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We are losing our aloha over GMOs
Your editorial urging the state of Hawaii to step into the GMO fray was long overdue (“State must take lead in GMO debate,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Jan. 12). We are losing our aloha.
We need all farmers and all types of food in this modern world we live in. We have achieved an ease in our lives that was unimaginable even decades ago. This is due mainly to the advances of science and technology.
The fact that it only requires one of us to feed 99 others is a miracle of modern science, one that we should be in awe of but that we take for granted. When we consciously decide to close the door on a technology that has the potential to improve the quality of life for tens of millions of our fellow travelers in this world, then that is a tragic loss of aloha. When we consider legislation that will bankrupt our fellow citizens, that is another tragic loss of aloha.
Is there no middle ground? Can we not put aside the invective and conduct reasonable debate? Or is demonization and demagoguery the rule of the day?
Are we really prepared to lose our aloha?
John McHugh
Mililani
Higher wage floor could be awkward
I have a few questions regarding raising the minimum wage.
What do I tell my employees who started with us at $7.25 and over two years earned many raises, as they proved they understood our business and show up on time? That the last two years have been for nothing?
And what do I tell them about raises, as it is not fair to hire a new employee and pay them the same as the experienced ones?
Some or many will not be hired, or maybe I have to fire some employees, as I need to make a profit to stay in business.
Have these politicians, and especially Gov. Neil Abercrombie, ever started or run a business or ever put even one dollar of their own into a business?
Probably not. They have no idea what it takes to start a business and keep it going, what with constant new regulations and taxes.
Mike Eberle
Partner, Island Grocery Service
Prices won’t go up enough to cut jobs
I really do not believe raising the minimum wage will cause employers to cut staff.
When I purchase my drinks at a convenience store, I might pay $1.85 rather than $1.75.
A dollar meal will cost $1.05. These establishments already operate with the least amount of employees it takes to do the job. I will not stop purchasing these items because the cost went up a few cents, and therefore the owners of these establishments will not cut any staff.
We all pay for food stamps for low-paid workers. Let the people who purchase these goods and services pay for the increase in the cost of goods sold, if there is any. I, for one, am willing to pay a little more for my purchases if the result is not paying for food stamps for the workers.
Peter Chiswick
Kailua
Early education not right priority
The governor’s plan for the $800 million surplus: Use it for early childhood education.
I have a better idea: Use the money to protect our bountiful tourism industry that actually produced the surplus.
Protect it by eliminating the issues that will eventually kill it, like the homeless, panhandling and graffiti.
Enforce panhandling and graffiti laws. Graffiti makes our island look more like a Third World country than paradise.
The surplus could be used to give the homeless real jobs and a revenue stream so they can quit panhandling. They can be hired, uniformed and trained to keep our public restrooms spotless, and paint out the graffiti, too.
We must get our house in order, solving the greatest threat to our local economy before it is too late. Travelers have many options; they don’t have to come here.
Gene Vosberg
Hawaii Kai
More development hurts middle class?
I looked at your front-page picture of the model of the proposed development in Kakaako and wondered why most residents do not join me in saying, no, too much (“Too much, too fast?” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 25).
It looks like Chicago. Our city is changing in many ways; are we sure they are the correct ways?
I have also seen your stories of a condominium on Ala Moana Boulevard in which one unit might cost $50 million. Are we not at risk of driving many of our middle-class residents away because our city has become too expensive for them? Without a vibrant middle-class, a city is diminished. Public services decrease. It becomes less livable, except for the very rich.
Kakaako needs development. Progress is necessary. Nevertheless, we must remember that this is Hawaii.
The Legislature is considering action. I hope that the legislators act responsibly.
Richard Saas
Kahala
Use bus ad revenue to help homeless
I totally agree with Elise Anderson’s analogy (“Waikiki today seems like a shantytown,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 26) that bus ads may comprise visual aesthetics for some but would be a welcome sight if they could help solve the blight of homelessness in our state.
If the mayor wants to push for bus ads, he could find a strange supporter for his project: The Outdoor Circle. This may be possible if he would pledge the $8 million he claims will be raised yearly by the ads to be dedicated to helping eradicate the offensive visual image of the homeless.
Let’s face it, The Outdoor Circle’s first order of business “is protecting Hawaii from activities that detract from, damage, or destroy our visual environment.”
I believe it would welcome the addition of $8 million to help protect us from homelessness, which is the No. 1 detractor from the visual environment of Hawaii.
Ken Bailey
Kailua
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