[ OUR OPINION ]
Questions linger
beyond bomb smokeENORMOUS plumes of smoke rose from Baghdad in what the American military accurately described as a "shock and awe" aerial attack on Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld described the attack as "humane," with bombs directed at "particularized" military and government targets. That assessment cannot be immediately confirmed, and other questions will remained unanswered possibly for days or weeks. The scenes on our television sets paint an incomplete picture.
THE ISSUE The U.S. military launched a massive aerial assault on Iraq while ground troops began marching toward Baghdad.The targeted buildings probably were vacant or close to it when the bombs fell. Iraqi officials had to assume those buildings would be targeted and probably were far away. However, residential areas were nearby and civilian casualties were inevitable, regardless of the bombs' accuracy. They undoubtedly are far superior to the "surgeon-like precision" that the military wrongly described of the bombs that were dropped on Hanoi three decades ago.
The first Gulf War killed 21,000 to 35,000 Iraqis, including 1,000 to 5,000 civilians, according to Walter Russell Mead, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. However, the bombing in that war was much more limited than this attack and did not include the massive assault on Baghdad. Untold thousands of Kurds have been gassed by Saddam Hussein, and an estimated 200,000 Iraqis were tortured and disappeared into his prison system. If the bombs bring an end to that tyranny, it will indeed be a humane result.
Also unknown is how the American and British troops will be greeted by Iraq citizens. A New York Times correspondent in Baghdad said in an interview that residents have opened up to him in private conversations in recent days to praise the U.S. effort to liberate the country. A Boston Globe correspondent said every Iraqi with whom she has talked sees the American plan as occupation, not liberation, and they don't like it.
We can only hope that most Iraqis will share the view of Zahra Khafi, whose 39-year-old son was killed by Hussein's henchmen two years ago for his devotion to a wrong brand of Islam. When British and American soldiers swept into her Iraqi border village, Khafi cried, "Oooooo peace be upon you peace be upon you peace you oooooo." She then hesitated, perhaps recalling the Gulf War's aftermath. "Should I be afraid? Is Saddam coming back?"
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Tax by any authority
hits the same walletsAS legislators weigh a bill to grant the city authority to levy a sales tax, what should be foremost in the minds of taxpayers is that no matter which level of government imposes it, tax dollars come from their wallets. If reducing government spending to a level taxpayers can afford is a desirable goal, this measure stands to undermine that.
THE ISSUE State lawmakers consider a measure to allow the city to impose a sales tax.Further, the measure, dressed as a home-rule issue, has the potential to become divisive and pit counties against each other and the state in competition for funding. Moreover, the amount the bill designates to administer a city sales tax likely would run short of the cost to carry it out.
The bill would swap the city's portion of the state transient accommodations tax -- more commonly known as the hotel room tax -- for the power to assess a sales tax on goods. About 45 percent of the hotel tax, which brought in $157 million in the last fiscal year, is given to the counties, the largest amount going to Honolulu. The bill, as it stands, would divide the city's share among the other counties and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
However, as the state struggles to balance its budget against dwindling revenues, legislators are thinking about keeping most of the city's allotment for state expenses. Meanwhile, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii counties say they, too, want taxing powers but want to hold on to their hotel tax revenues as well.
Honolulu residents are facing increased property tax rates at the same time property values have gone up. A sales tax would place an unfair burden on those who can least afford to pay it, as it would be imposed on necessities like food and clothing.
Lawmakers also should consider the costs to administer a tax the state has not collected before. Producing forms and tax tables and monitoring compliance surely will require additional money not only for the state bureaucracy, but for business owners as well.
City officials contend that the taxing power is a home-rule matter. As such, Governor Lingle favors extending the authority to all the counties, not just Honolulu. Home rule as a concept sounds good, but it is a double-edged sword. For example, if Honolulu seeks state funds for a mass transit system, would not the other counties have an argument that since the system would benefit primarily city residents, it should raise the money on its own?
The devil is in the details, and lawmakers have yet to address them. For the taxpayers, the most disturbing detail should be that the bill mandates a tax they haven't had to pay before.
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Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comMary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4748; mpoole@starbulletin.com
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