Editorials
Thursday, October 30, 1997DESPITE its mid-Pacific location far from major population centers, Hawaii is highly sensitive to changes in economic conditions in the U.S. mainland and East Asia. Capital investment and the flow of visitors are crucial here. This week's roller-coaster ride on world stock exchanges has had Hawaii residents as concerned observers, not only for their personal investment portfolios but also because of the potential effects on Hawaii's economy. World market turmoil
could affect HawaiiFederal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's observation that the frightening plunge on the New York Stock Exchange Monday may have long-run beneficial effects is reassuring. Many investors seem to have felt the market was too extended and were waiting for an excuse to sell. The sharp fall of the Hong Kong market last week and again Monday provided the excuse.
Now the markets have recovered somewhat, but investors may be chastened enough to deter further "irrational exuberance," in Greenspan's words, for the time being. This could stall progress on some of the ambitious retail projects that have been announced for Oahu. But that wouldn't necessarily be bad, because they could have resulted in overbuilding.
In any case, the U.S. economy still appears to be healthy. That condition probably enabled the market to rebound so strongly. But there may be further sharp turns before the market settles down and assumes a steady direction.
Of particular concern to Hawaii is the Japanese economy, which has been struggling unsuccessfully for several years to recover from recession. The Japanese stock market had already dropped steeply long before the current turmoil in Southeast Asia, where booming economies have been shaken by speculative investments and imprudent loans.
However, there is concern that the problems to the south could hurt Japanese investments in the region and put more pressure on the already stressed Japanese banks. The latest report on Japanese industrial production indicates continued weakness. A further contraction in Japan could affect investments and tourism in Hawaii, which is still feeling the effects of the retreat of Japanese capital through much of this decade.
The report of Governor Cayetano's Economic Revitalization Task Force made dozens of recommendations to get Hawaii's economy moving, many of them worth implementing. But this week's developments on world financial markets are a reminder that many factors affecting the local economy are beyond the state's control. Hawaii cannot prosper unless its customers in Japan and the U.S. mainland do. Hawaii's isolation is geographical only.
NATIVE Hawaiians again have been denied equal status with native Alaskans and American Indians in being regarded in the census as native Americans. A new listing that distinguishes Hawaiians from Asians is an improvement but falls short of recognizing Hawaiians as natives of what is now U.S. soil. Hawaiians in census
In past censuses, Hawaiians have been relegated to a racial category labeled "Asian and Pacific Islander," of which they have comprised only 3 percent. Under a new listing approved by the Office of Management and Budget, they will be listed as "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander," and are expected to comprise 60 percent of those so listed.
The new listing, in departing from a federal task force's recommendation that Hawaiians' listings remain unchanged in the old category, is a slight improvement but no cause for celebration. It still is a rejection of Hawaiians' petition to OMB that they be included in the category that now consists of native Alaskans and American Indians. Indigenous peoples of Alaska, Hawaii and the contiguous states are all native Americans and should be regarded as such.
The census would have been a logical starting point for other federal agencies to begin regarding native Hawaiians as native Americans. This can make a difference in qualifying for federal programs. Senator Akaka, the only part-Hawaiian member of Hawaii's congressional delegation, has led the fight to achieve native-American status for Hawaiians. The new listing should not bring an end to those efforts.
SADDAM Hussein is playing games with the United Nations again. The Iraqi dictator has ordered U.S. members of a team of international weapons inspectors to leave the country within a week. However, Iraq stopped short of ending cooperation with the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) in charge of dismantling its weapons of mass destruction. Saddam's order
A statement from Baghdad also gave the United Nations a short time to lift economic sanctions, imposed after the invasion of Kuwait, and implied the regime would otherwise suspend ties with the arms commission.
The ouster order was retaliation for a U.S.-sponsored Security Council resolution last week threatening an international travel ban on Iraqi officials who obstructed UNSCOM's work. The U.S. was forced by lack of support on the council to delay implementation of the ban by six months -- a sign of a weakening of the U.N.'s determination to enforce sanctions.
Saddam can't be allowed to get away with these antics. He has repeatedly tested the resolve of the United Nations, and has had some success in gaining support for a gradual easing of sanctions from nations that want to do business with Iraq. If the U.N. lets him expel American inspectors, it will be only a matter of time before he will attempt to end all Iraqi compliance with the world organization's demands.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
