Business climate is key to growth

Thank you for the article titled, "Abercrombie wants to give $20 million to business entrepreneurs" (Star-Advertiser, Feb. 25) in which you point out a Democratic administration’s view of the marketplace: Government gives and spends in hopes the private sector will invest.

As a taxpayer whose dollars the Democratic administration wants to give away, here’s a suggested alternative: Instead of the Hawaii Growth Initiative, a state investment program giving to entrepreneurs (or what could appear to be "cronies"), the administration should lead with a business sense instead of a government mindset.

Don’t give and spend our taxes and call it investment. Do assure that opportunities for growth and incentives to invest are embodied in the laws, regulations and tax structure of this great state.

Gary Wentz
Kailua

Gay marriage benefits omitted

The study that Lauren Gabriel and I conducted on same-sex marriage and its impact on Hawaii’s economy are triggering a lot of discussion and debate.

Jim Hochberg correctly points out several factors mentioned in our report that might reduce the magnitude of our estimates that legalizing same-sex marriage would boost spending in Hawaii by between $46 million and $258 million over the 2014-2016 period ("Question study on gay tourism," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 16).

But Hochberg curiously omits the fact that our report also lists several factors that could lead to additional spending and which are not included in the report’s estimates.

These include visits to Hawaii by foreign same-sex couples and their guests to marry and honeymoon, along with honeymoon trips within the state taken by Hawaii same-sex couples.

Sumner La Croix
Economics professor, University of Hawaii-Manoa

Don’t trust DOE to ensure sex ed

A recent editorial about comprehensive sex education in schools said the state Department of Education should be responsible for ensuring that there is more consistency in the sexual health education ("Leave sex ed to DOE control," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Feb. 15).

I would agree with that statement; however, Hawaii is currently 17th in the nation for the most teen pregnancies and ranks last in the nation for condom use among sexually active teens. So the DOE is not actively monitoring and ensuring that effective sex education is being taught.

I do not see the DOE deciding to start monitoring the health classrooms for more consistency on its own, without being pushed by the lawmakers, so I would support House Bill 399 to ensure that effective, comprehensive sexual health education is being taught to all of Hawaii’s students.

Kathleen Stofocik
McCully

Kapolei not getting its due

Kapolei is not a second city, it is a giant mall. The biggest sport out here is shopping.

With a lack of sports facilities, the only thingour kids can do to compete in sports is leave. The only good sports facilities in Kapolei are in the schools, and not for the general public. The only thing built for sports out here in 22 years is the Kroc Center, and you have to pay for that, too.

Our park is free. It’s a large field with trash cans and a bathroom. Not a level spot on it. Oh yeah, we have half a skate park. If you want a whole one, go to Kailua or Mililani. We don’t rate.

What we need is a first-class district park with everything.A public park, for our keiki, and all of us.

Joseph C. Vogelgesang
Kapolei

Bus riders want better service

As a Waikiki senior dependent on TheBus for daily transportation, I would like to see restoration of our bus transportation to the former schedules, with emphasis on reinstating the "B" bus!

I am content paying my annual senior fee, and I suspect most of my contemporaries would also tell you that "free" is not the answer. Courteous, efficient and reliable service is.

Terry Sueko
Waikiki

Earned income tax credit better

The Sunday Insight article on poverty outlined two approaches to deal with the problem: the earned income tax credit and the minimum wage ("Staring down poverty," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 24).

The earned income tax credit is the better approach. The idea is to assist people in low-paying jobs and encourage them to continue working rather than become unemployed and rely on welfare benefits. Government shoulders the cost, but it is surely preferable to welfare subsidies.

By contrast, the cost of an increase in the minimum wage is borne by the employer — in most cases, small business. Such increases often result in the business’s failure, or at least a reduction in its work force.

Politicians who extol the virtues of small business while supporting increases in the minimum wage are talking out of both sides of their mouths. If they want to help minimum wage earners, they should support the earned income tax credit.

Carl H. Zimmerman
Salt Lake

Gun-safety rules always apply

Marwin Juan is fortunate that no one was seriously injured by the negligent discharge of his rifle ("Man injures son, 3, while cleaning rifle," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 24).

He broke safe gun-handling rules 1 and 2: Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to shoot, and always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

He followed rule 3: Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction, in this case the cement ceiling of an apartment. Only bullet fragments struck his son.

His description of unloading omits inspection of the rear of the barrel for a cartridge.Working the action is insufficient. One may stick in the chamber and fail extraction. Pulling the trigger is not necessary.

Owning a firearm is a great responsibility. Lack of knowledge or a moment of carelessness can have disastrous consequences.

Maxwell Cooper
National Rifle Association certified senior training counselor

Red-light system won’t do the job

One advantage of considering a red-light camera program now is that data from cities that have implemented similar programs can be analyzed to evaluate effectiveness.

Chicago has had red-light cameras for 10 years. With 400 cameras and $69 million collected in revenue in 2012, there is no significant improvement in safety.

The Chicago data show that 80 percent of red-light violations are for illegal right turns and that crashes increase at intersections with cameras. How would the system in Hawaii improve safety when red-light systems in other cities have not? The citizens of Hawaii have a right to know the goals for the pilot program in Senate Bill 693, and the measures identified to determine the success for continuation of the program.

The availability of data to make informed decisions can facilitate transparency with our legislators.

Susan M. Ohlson
Chicago