As politicians stumble over themselves to bypass zoning, environmental and other regulations that keep Hawaii livable and beautiful, I’d like to point out one important fact: We do not have a housing crisis. We have an overpopulation crisis.

Saying we have a housing crisis is like being in a boat leaking water from a hole in the bottom and saying we have a bucket crisis, so we need to construct more buckets to manage the water.

To solve the real problem, we must manage our birthrate. That is only solved by personal choices. In Hawaii where land is limited, you simply cannot keep increasing the human population without destroying Hawaii.

But if we must build more, then let’s be sure it truly is affordable, and not squander precious land on massive buildings that don’t account for costs like property taxes, association fees, mortgage insurance and other expenses lenders require.

Mathew Johnson

Kaimuki

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