Politicians in it for selves, not party
After reading so many letters about our false alarm, I wondered if any would stay on topic; most wandered off into other areas of the writer’s concerns.
For example, one letter writer recently wondered why President Trump was spending so much on the military and not enough on the infrastructure of our country. That made me wonder exactly how much tax revenue has been generated in Hawaii from the gasoline tax and vehicle registration in the past 30 years and how many dollars from this total were actually spent on the infrastructure.
Our county leaders just received an enormous pay increase. A portion of that money probably was generated by revenue from the registration and gas tax fees because that money is now folded into the general fund. This brings up another point — what fiscally irresponsible official authorized these increases when there was no money to fund it so now our elected officials are considering raising the excise tax to pay for it. It actually doesn’t matter which party they represent, the majority of politicians look out for their personal interests first and foremost.
A 5 percent to 8 percent pay increase would be considered a windfall by today’s standards in the private sector. Another example of how your government looks out for you would be Gov. David Ige knowing the missile alert was an error 2 minutes after it was broadcast, yet it took him another 15 or 20 minutes to get that word out to the public — why do you think that was?
Tom Brockmiller
Naalehu
Trump’s behavior should be concern for all
Mr. Parfinovics’ letter, “Liberals need to look in the mirror,” is uninformed and ignores facts. He states that our children have no chance of getting a good job. The truth is that the average unemployment rate in Hawaii was 3 percent and ranked third among the 50 states.
Americans are always on the move and move for many reasons. The Business Insider in January 2016 reported that Hawaii had 65 people moving in and 106 moving out, a net outflow of 41. So it’s not nearly the big problem Mr. Parfinovics implies.
While the false missile alert was horrible and completely unacceptable it is a issue that can be readily fixed unlike the problems caused by the current conservative Republican administration in our capital.
These are facts, not personal opinions, that just a cursory search of the internet would have shown as false. Whether you are conservative or liberal, we all should be concerned with how the president speaks and acts.
Paul Love
Kailua-Kona
Wahoo, wahine power!
It was with light-hearted glee that I joined the masses who marched through Kona on Sunday, showing their solidarity for “wahine power.” The amazing array of messages — focusing on everything from environmental concerns to women’s rights, civil rights, immigrant rights, DACA, fake news, etc. was a spectacular display of the great diversity of our nation, and our wonderful pocket of the world, Kona.
The only negatives were the occasional angry drivers who got caught in the unexpected traffic snarl that resulted from the thousands of citizens who showed up in solidarity. It was a wonderful display of democracy at its best; and reminded me of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (whose legacy was celebrated at another wonderful community gathering recently held at Old Airport Pavilion): “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
I say to all those who came out on Sunday (and those who considered it, but could not attend): Keep on “implementing the demands of justice”; keep on speaking out for what is right and just. Eventually reason and compassion will prevail.
Toni Reynolds
Kailua-Kona