China not a better option
In this age of global violence, I don’t think that Eric Hafner will be able to ensure that Hawaii would be safe from nuclear war if the United States would withdraw from Hawaii and Hawaii would become independent.
I am sure that China would more than welcome this and would be willing to come to the aid of Hawaii. Once they are well entrenched into Hawaii occupation, Mr. Hafner would be smart to start learning Chinese now so that he could better converse with the red army and their communist leaders.
Drew Hammerslog
Waimea
Socialism vs. capitalism
In response to Eric Hafner’s letter in Monday’s paper: Be careful what you ask for with respect to socialism.
I was born in Hungary. My father had a small shoe manufacturing business. When his business grew, the socialist government informed him that they would now own his business and he would work for them. He was imprisoned for six months for objecting. He was released and told not to leave the country and was put under surveillance. He escaped the country to Italy where my family lived in a refugee camp for a year. Unable to emigrate to America, we went to Australia and finally were able to emigrate to America where he again opened a small shoe business and we prospered again and became legal U.S. citizens.
In my life, socialism took away our freedom. Capitalism enabled our freedom.
Timothy Frank
Kona
Article highlights what state is missing out on
Thank you, Nancy Cook Lauer of West Hawaii Today, for your excellent article on vacation rentals.
From this article it is quite evident that the vacation rental by owner opposition is not from the hotel industry or the vacation rentals that pay their fair share of taxes. It is mainly the 6,000-plus scofflaws that do not want regulation for fear of having to raise their rents to cover Hawaii taxes that they now are hiding from.
This would put them in line with renters who do pay their taxes because it would even the competition with the honest renters. Recently, the state increased the TAT and now wants to raise the GET. This puts an added burden on the renters who pay their taxes by having to raise their rents to cover these taxes while those who do not pay keep their rents low.
Just think, if all of the vacation renters paid their taxes, the state would have millions more and would not have to keep raising taxes. With some type of ordinance, these non-paying vacation renters would either have to get a tax number and pay their taxes, or the state should be able to shut them down. The other alternative would be similar to property taxes, if you don’t pay them, the state or county will take your home away from you to cover the taxes.
Another large opposition to vacation rental regulation comes from realtors. Most people on this island cannot afford to purchase an expensive home. People from the mainland have a lot more money and want to invest it into Hawaii Island vacation rentals. Regulation may decrease the number of off-island investors.
As Don and Kerrill Kephart said, no one wants to eliminate vacation rentals completely as they are necessary. But regulations for paying taxes and making renters responsible for their visitors’ behavior in neighborhoods is necessary.
Teresa Tagon
Keauhou
Wake up, Mr. Hafner!
I have a message for Mr. Hafner. Wake up!
Based on my 28 years of living in one and visiting many, none of the communist countries are peaceful. If you really want to know how peaceful North Korea is, ask the people who risk their lives by defecting from there.
Better yet, ask Otto Warmbier or Kim Jong-nam. Oh, never mind, you can’t. They are dead. They were murdered by your “peaceful” North Korea! If you want to embrace and promote communism, move to one of those countries!
John S. Rabi
Kailua-Kona