ROADWAYS PROJECT

PUT TAX MONEY TOWARD ENERGY EFFICIENCY

I see that The Advertiser supports the monster roadways project proposed by the current administration. I agree that the gas tax needs to be raised, preferably to a level that would strongly discourage this major source of greenhouse gases — perhaps by a dollar or two to discourage wasteful use of cars.

These monies ought to be used for the urgent improvement of the energy efficiency within public buildings, installation of solar power at all state buildings (including schools), erection of windmills on any state land with a significant wind source, expansion of ocean thermal and wave power, and subsidies for private installations of solar, wind, or even white roofs.

This would allow the state to play with all that CIP without dumping it down the rathole that created our traffic nightmare in the first place. If this isn't enough spending, put the leftovers into accelerating the transit project.

THEBOAT

STOP BLEEDING, DUMP COSTLY EXPERIMENT

Regarding Sean Hao's excellent article on TheBoat (Feb 15): I estimated, at the very outset of the service, that the federal one-year subsidy of $5 million, alone, on the basis of 260 days operation per year, would amount to $32.05 per boarding passenger. Now it is apparent that local taxpayers must add a similar subsidy for each passenger, for an actual cost of about $62 per one-way ride.

While I am in favor of experimentation, any responsible analyst should have anticipated what has happened before operations even began. Wayne Yoshioka says: "We can absorb the cost." But we should not! It is fiscally irresponsible to continue this failed exercise. Now the boats should be dumped to stop the bleeding.

Inviting bids for a helicopter commuting service, charging each passenger a nominal one-way fare of something like $5, might be a viable, exciting and wonderfully time-saving alternative service for passengers, with endless flexibility in service they could provide, at considerably less federal and local taxpayer subsidies.

AFGHANISTAN

WEIGH STRATEGY BEFORE INCREASING TROOP LEVEL

Thomas D. Farrell (Focus, Feb. 15) gave an excellent outline of the logistical obstacles to U.S. support for its troops operating in Afghanistan, as Gen. Petraeus tries to find ways to increase our deployment there. Yet what stands out most from his article is embedded in the middle of what he said: that the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989, after 10 years of failure to control that country.

Yes, we and Muslim militants helped to cause that problem for the Soviets, and Taliban filled the vacuum left after the Soviet withdrawal, because we did very little more at that point.

The Russians may well cooperate with the U.S. this time against the common foe: Islamists. But they would also probably like to see us drained the way they were.

Before we commit more troops to a mountainous country that has borders with China, Iran and Pakistan (which once transhipped our supplies to anti-Soviet rebels and now does so for the Islamists again, unofficially), we should carefully weigh our strategic options. And our local tactics, since the Karzai puppet regime has no real authority outside the capital and main towns, and the hill tribes often cooperate with Taliban against this latest foreign invasion. War there is nothing to rush into, as the British and Soviets learned the hard way.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ISLES' SHARE RUNS OUT?

Do I have this right? Hawai'i will receive almost $700 million from the federal government stimulus gift and our governor and mayor have promised to save or create 17,000 jobs with their portions? Quick math: At an annual salary of $40,000 those 17,000 jobs will cost us $680 million. Fast-forward one year and now with the stimulus money gone how are these 17,000 people going to be paid?

Oh, that's right, part of the federal stimulus money is going to assist unemployment divisions in each state so that the unemployed can collect a couple of extra weeks of benefits. When those benefits expire what do these 17,000 people do now?

Oh, that's right, part of the federal stimulus money is going to increase the amount of money a person on welfare gets in food stamps so they can afford to buy a few more groceries. When that money runs out what do these 17,000 people do now?

If you really want to stimulate the economy, cut the taxes imposed on small business and lessen the amount of taxes withheld from employee paychecks; that money will stimulate the economy. Less tax dollars will mean some belt tightening in government spending and will force them to live within their means the way the rest of us have to.

PARK HOMELESS

CLERGY SEEMINGLY MISSING AT KAPI'OLANI

The point was made that the City Council is not showing up to help the homeless of Kapi'olani Park. Or is it to help the homeless out of the park? That may be a fair point and I do not wish to dispute it, but — and it's an important but — where are the ministers, priests and rabbis and their congregations? I am struck by the lack of clergy leadership in an area they used to dominate.

I wish no disrespect, but it appears the religious movement may have left the stage. Maybe this is a time the clergy can reclaim the high road and show the leadership some of us see as missing, while at the same time doing something important for the community.