Editorials
Saturday, October 17, 1998

Gov. Cayetano’s case
for four more years

IF Ben Cayetano's "Completing the Vision" program for the next four years looks familiar, it should. It's a recycling of previous proposals, only now they are keyed to his re-election.

It's hard to find fault with such ideas as making Hawaii an educational and health-care center for the Pacific, attracting high-tech industries, reducing business regulation and cutting taxes. Cayetano's opponent, Linda Lingle, supports the same goals.

But when an incumbent seeks re-election, the main issue inevitably is his record in office. The election is a referendum on past performance. The voters understand that if the incumbent is re-elected, they will get more of the same. The question is whether they want more of the same.

Cayetano says the state was in a fiscal crisis when he took office in 1994 but that he has succeeded in restoring the state's fiscal health, claiming a surplus for the current year and a bigger one for next year. That, he says, is the result of tight controls on spending and an improving economy.

Those claims are challenged by Lingle. And two respected independent economists, Paul Brewbaker of the Bank of Hawaii and Lowell Kalapa of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, call the claims of an improving economy "fantasy and hype" and "fiction." Kalapa charges that the surplus was created by improperly taking money out of special funds.

Promises and proposals have their place in a campaign, of course. But the election may come down to how voters answer the question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? People view the condition of the economy in personal terms. Polls have shown consistent strong dissatisfaction with the economy.

Cayetano may have a hard time convincing people that the economy is improving, but unless he can his chances of re-election are slim.

DNA identification

THE opening of an FBI computer database makes it possible for the first time to compare a DNA sample taken from a suspect or crime scene in Hawaii with all others nationally. Establishment of the database is hailed as a significant advance in law enforcement, but civil libertarians are concerned about the emergence of an uncomfortable level of government oversight.

States have their own banks of DNA profiles of criminal offenders, although some states include data on offenders of more crimes than others. Observers speculate that within 10 years all felony offenders will have their genetic makeups entered into the system.

DNA, the chemical that encompasses genetic makeup, has been compared with fingerprint identification, but it is much more. Examination of a DNA sampling can reveal the subject's race, sex and other characteristics, some of which are regarded as private matters. For that reason, the FBI's database can be used only for law-enforcement purposes. Unauthorized disclosure can result in fines of $100,000.

Some insurance companies have required prospective clients to provide their DNA profiles because they can reveal a risk of disease or hereditary patterns of health risk. Those insurers explain that greater knowledge about health risks will result in lower premiums for people with low risks. People who disagree can do business with other insurance carriers.

Criminal offenders have no such luxury, forfeiting their rights against DNA profiling with the commission of their crimes. However, even criminals' DNA profiles must be treated with great caution and not be used for purposes other than law enforcement.

Nobel Peace Prize

THE Nobel Peace Prize award was as notable for who didn't win as for who did. The winners were John Hume and David Trimble, both Northern Irish politicians who played key roles in reaching the Good Friday peace agreements. The omitted name was Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army.

Adams had been included in speculation about the prize for persuading the terrorist group to accept a cease-fire, an essential factor in the peace process. However, the IRA has refused to surrender its weapons, leaving the fate of the accords in doubt.

Hume leads the biggest Catholic nationalist party in Ulster and Trimble the biggest Protestant party. They were the chief architects of the agreement to end 30 years of bloodshed. The pact preserves Northern Ireland's links with Britain while building closer ties with the Irish Republic.

Trimble was appropriately cautious in accepting the prize, expressing concern that it might prove premature. After the agreement was reached, a car bomb in the town of Omagh killed 29 people in August.

In fact, one previous prize for Northern Ireland turned out to be premature. The 1976 prize went to Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams, co-founders of the "Community of the Peace People," which staged huge marches in the province to protest the sectarian killings. But their efforts failed to stop the violence. This time the outlook for peace is brighter, thanks in large part to the Ulster politicians, with support from President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. But nothing is certain.

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A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor