Pothole competition might speed repairs
I propose a "My pothole is larger than your pothole" contest. Entries could be collected and forwarded to the mayor and governor. Pictures could support and strengthen the submissions. A team of city and state officials could judge the entries. Winners would get their stretch of street or road fixed first and be eligible for government aid to defray the cost of vehicle repairs (OK, I'm dreaming on the last part).Mayor Hannemann seems to have taken a good first step toward attacking the neglect that has been allowed to explode over the past several years. A major effort is required immediately! Our road conditions border on criminal neglect.
Honolulu
Cuts in Social Security will be hard to bear
Thank you for your Feb. 3 editorial on how private accounts would damage Social Security. I am very concerned about keeping Social Security alive and well.According to the Social Security Administration and U.S. Census Bureau, women represent 56 percent of those 65 and older in Hawaii who rely on Social Security benefits. So, about 100,000 women depend on these benefits for their basic living.
The typical recipient of a Social Security widow's benefit in Hawaii receives $829 per month ($9,948 per year). A congressional staff review of one of the plans of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security indicates that today's kindergartners would receive 45 percent less than they are promised under current law, even with the proceeds from private accounts.
If such a cut were to take effect now, the typical widow in Hawaii would receive $456 per month ($5,472 per year), an amount equal to only 63 percent of the poverty line.
As a widow, I have lost the benefit of my husband's monthly Social Security payments. Now I can look forward to having my own Social Security benefit cut in half!
Waianae
Excise tax hike for rail is just a money grab
About the 25 percent increase in the excise tax the Democrats in the Legislature are pushing, ostensibly for light rail:They must know that the Republicans who control Congress will not give any federal matching funds for this project if sponsored by liberal Democrats like Reps. Neil Abercrombie or Ed Case, and especially if this project is opposed by virtually every Republican in the state Legislature. So, these Democrats want this massive tax increase to go into a raidable special fund that absolutely can't be spent on the purpose for which it was set up. What do you think is going to happen to this tax money? Do you really think they'll give it back to us, instead of ramping up spending on projects unrelated to light rail?
Kailua
Let's look at successful rail systems elsewhere
Have state officials really looked into mass transit, or are they just going to plan it along the way? What successful mass transit system will Honolulu's be modeled after? Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong all have great systems. Has anyone spoken with their designers?Most places use a large gasoline tax to help pay for and motivate people to take mass transit, so why are politicians here considering an increase in excise tax? Does any city have a successful mass transit system that is funded with an excise tax? Have we considered where parking facilities will be for passengers who drive to the train station, and how cars will be protected while they are away? I wouldn't be willing to leave my car all day in a garage when there is a high chance of it getting broken into. Maybe Hawaii politicians shouldn't try to re-invent the wheel, but rather look at the most successful transit systems in the world and borrow their ideas!
Honolulu
Patriotism is media is welcome change
Having lived through several wars, I remember when patriotism was taught at home, school and church. With the negativity and hate speech in the media today, it was a breath of fresh air to read the Feb. 1 columns of Charles Memminger and Thomas Sowell.
Honolulu
Attack on Kennedy was disrespectful
"Honolulu Lite" columnist Charles Memminger's personal attack on Sen. Edward Kennedy was disrespectful, misplaced and misguided. In hindsight, it is certain that had the senator's brothers not been gunned down, this country would have been spared from so much death, anguish, broken lives and destruction from Vietnam.The most serious purposes and objectives for going to war in Iraq have been shown to be false. The remaining mission of bringing democracy to Iraq and the Middle East is still very much in question with American lives being lost daily. Though Memminger may have a very different concept of what it means to support the troops and their families, Kennedy should not be made the subject of his crude personal insults.
Honolulu
Kauai property tax limits won’t
wreck the island’s economy
Your Jan. 31 editorial, which compared Kauai's Ohana Tax Amendment with California's Proposition 13, talked about a potential budget disaster sweeping across Kauai like a tsunami. It used the same scare tactics that the County of Kauai did prior to the vote on the tax relief amendment. It is time to review the facts.Prop 13 affected the tax rates of all property; Kauai's amendment affects only residential property. Prop 13 set the property tax rate at 1 percent and limited increases to 2 percent a year. Our measure fixes the tax at the amount paid in 1999 (or the year property was acquired) with a 2 percent increase annually. Taxpayers can now predict what their tax will be, which benefits those on a fixed income. Ever-increasing assessments and frequent tax rate increases were threatening families with being taxed out of their homes.
California's problem was caused not by Prop 13 but by then-Gov. Gray Davis, who negotiated budgets that spent the capital gains taxes of $22 billion gleaned during the stock market boom and failed to cut spending when the bubble burst.
To qualify for the amended tax rate on Kauai, the property must be owner occupied. When a property is sold, the tax is based upon the sale price and rises accordingly. Only 11 percent of residential property is sold annually. This means that in about eight years the initial financial impact of the charter amendment essentially will be meaningless to all but those who remained in their own homes, with the exception of the 2 percent cap on increases.
As to the devastating fiscal impact and the fear tactics used by the county and this newspaper, it is important to note that there are seven tax categories that could be taxed at slightly increased rates to make up any deficit. These include time-shares as well as condos owned by out-of-state owners. Nothing will happen to the police or fire services that allegedly are threatened by nothing more than malicious fabrications by politicians who witnessed a taxpayer revolt. As to the estimated $3 million that has been mentioned as the cost of this measure, not one person in county government had the temerity to place that figure on a ballot argument against the measure.
What has happened since this measure has passed? The county attorney has sued the mayor, County Council and director of finance. The trouble with this is that the county attorney represents both the plaintiff as well as the defendant in the case; none of the defendants have been deposed and no factual arguments have been made. It reads and plays like a tragic-comedy with the taxpayers footing the bill.
The mayor and County Council recognized the need for tax relief. I have yet to see any comments from these individuals since this measure passed. They were quick to use political rhetoric to fool the people prior to the vote. But voters cast 13,000 votes to achieve property tax stability. They deserve nothing less.
Koloa, Kauai
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