Raise excise tax to fix state's woes

Will someone who knows explain why raising the general excise tax (GET) to meet all of the state's current monetary needs would be a poorer solution than resorting to the many senseless solutions that are being proposed to cut costs because of the state's lack of funds.

People are being furloughed and laid off. Many businesses are closing or on the brink of closing. The state's education system at all levels is being devastated. Many families are in dire straits. Raising the GET to meet the monetary needs of the state would avoid all of the aforementioned bad things that are happening to the state and its people.

I ask anyone who knows: How can things get worse than the terrible things that are taking place now if the GET is raised to meet all of the monetary needs of the state?

You can't pick laws to obey

The Island Commentary by Ronald S. Carlson, D.D.S. (”;Health care bill denies freedom of choice,”; Star-Bulletin, Dec. 29) misuses the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the Declaration of Independence in his most absurd rant against the health care bill working its way through Congress. He declares his freedom of choice is being denied. That assertion would be laughable if it weren't coming from a man who clearly has an education.

Dr. Carlson, you do not have the right to say “;fire”; in a crowded theater, and you are required to have vehicle insurance. This bill will become the law of the land—thus you, like the rest of us, will be required to obey this law. You cannot select which laws you choose to obey.

Your rant does a disservice to you, your profession and this nation.

More mandates to ignore—not!

After reading Dr. Ronald Carlson's Dec. 29 commentary with amusement, I offer a partial list of other “;mandates”; that restrict his freedom:
» Do not use your seat belt or refrain from using the phone while driving, it's a communist ploy; and don't have that “;required”; auto insurance.
» Do not pay federal and state taxes mandated by our “;socialist”; government.
» Do not follow approved medical procedures in your dental practice; use any medicines or procedures you like and you don't even have to sterilize your tools. These rules set by the government are clearly unconstitutional.
» You may have registered for the draft; if not, don't.
» Don't pay your property taxes. For what? You own it!
» Don't put out your trash on “;mandated”; days; just throw it out in the street. And all those other mandates, like stopping for red lights/signs, speeding, being civil, being a fool—they just don't apply to you. (Just the rest of us.)
Good luck with those, doctor.

Visitors could live in park, too

We have several friends from the mainland who would love to come to Hawaii for a oceanfront vacation, but due to the economy, they cannot afford to.

I have given them a solution: just bring a tent and stay oceanfront right in Kapiolani Park. Since no one is enforcing the “;no camping”; signs, we must assume that camping is now all right with the city.

If our friends get cited, they just ignore it and call the American Civil Liberties Union. The money they save could be used for alcohol, cigarettes and donations to the panhandlers.