The presumption that operators of so-called illegal vacation rentals seek to evade taxes and harm Hawaii economically and socially is a stretch (Vacation rentals must be reined in, Star-Advertiser, Our View, Feb. 10).

Assumptions of malicious wrongdoing and threats are wrongheaded. It reminds me of President Donald Trump’s biased case for a wall to keep the hordes of criminals from coming across the southern border.

Why not take a more charitable approach and presume that we all of us in the state have an emergent issue to be addressed? Why not assume that bed-and-breakfast and transient vacation unit operators, home-sharing platforms, neighborhoods, county and state legislators are willing and able collaborators in a discourse on a level playing field?

So far, adversarial wrangling has resulted in no resolution. Let’s reset the tone of the conversation.

Daniel Benedict

Waialua

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