Egalitarianism is impractical
I’ve done a little research on the Occupy Wall Street movement and it seems its members want equal outcome without equal effort. Everyone should get the same amount of money regardless of education, skills, or amount of responsibility or type of work.
They don’t offer any way of accomplishing this goal. Who decides how much each person will be paid? Will everything we all earn be put into a pot and distributed by the government?
Will the more productive workers make the same as less productive workers?
Why would anyone work more than anyone else if they couldn’t get rewarded? Wouldn’t that mean the more productive would be less productive?
Otto Cleveland
Pearl City
Pelosi hardly among the 99%
U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi has my permission to spend her money any way she wants, such as her extravagant Hawaiian vacations. But the mutual embrace between Pelosi and the Occupy movement is not only hilariously hypocritical, but clearly exposes the political agenda of the movement.
If U.S. Sen. Harry Reid is wrong and there really are unicorns around, I’m betting Mrs. Pelosi will be one of the only Americans who’ll be able to afford one.
Kris Schwengel
Hawaii Kai
Writer’s legacy lives on online
John Heckathorn was one of the millions who found their way here to Hawaii to sample paradise and stayed to live and write about the people, places and pilikia he discovered along the way ("Journalist, teacher, editor, wrote about Hawaii, issues and food," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 29).
He was also my editor for the eight years I contributed to Honolulu Magazine. He made me a better writer and taught me things I apply to this day.
When we dined I called it another media "free lunch." But Heck sampled and savored every bite of Hawaii, and in his writing and through the stewardship of others brought awareness of what we called fancy "kaukau" and "grinds" to the planet neatly packaged and named "Pacific Rim Cuisine."
Many a career in the local restaurant scene benefited from John’s "good taste" while he spread the word of a new and delicious facet of Hawaii’s gastronomy while adding a new dimension to the meaning of "aloha."
Barbara and his two daughters can be proud of John’s legacy, which lives on online and on the palates of those dining tonight on the unique, wonderous foods of our islands.
Ron Jacobs
Kaneohe
Tax revenue often is wasted
Instead of forcing millionaires to pay more tax, let’s try making it voluntary — an "additional voluntary tax" on Form 1040.
Let President Barack Obama (and the Democrats) convene a millionaires summit where he can persuade rich folks that their taxes aren’t being wasted or funneled to friends or stolen by crooks.
Obama became a millionaire with his Nobel Prize cash award. He had a big opportunity to voluntarily pay income tax and/or give some of it to, for example, the Veterans Administration, but he chose to give all of it to charities, proving that he must believe that charities spend money more effectively than government bureaucrats.
Alan Matsuda
Kalama Valley
Puppy mill firm was inhumane
Bradley International should never be near animals again.
And no, the Hawaiian Humane Society did not exaggerate the conditions of those dogs. I was at the HHS when those dogs arrived. I was sick to my stomach and my heart ached as I held as many as I could, while they shook with fear, disgustingly dirty, covered with feces. Some couldn’t even walk.
Sometimes it felt like a nightmare that I was having — but no, it was real as I looked at the neglected dogs in horror. How could any human be so inhumane?
Jeannie Ayresman-Horie
Nuuanu
Who has money for elephants?
Twelve million dollars for two elephants — no problem. Twenty-five million dollars for two hospitals and 990 jobs — no way!
How can this be? Where is the outrage? Where are the political leaders?
Terence Davies
Hauula
Coqui frogs are gift of nature
Thank you, Richard Vlasic from Puerto Rico ("Coqui frogs help limit mosquitos," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Dec. 28). I love the sounds of nature, the coqui, the peacock, etc. And it is sad that people don’t enjoy these sounds and sights of nature.
I like them. They’re very soothing to me, and these creatures all serve a purpose. Only when man comes in and decides what should be here and what shouldn’t be here is the ecosystem messed up. Who are we to destroy things that have been on this Earth way longer than man has been around?
Adrienne Wilson-Yamasaki
Wahiawa
NEW YEAR HOPES AND WISHES
1 door closes, another opens
My hope for the New Year is to appreciate the health, happiness and life that we have.
Make the best of every situation. When one door closes, another opportunity will present itself.
It is within ourselves to create a bright New Year.
Joyce H. Cassen, M.D.
Hawaii Kai
Gays still not fully equal
What happened at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve is not the ushering in of equality. It is but a stepping stone toward full equality.
Civil unions are not marriages or even close to being equal; it will, however, provide much-needed protection for LGBT couples across Hawaii. It is the best our state has to offer its LGBT citizens, and that is a shame. The goal of full equality requires vigilance from all who seek and demand a better society for everyone.
While 2011 was a good year on the LGBT front, it was not a good year for all.
We saw peaceful demonstrations demanding better of our government and financial institutions being met with violence. The attack on women and their right to control their own bodies was a battle being fought in every state.
The war on the houseless has turned them into criminals in the eyes of our city lawmakers. And we saw service providers for the houseless applaud this maneuver and, for the most part, we, as a majority, remained silent.
Michael J. Golojuch Jr.
Honolulu Pride chairman, Makakilo
Keep pursuing your dreams
Happy New Year, Hawaii. It is now 2012 and for the Chinese culture, it will be the Year of the Dragon — my year to prosper.
Born in 1988, I am of Filipino, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese and Irish descent — a "mixed plate," as locals call it. I come from an average family, nothing out of the ordinary. Raised with discipline, tough love and expectations, my only goal that remains constant is to succeed.
I am blessed with my own place (with roommates of course) and it is now my time to leave the nest once again. On my new journey and chapter in life, I pray for guidance and strength to continue to fulfill my goals, as well as make a difference in people’s lives.
As a nurse assistant in home health care, I look forward to going back to school to further my education and complete my career goal of becoming a therapist or counselor.
I wish all of Hawaii the best in the new year. May we all prosper in glory.
Jayde Tandaguen
Hawaii Kai
Let’s resolve to help animals
As we start the new year, let’s make 2012 a year for Hawaii’s animals.
For far too long, puppy mills like Bradley International have operated here, churning out poor animals from miserable living conditions.
We can spay/neuter our pets to prevent unwanted litters. We can ask pet stores hard questions, like if they would allow the humane society to inspect their breeders.
Other pet companies should join us in this effort by advocating for efforts to reduce pet overpopulation.
This legislative session, let’s support bills protecting animals, such as mandating sterilized animals at pet stores. We can help end the demand for uninspected puppies by banning roadside sales and puppy swap meets.
Our animal shelters are swimming with unwanted animals. The least we can do is stop the cycle that produces them.
Theresa Donnelly
Secretary, Boxer Club of Hawaii
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