Remember all the homeless back in the 1950s? No? That’s because back then, there were hardly any. But today they are everywhere.

A recent report had more 6,500 homeless in Hawaii. How did this happen, from near-zero in the 1950s to more than 6,500 in 2019?

Back in the 1950s, corporate taxes were more than 50%. Since then, conservatives reduced them to 35% in 2010 and 21% in 2019. This cut the taxes used to fund programs for needy, mentally ill and homeless — hence, more homeless.

To add insult to injury, conservatives provided tax breaks like the one that allows Amazon to make more than $10 billion and pay no taxes — and as a bonus, receive a tax rebate of more than $120 million. So if you want to see this continuing and expanding, keep electing Republicans to office.

Ed Stevens

Mililani

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