Jobless fund freeze is financially sound

The Star-Advertiser recently concluded that the unemployment insurance tax freeze was based on a rosy economic scenario that might not occur (“Unemployment fund needs cash, not optimism,” Star-Advertiser, Off The News, March 5).

This is not so. The new law prepares for the worst and is fiscally responsible. The freeze helps employers and prevents our economy from again sliding into a recession. If our unemployment rate were to stay where it is today, we will end the year with a $76 million unemployment insurance trust fund, approximately $70 million more than we had at the end of 2011.

The UI fund has an agreement to borrow money from the state so that we should not have to borrow money from the federal government. If the administration is unable to lend the required money, a mechanism allows the fund to pay back any interest accrued in borrowing money from the federal government.

Our UI policy is sound and remains available for any contingency.

Rep. Karl Rhoads
Chairman, House Committee on Labor and Public Employment

Rail will cost more if not done soon

We are definitely in need of an elevated rail system to bypass the heavy traffic.

Twenty-five years ago the cost of building would have been in the millions; today the cost is in the billions.

The adage? As time goes by, the cost becomes high. This is mostly caused by the indecision and stalling from the critics.

Unfortunately, at the age of 93, I will never see the day when I will be riding the elevated rail system.

Robert Kam
Honolulu

Dog-breeding bills will hurt hobbyists

The intent of Senate Bills 2492 and 2494 is to stop future incidents like the Waimanalo puppy mill. What legislators and the public fail to realize is that these bills will not yield a different outcome for people like the Lukes and it will hurt the hobby breeder.

Hawaii has a small core of devoted hobby breeders, people who breed and show dogs. With shelters adopting out sterile dogs and hobby breeders unable to meet the demand of purebred dogs, where does the public think their next puppy will come from? Hobby breeders work for a living. We are blue collar, white collar, regular working people. We do not rely on puppy sales to make a living.

We may have dog-related businesses (groomers, boarding kennels, doggy day care, veterinarians). We are not able to flood the Capitol with our presence but we care about all dogs.  Don’t micromanage us out of existence with unreasonable laws.

Lynn Muramaru
Kapolei

U.S. is treaty-bound to cut nuke stash

Kathleen Bailey argues that the proposed reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons is dangerous and even undermines U.S. non-proliferation goals (“Proposal to cut U.S. nuclear weapons by 80 percent is asking for trouble,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, March 6).

However, the U.S. is committed by the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament.”

Reducing the threat posed by nuclear weapons requires not only stopping their spread but also reducing the large arsenals of the U.S. and Russia.

It will be difficult to get Iran and North Korea to honor their commitments and even more difficult to get Israel, India and Pakistan to give up their nuclear weapons. It will be impossible unless the U.S. honors its commitment.

Michael Jones
Kaneohe

Customs has a way to deal with spiking

Most letters in the debate on pension spiking present an extreme solution, supporting pensions using all overtime earned in the last years before retirement, or none of it. In fact, many agencies have developed a solution fair to all.

U.S. Customs recognized workers deserve future compensation for legitimate, often forced, overtime worked during their career, and taxpayers deserve not to be gouged by pension spiking.

Customs (as legislated by Congress) sets a maximum creditable limit of 50 percent of overtime earned during the high-three years used for pension calculation. It also requires that the agency compute the average annual overtime earned by the employee prior to the point when the employee is three years from retirement eligibility, and cap overtime that can be earned from that point forward at the average figure the employee earned over a career. This is a fair and enforceable solution.

Nat Aycox
Kailua

Rules are strict for disability placards

Recent letters expressed outrage at the abuse of accessible parking stalls for people with mobility disabilities. Many people appear to be very fit and not deserving of a placard. We caution, however, that many placard holders may have cardiac, respiratory, circulatory, oncological or neurological conditions that are not obvious or do not require the use of a mobility device such as a wheelchair, cane, walker or crutches.

All qualified placard holders must carry the identification card issued with the permit to verify that they are the person to whom the placard is issued. The identification cards do not contain photos due to cost considerations. The biggest abuses come from people using another person’s placard, including the placard of a deceased family member. We agree that greater enforcement is needed to ensure that individuals are not abusing the use of the placard.

For more information on the parking program, please go to www.hawaii.gov/health/dcab/parking.

Francine Wai
Executive director, Disability and Communication Access Board