Build as much rail as we can afford now

Rail has become such a contentious project. It has gone way past any financial prudence. Why don’t we just build to what we can afford? We don’t even know if they can run the darn thing with any competence.

Make the bus connections efficient. Most people will have to get off the train and take a bus to their destination anyway.

Before we bankrupt ourselves, shorten the route until we can recover financially, and see how good they are at keeping it running efficiently and on time. So far, “on time” just means your guess is as good as mine.

Mary Louise O’Brien

Kaneohe

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People must take stand against rail

I voted against rail;

Watched mismanagement and possible malfeasance rule the project;

Watched ugly creep along our beautiful island;

Watched the project morph to something other than what the voters were promised;

Watched the cost of the project rise to unbelievable numbers;

Watched our elected leaders refuse to be courageous and say no to extending the general excise tax surcharge;

Watched the mayor threaten those he serves with higher property taxes to benefit this badly planned project;

Finally, it is definitely time for the people to speak up and demonstrate the power of the people.

Piilani Kaopuiki

McCully-Moiliili

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City taxpayers can’t afford $10 billion

State legislators are trying to decide what kind of funding to give to the Honolulu rail transit project.

Whatever is decided, the mayor and some members of the City Council seem to be threatening to get the remaining funds through the city general fund. What does this mean? A real property tax increase.

News media says that this uncontrolled cost has gone from $5.2 billion to more than $10 billion (including debt service) since 2014. Don’t forget, the cost started at $3.7 billion in 2007 and now, no one can guarantee that $10 billion is all that’ll be required.

Oahu doesn’t have the population head count to support paying for a $10 billion-plus rail that will reduce traffic by 2 percent at best.

Up to $5.2 billion, let’s finish the rail. At $10 billion-plus, the brakes have to come on.

Voters, remember this fiasco when it comes time to vote.

Ted Kanemori

Kaneohe

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Use GET surcharge to get the job done

I have been against rail from the get-go. However, I now believe that the best solution, now that rail is more than half built, is for the people in the big square building downtown to vote in favor of the half percent general excise tax surcharge in perpetuity (minus the 10 percent state skim).

We’ve already been paying the surcharge for 10 years and to extend it would be virtually painless. Finish rail once and for all and use the extra to cover the operational deficits.

I, like everyone I know, am sick of hearing about it.

Bill Darrow

Hawaii Kai

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Trump cashing in while still in office

Cal Thomas lists Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as modern American presidents who cashed-in as ex-presidents from speaking fees, etc. (“Obama follows modern trend of ex-presidents cashing in,” Star-Advertiser, May 2).

Conversely, he cites Calvin Coolidge and Harry Truman as examples of former presidents who did not financially exploit their positions, quoting Truman’s attitude as, “he did not want to diminish the integrity of the presidency.”

Thomas failed to mention our current president, who is diminishing the integrity of the presidency by benefiting financially from the office. The Secret Service, stretched to protect the White House, Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago, was forced to request an additional $60 million to its $2 billion budget.

Ivanka Trump scored new trademarks from China after dinner with China’s president, licensing agreements in Japan after dinner with its president and is now the front person for the new Trump hotel project in the Philippines as her father invites Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House. Presidential integrity or conflicts of interest?

William E. Conti

Waikiki

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Ben Shapiro as smug as liberals he mocks

Ben Shapiro opined, “In order to be smug, you generally have to be unaware of your smugness” (“Smug liberals make Trump look better,” Star-Advertiser, May 3). Which is immediately apparent to anyone who reads his column. Right down to the grin.

Nat Pak

Kaimuki

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Colleges discourage truly free speech

Isn’t it amazing that those on the left generally support things that they want to be free, such as medical care and food stamps, but not free speech.

Once again, officials at the University of California-Berkeley have hindered a conservative, Ann Coulter, from speaking on their campus.

Unfortunately, our college professors are the ones who are brainwashing our students. I used to believe that colleges were a place where debates could take place. Today college debates are only discussions among those on the left who agree with each other. To them, it is my way or the highway. There is only one side.

If they don’t like what you say, they make sure you can’t say it by either not allowing you on their campus or trying to shout you down if you don’t agree 100 percent with their thinking.

I have come to believe that protests are in the DNA of our left-wing students.

Carl Bergantz

Kaneohe