Protecting Hawaii’s coral reefs is a good idea, but banning the sale of all FDA-approved sunscreen products containing oxybenzone and octinoxate is a bad idea. If the Legislature is serious about protecting our coral reefs, alternative actions should be considered.

These actions include educating our residents and visitors on why alternative sunscreen products should be considered when engaging in ocean water activities. Offer visitors alternative FDA-approved sunscreen products at low or no cost through local drugstores, sundry stores, grocery stores and hotel accommodations. We don’t need to wait until Jan. 1, 2021, to start this program.

An outright ban on sunscreen products without easy and economical alternatives will cause most people frustration and an unpleasant experience in Hawaii. And how much will it cost to enforce the ban?

Banning the use of sunscreen products that are legal in the rest of the world will not sit well with those who are adversely affected.

John Tamashiro

Pearl City

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Bankruptcies tied to housing, jobs

The article about the 61 percent increase in bankruptcy filings this year was thought-provoking (“Hawaii bankruptcy filings up 61% from last year,” Star-Advertiser, May 5).

Despite rising tourism (approaching 10 million visitors) and very low unemployment (about 2 percent), an attorney is quoted as saying that people are “overextending themselves more” and “we are getting more student loan cases.”

Many people know that the unemployment statistics conceal the fact that lots of people work more than one job because of low wages, while the cost of living keeps rising. One cause is the inflated housing market, due to shrinking inventories.

The average income here cannot afford the median home price, and students are among the most vulnerable financially, as are seniors and other low-income people without benefits.

I suspect these factors are closely linked.

David Chappell

Kaneohe

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Rich nation won’t care for the weak

Is anyone alive today who hasn’t heard the words, “We’re the greatest nation in the world”? But have we forgotten the words, “The strength of a nation is measured by the well-being of the weak”?

Among our weakest are the mentally ill and chronically unemployable. We shove them from sidewalk to sidewalk where there are no public restrooms or public baths. Their pathetic possessions are trucked away in Dumpsters.

We’re proud of what we have and want more, but we don’t want to share.

Have we visited “shelters”? They are described as free resorts but appear to be packed tight. But we’re also the proudest nation on Earth.

Rosemarie H. Tucker

Aala

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Private sector just got the job done

Lifeguards want their equipment closer to the beach to start their shift. They cite lost beach safety time at the beginning and ending of their shift because of storage two miles away.

In the 1970s, our foremen would gas up their trucks, pick up supplies at 5:30 a.m. at the Sand Island yard and drive to Waianae to start work on time. They don’t clean up until the end of their shift. The difference is a classic example of private vs. government employment.

Lawrence Makishima

Pearl City

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Old buses found H-2 a hard climb

The article about the e-bus struggling up the H-2 freeway brought a smile and happy memories (“E-bus struggles to make the grade,” Star- Advertiser, April 20).

Back in the 1970s, when TheBus started its express routes, they put buses No. 9 and No. 10 on the Wahiawa run up H-2. These buses were on their last legs. They could barely make the H-2 grade.

We regular riders had a lot of fun cheering the buses on: “Come on, you can make it!” We laughed and sang all the way up the hill.

People who were not regulars weren’t so cheerful.

Good fun!

Jane Marshall

Wahiawa

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Where do funds for education go?

The never-ending clamor to increase or find new ways to tax us, coming from our legislators, to support public education, begs the taxpaying citizen to ask the question: Where is all that money going now for public education? How much of it is actually getting to the classrooms?

Funding for public education already represents a colossal chunk of our budget, and it’s no secret that the U.S. spends a lot more than many other nations of public education, and gets less for it. Why is it we’re asked to cough up more money? How much of it is just going to support the many layers of administration, adjunct personnel, transportation, free lunches and pensions?

How can we citizens make sound judgment calls regarding more taxes when we’re kept in the dark?

Art Todd

Kaneohe