted. Criminologists believe this is true because after the second strike, criminals have an incentive to kill arresting officers and any witnesses to the third strike in order to avoid prison.

Besides increased violence, we have also suffered a cost in the further decay of our humanity by automatically shutting the door on more of our troubled people. "Our reputation as a paradise" should not be more important than the people of our state, including those who for whatever reasons commit crimes to get money.

When will we rise up and ask why anyone would want to use drugs like crystal meth, address those reasons and work to prevent crime, instead of using the centuries-old simplistic thinking that increased punishment will make our community healthier?

RECYCLING

I NEED REDEMPTION FROM REDEMPTION FEE

I'm confused. Let's see if I understand this new "recycling" bill. It used to be that I bought a can of soda for 50 cents. After a while, I collected a truckload of cans and took them to the recycler and got paid a few pennies on the pound. Oh, I made about $20 a load. Free money!

Then the deposit bill was passed. For the "environment," ya know. So I bought a can of soda for 60 cents (inflation), plus 5 cents for a deposit and one penny for a "processing fee." Simple math: 66 cents for the same can of soda. OK, I collect a truckload of cans and take them to the "redemption center." They give me 5 cents a can. I drive off a happy camper with about $50 in my pocket.

Halfway down the road, I realize that I've just gotten my own $50 back. (The 5-cent deposit I originally paid at the store. Duh!) Hey, wait a minute! What about the redemption fee? I just lost $20. Where did that money go? Somebody just made a bunch of money, Lucy!

But it gets worse! Because I'm doing so well, they're upping the "redemption fee" a half penny. What's up with that? What's a processing fee? Why am I being penalized for doing a good job? That must have set me back about 5 or 6 bucks. Who processed what? Now I'm out even more. What's going on here?

Then I learn that there is a $20 million surplus on bottles and cans not redeemed. And? What about the recycling money? Who made the "profit" on that? Not me or you. Government!

I'm still confused — and let's not even discuss the blue trash cans.

LANGUAGE

NOT KNOWING LANGUAGE DOESN'T MEAN STUPIDITY

Some people in the U.S. say that outsiders are stupid — because their skin colors are different, they speak different languages.

I'm full Chinese and I know how it feels to be in a place filled with people who speak languages I don't understand. It was hard, but I never stopped trying because I wanted to prove to other people that we are not stupid.

Everyone is the same, everyone is equal. Human is human — there's no difference.

POOR MILEAGE

TESORO GAS BLEND WORTHY OF BOYCOTT

After reading your "Tesoro gas blend skips rules" article of May 19, I'm not surprised at the fact that my car, after filling up with gas at a Tesoro station last week, had much poorer gas mileage. I was pretty sure that the poor mileage had to do with Tesoro gas anyway, even before your article came out.

I'm also not surprised that the state would allow a waiver either, as it's just another par for the course.

Mahalo to The Advertiser for the information. The lesson learned here is to drive about another half-mile to fill up at Chevron next time.

CRIMINAL CHECK

ALL CHILDCARE FACILITIES MUST BE REGULATED

It is imperative that the state licensing regulations for all childcare facilities require employees to undergo criminal background checks.

It is ludicrous that Raymond Thomas' Aloha Adventure Camp in Pi'iholo was exempt from this because it billed itself as providing surfing and photography programs and thus was considered a "specialty camp," making it exempt from state licensing regulations for childcare facilities that require employees to undergo criminal background checks.

All this in spite of the fact that he was registered as a sex offender!

That his Maui operation was accredited by the American Camping Association would indicate that that organization failed to do a criminal background check, as well. Imagine the false sense of security parents felt who opted to send their children to his camp, feeling safe that a national organization "accredited" his camp.

Certainly this convicted child offender would not have been permitted to run a childcare facility had two and two been put together. We need to fine-tune our safeguards to better protect our keiki.

CIGARETTES

LINGLE: HOLD THE LINE ON TAX HIKES

With the legislative session wrapped up and with the July deadline for action on passed legislation inching closer, the time has arrived for Gov. Linda Lingle to veto the cigarette tax hike passed by big spenders in the Legislature.

Despite overflowing government coffers, lawmakers chose to raise the tax on cigarettes 20 cents per pack for each of the next six years. The state cigarette tax is currently $1.40 a pack, and when the new tax hike is fully implemented, Hawai'i's $2.60 rate will surpass Rhode Island's $2.40 per-pack rate as the highest tax rate in the country.

On Aug. 30, 2002, Gov. Lingle made an important commitment to taxpayers by signing the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" during her campaign. By pledging to oppose and veto tax increases, the governor set herself apart from big spenders in Honolulu. According to the Tax Foundation, Hawai'i has the fifth highest state and local tax burden in the country. At about 11.7 percent of income, taxpayers shell out well above the national average of 10.6 percent.

Unfortunately, last June the governor deviated from the taxpayer-friendly course by signing two tax hikes, a real estate conveyance tax and a measure allowing counties to levy a surcharge on the state general excise tax to build a light-rail system. Hopefully this summer, taxpayers will not see a sequel to these mistakes.

This year Gov. Lingle started out strong with calls for tax cuts well above what the Legislature ended up sending her way. However, with Senate Bill 2961 sitting in front of her, which would send Hawai'i to the top of the cigarette tax pile, the governor has a real opportunity to reclaim her taxpayer-friendly roots. Vetoing a tax hike as the Legislature spends through a $600 million surplus would send a strong message that the "friend of the taxpayer" is back.

Contrary to popular arguments, surplus revenue is not free money; it belongs to taxpayers. However, with such a substantial surplus, it is absurd to argue that there was just not enough to fulfill government's core functions. Just like their taxpaying constituents, big spenders in the Legislature should set spending priorities rather than raising taxes. To not oppose raising taxes while government coffers are overflowing would not just be bad policy, it would constitute another year of taxpayer disappointment in a state with one of the highest tax burdens in the country.

Gov. Lingle, if there were ever a time to defend taxpayers, it is now.