Extend respect and tolerance to people with differing ideas

Two recent letters not only advocate continued government spending without regard to deficit increases, they also attack those advocating spending restraint and deficit reduction as irrational ignoramuses who need to educate themselves by reading up on Keynesian economic theory ("A bit of reading could be useful," "Deficit obsession is bad economics," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 4).

Permit me to suggest an alternative: that respect and tolerance be extended to people who advocate different ideas, and further, that an empirical investigation and an objective analysis be made of different types of spending by both government and private enterprise, rather than view spending generally through any particular economic theory.

For one example, government is now spending billions of dollars each day in principal and interest payments on its debt, much of which goes to overseas investors rather than staying in the U.S. to benefit our economy. Interest rates are at historic lows today, but when they return to more normal rates, this wasteful spending will greatly increase.

Robert E. Warner
Honolulu

Isle Democrats in Congress actually voted to cut spending

We just witnessed a miracle. Amid much hand-wringing, Hawaii’s Democratic congressional delegation voted yes for a spending reduction bill as part of the increase in the debt ceiling. After watching years of their voting for huge spending, and lately opposition to any proposed reductions, I am stunned.

Unheard of! How will we survive actual cuts in federal spending? But even with these coming cuts, our national debt continues to soar, another $7 trillion to $22 trillion. But it’s a start.

Perhaps now Congress will even enact a real budget, like American households, business, cities, states, schools, churches and charities.

One can only hope for another miracle.

Jim McDiarmid
Mililani

Fixing up Honolulu for APEC is like interviewing for a job

Remember when you went out on your first job interview?

Did you take a bath, did you put on clean clothes and brush your hair and brush your teeth?

I did, and I hope you did too.

I want to thank the hardworking Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation host committee for its efforts to spiff up Honolulu.

Yes, we have serious social and economic problems that need to be addressed, but to think that we should not utilize APEC as a positive catalyst to showcase Hawaii is a mistake.

We need to put forth Hawaii’s best. We need to be able to look back and say, "We did it for APEC, let’s do it for everything else."

Our mental attitude needs to be adjusted. We need to walk into this interview with a we-can-do-it attitude. Hawaii is no ka oi!

Chris Nakamatsu
Kailua

Islands can’t take any more housing developments

I’m not sure why our illustrious leaders keep approving more housing developments on our already very overcrowded island.

The developers would like to build on every available piece of land until we are just cement with a few trees planted around the houses.

The developers donate money to the powers that be and promise to build a shopping center and a small school. Obviously we are up to our eyeballs in sewage because of this massive overbuilding on our very small island.

Developers should be required to build waste treatment plants in each of their new developments and solve our roads and traffic problems at the same time. These islands cannot sustain themselves with all this development and influx of people.

Stop building. Enough already. Give incentive to farmers and farm lands so that we can truly be self-sufficient.

Adrienne Wilson-Yamasaki
Wahiawa

Make short-term rentals post their permit numbers

Zoning ensures compatible property use for the health and safety of our community.

If my neighbors ran an auto-body business from their garage, or a commercial operation with employees and customers traipsing through the property at all hours, they would be violating zoning in my residential neighborhood.

Why, then, do those who profit from illegal transient vacation rentals expect different treatment?

That clarifying language is needed for an established city ordinance points to repeated attempts by those industry operators to circumvent zoning law.

Non-permitted short-term rentals take much-needed housing out of our community’s rental market for the sole benefit of a landowner who charges a higher nightly rate.

I highly doubt these illegitimate businesses pay the required excise or transient accommodations taxes required of all short-term room rentals.

Requiring legally licensed transient vacation rentals to list permit numbers in their marketing simply separates those who comply with city zoning laws from those who don’t.

Barrie Morgan
Kailua

People suing city over rail have public’s interest at heart

Regarding the letter from Toru Hamayasu ("Politics, lawsuits cause unnecessary rail delays," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 19), please note that Hamayasu, as the interim executive director for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART), is on the city payroll. Of course, he has to assail those who bring lawsuits against the rail.

It so happens that those who are suing are among the most knowledgeable and most respected members of our society: a former governor, a former judge and a University of Hawaii law professor who helped bring down the corrupt Bishop Estate.

These responsible people have taken it upon themselves to stop that unaffordable eyesore. Bravo to them.

They, like many others, have realized that this misconceived rail project will not do what it’s advertised to do: reduce traffic. It will harm the beauty of our islands and it will bankrupt us.

Joshua Fish
Pearl City

‘Hawaii Five-0’ gives residents opportunity for their careers

Thank you for running the article "Five-0 roles for local actors continue into second season," (Star-Advertiser, Outtakes, July 31).

Casting extras for "Hawaii Five-0" has given local actors an opportunity for their dreams to come true, working with famous actors like Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan.

Many Americans dream of mainstream success. However, living in Hawaii, the most isolated location on the planet, can make it difficult to find an opening.Compared to the mainland, Hawaii has less access to the entertainment world, so it is great that local residents get the chance to represent our home on television.

Working as an extra gives actors, especially beginners, an opportunity to realize their hopes and start off their careers. "Hawaii Five-0" has provided that opportunity.

We should thank CBS Productions and the show’s creator, the late Leonard Freeman, for sharing local actors with the world, and ask that CBS continue taking advantage of Hawaii’s natural beauty and talent.

Atsuko Nagatsu
Honolulu