Now isn't the time for hotel workers' strike

Should Local 5 decide to strike at Waikiki hotels, there will only be losers. This is the wrong time to go on strike, since Hawaii's struggling economy is still trying to recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

At a time when the airlines are cutting more than 7,000 jobs, the message to travelers would be to stay away from Hawaii.

Governor Cayetano should step in to advert any possible strike. Both sides needs to negotiate in good faith and throw the greed out the window. Then a settlement that is reasonable and realistic will be reached.

Arsenio Ramirez Pelayo
Pearlridge

GOP protests too much about scrutiny of plan

There is something a little disturbing about Linda Lingle and the GOP berating the governor for analyzing her so-called "Agenda for Hawaii."

There are substantial numbers of government employees who have been hired for a particular expertise and are charged with the responsibility of analyzing and responding to ideas, suggestions and proposals, no matter where they might originate.

If I proposed an idea to the governor, I would expect him to investigate its feasibility and get back to me as to why it would or would not work.

The frenzied protests of Lingle and the GOP tell me that they really don't want anybody looking too closely at the plan.

Paul Fung

Government's 'core' job is to improve life

Just when we thought the Enron, Andersen, Halliburton, WorldCom, scandals might provide human services an upper hand against political privateers, out pops the news (well-hidden up to now) that anti-government activists in Hawaii's Legislature created a new private-interest bureaucracy bearing the ominous title, "Core Government Functions Advisory Commission" (Political File, Aug. 12) whose purpose is to privatize or eliminate as many public services as possible.

Thankfully, it is we, the owners of Hawaii's democracy who will have the last say -- with our votes this fall. Let us instead eliminate from government any and all politicians who would supplant the basic democratic premise that the "core function" of government is to secure better living conditions for citizens with the corporatist call to put private profit ahead of public welfare. Our democracy has never called so loudly for help as it does today. For the sake of future generations, we must answer the call.

Rai Weigel
Aiea

Public campaign fund isn't the answer

Grace Furukawa, in an Aug. 1 letter "Campaigns should be publicly funded," wants to put the foxes in charge of guarding the henhouse. How can she trust politicians to totally control the "mothers milk" of politics by using money taken from us by threat of force (taxes) is way beyond me.

Most of the people I know cherish their right to financially support candidates of their choice without having the successful ones, those in office and passing laws, tell them they cannot.

If she and her Hawaii Clean Election Coalition really want to clean up politics, they should be working to eliminate the authority or ability of elected officials to reward their favorites and punish those who are not favored or are somehow defenseless. Her system would create a circle of "we help get each other elected, then we take perks, pay and goodies" over and over again.

That would render us all defenseless and we would eventually be eaten hollow by those self-serving foxes.

No thanks.

Richard O. Rowland
President
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Put CEOs' ill-gotten gains to good use

The Republicans have got it backwards. Instead of trying to legalize the option for honest taxpayers to put some of their hard-earned Social Security money into stocks, they would do better to come up with legislation that would take the ill-gotten CEO "stock option" funny money and put it into the Social Security fund.

Bill Brundage
Kurtistown, Hawaii

Our big-government image is false

Hawaii's state government is often and incorrectly accused of having high taxes and excessive numbers of employees. These accusations overlook the fact that only Hawaii employs and pays for teachers and for schools. When combined state and local taxes and employees are compared with other states, we rank about the midpoint for both taxes and employees.

Critics also fail to compare Hawaii with large corporations that also have high costs and many employees. Their centralization allows them to produce their goods and services at lower prices than small businesses.

As for the law violators in our government, they are small fry when compared with the multibillion-dollar frauds by executives of so many large corporations. And those law violators receive small or no penalties.

Hawaii does need improvements. We need to stop subsidizing the affluent hotel industry and to use those funds for schools. We need campaign reform to remove big-money influences upon legislators. And we need to vote.

Jerome G. Manis

DeSoto should have run elsewhere

In a July 24 Star-Bulletin article on legislative races in newly drawn Senate districts, John DeSoto claimed he is running for Kapolei's 19th district, not to oppose incumbent Sen. Brian Kanno, but to make a difference there.

Kanno has already made a significant difference for the people of Kapolei, and has the knowledge and skill to continue to do so.

If DeSoto really wanted to make a difference, he should not have tried to unseat an already effective Kapolei senator, but rather run for a seat in another district where he would still have been able to add his efforts to Kanno's for the continued advancement of Kapolei.

Kanno, unlike DeSoto, has lived in Kapolei for years, knows all of its needs and is involved with its people all year long to better Kapolei.

Jane Ross
Kapolei

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