Abolishing income tax would reverse exodus

The man sitting next to my husband on the plane was moving from Monterey, Calif., to Lake Tahoe, Nev. My husband remarked, "You're moving from one beautiful place to another."

The man smiled and acknowledged that, as a book editor and publisher, he had been given the opportunity by the Internet to live anywhere and still keep his job.

"I would have chosen Hawaii," he replied, "but your taxes are too high."

According to census data, Hawaii had a net loss of more than 17,000 residents last year. What if we could attract back just 10,000? What would it take to bring them back?

One simple action: Eliminate our state personal income tax. This one action would return thousands of dollars to those of us in Hawaii who work one, two and three jobs and provide the single most important incentive to attract talent back into our state.

We can't afford to wait until our public schools improve, or for a few high-tech firms relocate here, or another TV program films for a season.

We need immediate, long-lasting economic revitalization.

It can be done by our Legislature on the first day of its 2000 session. Eliminating the personal income tax will require significant state government downsizing and privatization of public services, but these steps should have been taken a decade ago.

Linda L. Smith
Former director. City Department of Finance

Homosexuals may not be molesters

You miss the point of the New Jersey court decision on gays in the Boy Scouts (Editorial, Aug. 7). There already are gays in the Scouts. This ruling simply makes it officially acceptable for them to be there.

Wouldn't parents prefer to have an openly gay Boy Scout leader (and thus have the chance to shift their sons to other troops, if they were truly concerned) rather than to have a closeted one?

It should also be noted that gay men are no more likely -- and, unfortunately, no less likely -- than straight men to be child molestors. But when an adult molests a child, that person should be punished equally, whether gay or straight.

Ron Overmann
Pahoa, Hawaii
Via the Internet

Quotables "I'm sincerely sorry for what happened to my daughter. I live every day knowing I won't see her again." Jennifer Edwards Sentenced to 20 years in prison for reckless manslaughter in the death of her 20-month-old daughter, Cedra, in December 1997 "The smoke-and-mirrors show is over. It's not the cost of doing business that accounts for the higher gas prices; it's the greed of the oil companies." Tim Hamilton Mainland petroleum analyst On a Chevron Corp. document filed in federal court revealing that the company made 14 percent profits in Hawaii in the 1980s, even though the Oahu refinery processed only 3 percent of Chevron's crude oil

Senate keeps looking worse and worse

Just when taxpayers thought the do-nothing state Senate's embarrassing performance couldn't get worse, it strikes out again.

It was shocking enough when these senators, especially the 14 who voted against the reconfirmation of Attorney General Margery Bronster, tried to call a special session to fix mistakes caused by their own incompetence.

Now Sen. Carol Fukunaga has set another record -- one of turnover and continuing instability (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 2, "Senate's fiscal committee loses another chief clerk"). Also remember:

Fukunaga's ridiculous explanation as chairwoman of the Ways and Means that an emergency $2.1 million bill "fell through the cracks," resulting in taxpayers paying up to $300,000 in interest per year?
The unprecedented record of more than 40 bills that mistakenly died, also forgotten by Fukunaga and her committee?

These are symbols of the unprofessional, ineffective and out-of-touch senators who've been taking care of special interests like Bishop Estate while forgetting the people.

The Manoa Neighborhood Board and Hawaii Democratic Party deserve thanks for voting to condemn Fukunaga and the others who voted to fire Bronster. Those senators should be fired instead.

Lori Nakagawa

Which music is at fault for investor's rampage?

If music is responsible for the heinous violence of the Columbine High School massacre and the countless acts of inner-city brutality, will the media please tell us what kind of music day-trader Mark Barton was listening to that so thoroughly destroyed his sense of decency and morality?

By press accounts, Barton doesn't appear to be a devotee of Marilyn Manson or "gansta rap." So was it country western music -- firmly rooted in the gun-toting folklore of our European-American countrymen -- that pushed him over the edge?

H. Doug Matsuoka
Via the Internet

Apply three-strikes rule to public employees

Honolulu City Councilman Andy Mirikitani is so proud of himself for protecting the public from the hostess bars and massage parlors. His measure, signed into law by Mayor Jeremy Harris, will shut down a business if it has three prostitution offenses in five years.

Maybe now Mirikitani can get a similar law passed with respect to public employees who test positive for drugs while on the job.

Such public employees -- even those driving public vehicles -- can test positive for drugs three times in every two rolling years and NOT suffer any real consequences. Yet it is a clear danger to the community to have these drugged public employees on the streets.

When are Andy and the gang going to take care of THIS problem?

Pam Smith
Ewa Beach

Ige's comparison with AJAs was false

I am outraged that state Sen. Marshall Ige chose to compare his "plight" with those of "AJAs being prejudged by a group with power resulting with no due process." I am certainly at a loss to comprehend his choice of analogies.

Ige is charged with seven counts of impropriety. What were AJAs charged with except being Japanese or U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry?

Ige is being given the choice of trial dates; were AJAs given the choice of any sort of trial?

If Ige were to be found guilty and incarcerated, would his entire family be incarcerated right along with him?

AJAs had no choice but to have their family members join them in internment camps, and just because of race.

Machi Tsuruya
Via the Internet

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