Stimulus has not helped economy

It's time to stop supporting the idea that government stimulus moneys have helped the U.S. economy. Pointing out the number of jobs and economic activities that have come about as a result of these stimulus packages ignores costs. All government spending comes at the expense of private spending. The government must either tax or borrow away the factors of production from the private sector.

Imagine if we hired a thousand unemployed folks and paid them to spend every morning digging ditches and every afternoon filling them. Would we then think the community was better off because they were spending the money they were paid? The private sector produces goods and services that consumers want or they fail. Government spending reduces the goods and services in the marketplace desired by consumers in favor of wasteful, often pointless, projects. Without the stimulus, bailouts and other federal “;solutions”; to our now 2-year-old recession, the U.S. economy would have been in full recovery long ago.

Aquino must avoid distractions

The victory of Benigno “;Noynoy”; Aquino III in the Philippine presidential election is a triumph of nostalgia and hope rather than experience. Aquino's parents were the martyred chief opponent of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his widow, Corazon, who was swept into the presidency on the overthrow of Marcos in 1986.

“;Noynoy”; was a rather inconspicuous member of the Senate, who was not considered a contender for the presidency until his revered mother died last year. Overnight he became the front-runner in the campaign. The hope, of course, is that he will live up to the record of his parents, but that would be a long shot.

In any event, the election is cause for relief because it means the imminent end of the tumultuous administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is herself the daughter of a former president. Her presidency has been marred by seemingly endless allegations of corruption, two failed coups and several fruitless attempts to impeach her. All of this has been a huge distraction from the real problems of the country.

Aquino has been threatening to bring charges against Arroyo, which would extend this distraction into another administration. But he should not let this prevent him from addressing the Philippines' urgent need for economic growth and alleviation of poverty.

Mentally ill need their medications

Regarding the article “;Mililani rape suspect had been State Hospital patient”; (Star-Bulletin, May 13): Joseph Navas was discharged from the Hawaii State Hospital 15 months ago, after psychiatric stabilization. What were the evaluations of his condition upon his discharge?

Blame, if you must, the state Legislature and the Department of Health for eliminating the safety nets put in place for care and follow-up after discharge from the State Hospital. It takes a mere 24 hours without medication for a psychiatric condition to fully relapse. Many of the guests at the hospital are return visitors because of the nature of the illness and lack of continued medicine management.

The Legislature ignored the warnings of cutting mental health services; now the public is paying the price. Blame it for not providing a safe, secure facility for seriously mentally ill people who don't need a hospital but find it difficult to survive in the public domain.

There are about 15,000 seriously mentally ill among us—some of whose insurance won't cover the cost of psychiatric medicine. For all our safety, the state should cover the cost of psychiatric medicines because it is far cheaper than the loss of just one life.

Iraq war origins go back to Clinton

I'm drawn like a moth to the flame when I read about the Iraq War in terms like those used by Judith Lewis (”;GOP does not deserve votes,”; Star-Bulletin, Letters, May 13). Her claim is that weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi involvement in the attack on the World Trade Center are the justifications for the U.S. led coalition's attack on the regime of Saddam Hussein.

In October 1998, removing the Hussein regime became official U.S. foreign policy with enactment of the “;Iraq Liberation Act.”; Judith, do you remember who the president was in 1998? (Hint: Bill Clinton.) In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush offered at least four justifications, none of them overlapping: The cruelty of Saddam against his own people; his flouting of treaties and U.N. Security Council resolutions; the military threat that he poses to his neighbors; and his ties to terrorists in general and al-Qaida in particular.

Remember that Hussein's military had been forcibly removed from Kuwait in the Gulf War, and he agreed to numerous conditions to stop the hostilities. His failure to comply with even one of those conditions could have resulted in immediate reinstatement of hostilities. And he failed to comply with bunches of conditions.

It was time for Saddam to go. Following the passage of the Iraq Use of Force Resolution in the Democrat-majority Senate, the Republican administration did what had to be done.