Not fair to bail out those who gambled
In reference to the article in Thursday’s edition of West Hawaii Today on disaster relief funding being postponed, some of us have a hard time accepting this. Personally, I feel sorry for those who lost their homes due to the eruption but was that not expected?
Is it not true that the people who lost their homes “took a gamble” when investing in a home on land subject to volcanic activity? Is it not proper that those who take the gamble reap the benefits or pay the consequences for the gamble? Many of us had the same opportunity to buy beach front property in Puna but the inability to get fire insurance in Zone 1 was a loud warning to the dangers involved.
The old Hawaiians named places like Kapoho for a reason. The name Kapoho in English means: a place to avoid investing in. The word “poho” means: not worth it. The name Poho Iki carries the same warning in the term “poho,” again, not worth it. So, why gamble and build a home on this land anyway? Is it because people feel that others will bail them out?
Some may say that the Feds are footing the bill but in reality, the money the Feds put out still comes from us the taxpayers. To begin with, the lands in the Puna area should not have been allowed to be subdivided and sold cheaply. The inability to obtain insurance should have been another loud warning about the hazards involved. Placing the burden of recovery on those like us who pay the highest property taxes on the island is not fair.
Leningrad Elarionoff
Waimea
Regarding voter issues
First, the vast majority of Hawaii voted by mail so results were counted and released soon after polls closed. With so few in-person voters, I doubt there were few if any people on line when results started to come out. If you are GOP, and don’t like Hawaii voting for Dems, there are plenty of other states where GOP usually wins to move to.
As concerning signatures, older people get illnesses, young voters barely use a signature, and many other reasons signatures don’t readily match. These are then reviewed and should not be summarily tossed out in a democracy. Worst case, the name and address match the records and that one ballot is recorded and counted. This is the fair solution. These issues will also probably split along the general results and not affect results much if at all.
Stan Chraminski
Kailua-Kona
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