Editorials
Monday, November 23, 1998

Clinton’s emphasis
on stimulating economy

ALTHOUGH he passed up the APEC summit meeting in Malaysia to deal with the latest crisis over Iraq, President Clinton managed to make the Japanese and Korean legs of his Asian trip. The visit to Japan was particularly important because Clinton had been forced to cancel a previously scheduled visit and had failed to stop in Japan on his visit to China earlier this year, leaving the Japanese feeling snubbed.

While in Japan the president sought to contact ordinary people by making an unprecedented appearance in a televised town meeting. At one point he got out of his limousine to shake hands with people in the Ginza, one of Tokyo's busiest districts.

Clinton tried to nudge the government of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to encourage consumer spending as a means to economic recovery. He also urged Obuchi to proceed with implementation of banking reform and fiscal stimulus measures. There was speculation that the U.S. was recommending a reduction in the consumption tax in addition to already enacted income tax cuts and other pump-priming steps. The tax was raised from 3 percent to 5 percent in 1997, a decision that has been strongly criticized.

Clinton also warned that the growing trade imbalance between Japan and the United States could have serious consequences. In a joint press conference with Obuchi, Clinton said he hoped "the Japanese people have great confidence in this country. Average citizens, if they have confidence and they believe in the capacity of this country to meet its challenges, can help by purchasing more of the goods and services, more of the output of Japan to create more jobs and stabilize this economy."

The president declared, "I believe it is clearly not only in the interest of the world and the region, but in the interest of the Japanese people for Japan to continue to move forward. ... taking necessary steps to spur domestic demand and reignite economic growth."

True enough. The question is whether Washington's nagging will have positive effects or provoke a backlash. The Japanese do not enjoy being lectured anymore than anyone else.

Illegal immigration

IN the past Hawaii has been the target of smugglers who loaded undocumented Chinese immigrants into crowded ships and tried to sneak them ashore here. Several such vessels have been intercepted by the Coast Guard. There have been no such incidents lately, however. Most illegal immigrants probably come here by plane from the U.S. mainland or are admitted on temporary visas and never leave.

Nationally, the most flagrant violations of the immigration laws occur along the border with Mexico, crossed illegally by hundreds of thousands of people every year.

But there are other routes that are frequently used, too. Federal officials have just smashed an international ring that smuggled more than 12,000 Indians and other foreigners into the country at a price of $20,000 or more a person, using Russia, Cuba and other countries as transit points.It was the largest operation to smuggle aliens into the United States ever dismantled, they said.

Twenty-one people have been arrested in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas as part of a yearlong investigation led by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. A federal grand jury charged 31 people in three indictments that contain 58 immigration and money-laundering counts.

The ring is a loose confederation of three separate cartels. It specialized in smuggling Indian nationals through Moscow to Cuba, where they were dispatched to Ecuador, the Bahamas or Mexico before being smuggled into Texas, Florida and other U.S. points by land, sea or air. The ring also smuggled aliens from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria -- in all, more than 12,000 illegal entrants over the last three years.

Announcing the arrests, Attorney General Janet Reno declared, "Let all those who flout the nation's immigration laws be warned: We plan to take swift and decisive action against smuggling whenever we discover it."

That is certainly necessary if the borders of this country are to mean anything. In order to continue admitting legal immigrants, the federal government must act vigorously against traffickers in illegal immigrants.

Time to get MADD

HERE'S a word association game. What comes to mind on seeing the following words? Holidays. Parties. Drinking. Road Blocks. That's right -- Mothers Against Drunk Driving, one of the most effective non-profits in town, is gearing up for its annual public education campaign. Its mission: to raise awareness about the dangers of imbibing and driving, not only during this celebratory time of the season but all year through.

Its 1998 activities include the annual MADD Dash, a five-kilometer run/walk held yesterday in downtown Honolulu, and the "Tie One On for Safety" program, featuring MADD's trademark red ribbons, which runs through Jan. 1. Last week, inmates at the Waiawa Correctional Facility -- some of whom are serving prison sentences for DUI offenses -- helped cut and staple the red ribbons as their contribution to the cause.

MADD has also expanded its responsibilities by taking over the former First Night Celebration. Along with the city and corporate sponsors like Starbucks, HMSA and the Hawaii Community Foundation, MADD will sponsor Starbucks Starlight MADDness. The alcohol-free welcoming-in of 1999 will be a family-oriented entertainment event at Honolulu Hale.

Thanks to the efforts of MADD, led by President Theresa Paulette, these words are being more and more associated with the holidays: Designated drivers. Responsible. Safe.

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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