KAWAMOTO OFFER

Will state, county be sensible, collegial?

What will the state and county governments do with Genshiro Kawamoto's offer of 50 acres and $5 million to help build a school on Maui?

Will the governor say she cannot tell how the funds will be spent and therefore refuse to release them, as she is doing to Hawai'i Community College? Or will they be sensible, professional and collegial?

We hope so.

HEALTHCARE CRISIS

PATIENTS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN DIALOGUE

In recent news regarding our state's healthcare crisis, the dialogue seems to only include physicians, insurance companies and the governor. One important factor is being neglected: the patients.

I will have minor surgery in March, but my doctor will become a nonparticipant on Feb. 1.

My surgery costs $3,500, but HMSA recognizes less than $3,000 as eligible for reimbursement. I can't blame my doctor for not wanting to lose $500 per surgery, but it means that I will pay the whole cost of surgery upfront and wait for HMSA to reimburse me less than $2,100. Thus, the cost for me is $1,400 vs. $300!

HMSA doesn't just punish the doctors for not participating! Some might say that I should just change doctors, but I have a rapport with this doctor, who is a superior surgeon for my medical condition.

If this healthcare crisis continues, it will not be just doctors who are leaving.

After all, the same conditions apply to the public as they do to doctors: the high costs of living, housing, education and now healthcare.

BUDGET SURPLUS

HAWAI'I RESIDENTS DO WANT THEIR TAX REBATE

I read Jerry Burris' column (Jan. 29) with a mixture of incredulousness and awe at his arrogance with our money.

He states that lawmakers understand this is an emotional, not a rational matter. He goes on to say, "one-on-one, most voters agree that they would prefer to see the money spent wisely on core state needs rather than scattered around in relatively small tax relief programs."

Most people I know on a rational level want their own money back in the form of tax relief and tax cuts. It adds insult to injury to overtax us and then consistently spend the money unwisely. You don't keep pouring more and more in that black hole. You demand that the local government live within a budget like the rest of us are forced to.

Don't speak for "most voters," Mr. Burris. You don't know us. We have been extraordinarily overtaxed here in Hawai'i, which is why the state treasury is "awash in extra cash."

We want our money returned to us so that we can do with it as we wish.

Tax cuts stimulate the economy. That's rational thinking, Mr. Burris, not emotional.

Hawai'i's government has no fiscal responsibility or accountability.

They take more and more of our money, and we see no results, just the same old bad decisions, poor judgment and cronyism.

TAX CREDIT WOULD HELP OFFSET HIGH FOOD COSTS

I would like to echo Jerry Burris' position that the governor's proposal to exempt foods covered by the Women, Infants and Children program from the general excise tax is a bad idea ("What to do with your tax dollars?" Jan. 28).

Those who receive food under WIC already do not pay taxes on those foods and thus would not benefit from the exemption. That is why I agree with his suggestion to give a tax credit to help offset the high price of food and why I have introduced Senate Bill 1882. Under this proposal, all residents with an adjusted gross income of $30,000 or less will receive a tax credit of $100 for each dependant. More than 50 percent of all residents in Hawai'i have adjusted incomes that would qualify them for this credit.

It is also interesting to note that the list of WIC foods the governor is proposing to exempt from the GET does not include rice, a staple in most Hawai'i families. I have introduced Senate Bill 1824 to exempt rice and poi from the GET.

It is my hope that these measures, along with the others the Legislature will consider this session, will help those who really need assistance.

TRAFFIC SAFETY

PEDESTRIANS AT FAULT, NOT AUTOMOBILE DRIVERS

Oh, good, a crosswalk study. What good will that do when 85 percent of pedestrian accidents happen outside a crosswalk and half of the remainder are people walking against the light?

Wake up, people, it's the pedestrians who are at fault, not the drivers.

And, that's exactly what the study will show, if competent consultants are hired from outside the state who have no political connections.

If they hire the usual shills for the anti-automobile crowd, who are nothing but shills for the pro-mass-transit crowd, we already know the study will blame it all on the drivers.

As for another study, does anyone remember (about 20 years ago) when we accidentally hired an unbiased traffic engineering firm to find out why O'ahu drivers were such reckless speeders? The answer: The speed limits are too low. That's the last we ever heard of that study.

This will be more of the same.

IRAQ WAR

LT. WATADA IS ASKING IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

At his court martial on Feb. 5, Lt. Ehren Watada will not be allowed to present arguments regarding the legality of the war.

In addition, the judge has denied the defense's motion to dismiss the four political speech charges. Watada faces up to six years of imprisonment for refusing to participate in and for publicly criticizing the war in Iraq.

Watada is asking us questions that warrant our consideration: Is the Iraq war legal? Is the Iraq war moral?

This is a chance that we cannot squander. Watada is asking us to recognize, accept and study the situation in all of its historic and political complexity, and then to save lives — the lives of our soldiers, of Iraqis, of Americans home and abroad. We can put the wheel of peace in motion by re-establishing our country's commitment to truth, justice and equality for all.

My understanding of life is that we are all in constant relationship, whether we are aware of this condition or not. Watada is offering us a precious chance to bring our many connections to light, to ask ourselves, "Am I contributing to my society and world in the way that I choose?" And then to act, guided by our conscience.

LT. WATADA SHOULDN'T OBEY AN ILLEGAL ORDER

I would like to add my voice to the many who have expressed support for Lt. Ehren Watada.

It has been said that he has refused a legal order to go to Iraq, but I fail to see how an order can be legal if the war is not.

Congress was induced to approve the war based on misrepresentations and untruths.

When the lies were exposed, this administration sought to shift the blame to the men and women of the FBI and our intelligence community.

Lt. Watada has taken an oath to defend this country, not to blindly follow a particular administration to the detriment of the United States.

COMMUNICATION

GREEN WASTE HAS BEEN UNCOLLECTED FOR WEEKS

Thanks for the article on green waste collection (Jan. 26). Now I know why the waste that wouldn't fit in the blue bin has been sitting by the roadside for eight or nine weeks — they've stopped collecting it. Good of them to let us know.

And don't forget, this is from the folks who are going to bring us a world-class $4 billion-plus rail system on time and in budget.