An annual household income of over $400,000 puts you in the top 2% of all households in the U.S., according to the DQYDJ website. Are these people millionaires? No, but they are very affluent. The existence of the super- wealthy has made those who are merely very rich seem less well-off than they actually are. Those who are in this very-rich-but-not-millionaires category can absolutely shoulder the burden of a higher income tax to lift up our entire state.

If a household making $400,000 pays a 16% income tax, that would be $64,000 and would bring them down to $336,000 before any other taxes. That would still leave that household in the top 2% of all households in the U.S. Their position in society would not change with a 5 percentage point increase in their income tax. Tax them more to the benefit of our state.

Lev Gerstle

Liliha

Boeing 737 a workhorse for Aloha Airlines

I would like to point out some discrepancies in Bob Sigall’s article, “Aloha Flight 243’s miraculous landing left an indelible mark” (Star-Advertiser, Rear View Mirror, March 26).

I’m a retired Aloha Airlines captain and was one of the pilot union’s accident investigators for Flight 243.

To summarize, both Boeing and Aloha were responsible for the accident. Boeing knew that there was an issue with an epoxy used when our aircraft was manufactured and Aloha failed to detect some hairline cracks around rivets.

Any other aircraft probably would not have survived the day. Those of us who flew the 737 interisland would tell you that the aircraft worked like a dump truck but drove like a sports car. In my 20 years at Aloha I always felt safe flying the Boeing.

An error with the article is that Aloha did not stop buying or leasing Boeing aircraft and never used the BAC 111 after the accident. BAC 111 was the first jet used by Aloha, followed by the Boeing 737. Aloha continued with the 737 until the airline was shut down.

Phillip Van Alst

Papakolea

Small arms no match for a tyrant’s military forces

In a recent letter to the editor, someone said we need guns to defend the country in case a tyrant takes over (“Personal gun ownership protects against tyranny,” Star-Advertiser, March 30).

I find that utterly ridiculous. The U.S. military receives billions of dollars a year and is trained to defeat entire countries better armed than a U.S. citizen can ever be. If the U.S. military backs the tyrant, small arms will have little use. If the U.S. military does not back the tyrant, there is no need for citizens to be armed.

Guerrilla warfare isn’t as effective as it was 50 years ago. It didn’t stop the U.S. in Iraq or Afghanistan and it wouldn’t here either. There may be reasons for American citizens to have a gun, but stopping a tyrant is no longer a valid one.

Terrence Ching

Wilhelmina Rise

If something looks wrong, take action

At age 17, Darnella Frazier filmed George Floyd’s final moments and now lies awake at night apologizing to Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting to help save his life, she said.

Recently, as a violent scene in Manhattan unfolded with an Asian immigrant being brutally assaulted in broad daylight, three men watched from the lobby of a nearby luxury apartment building. No one intervened and helped the woman. One man (a security guard, mind you) even closed the front door to the building.

What’s wrong with these pictures? People seem to be too self-absorbed. Do they not care for their fellow human beings? Was young Darnella filming this for future crime evidence or to be popular on social media?

If you see something that doesn’t look right, do the right thing: Act! Help someone! It’s not about you. What kind of humans have we become?

Lisa Adlong

Hauula

Enforce current laws, don’t make new ones

The lack of fear of consequences seems to be the predominant factor in the chronic homeless, brutal anti- Asian attacks against seniors by perpetrators twice the size and half their age, illegal vacation rentals, and other crimes against societal laws.

Since these people do not respect or obey the laws they are breaking, it makes no sense to promulgate more laws and restrict the rights of those who do respect and obey our laws. It is absurd to believe that making more laws will be a deterrent to those who do not respect the laws they are breaking.

What we need instead of more laws is enforcement of our existing laws and punishment for those who break them. Perhaps even a return to capital punishment is required since perpetual criminals have no fear of incarceration. Our punishment system is obviously not working as a deterrent.

Carlton Chang

Kaimuki

Is Hawaii despicable to require voter’s ID?

President Joe Biden recently spoke of 40 states that require voter identification as engaging in “Jim Crow on steroids.” Since Hawaii requires voter identification in elections, we must be vicious racists engaging in evil voter suppression — unless our president is engaging in cruel, dishonest and unhinged propaganda to bully people who think differently than he does.

This is a tough call. But I have lived and worked in the Aloha State for the last 35 years and never known a kinder, more decent place. So I am going to have to conclude the president’s statement is despicable propaganda. That’s horrible! It forces me to wonder if other things I have been told are also ridiculous lies. Maybe we should be skeptical of all politicians and think for ourselves.

Scott Moore

Mililani

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