Horrors! The population of Hawaii is decreasing. In the newspaper’s lead story on Dec. 21, we are led to believe the accompanying reduction in the “economy” is a horrible result (“Hawaii’s population has declined and could affect the economy,” Star-Advertiser).

Thirty years ago when I moved from Kauai to Honolulu, the population of the entire state was roughly 1 million. Now it is about 1 million on Oahu alone. Kauai, which is nearly the same size as Oahu, has around 70,000. Who among us kamaaina would say the quality of life has improved in those 30 years? Very few, I would say, except those few who have far more of the wealth than the average resident.

Here, as well as throughout the nation, the average working family is worse off than in the 1960s despite the enormous increase of our technology and means of production. And most of the beneficiaries of an expanding economy, though their businesses may have Hawaii names, are out of state.

What Hawaii needs is a further reduction in population so that those of us who live here have a better place to call home.

Rusl T. Bjork

Hawaii Kai

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