Who’s gouging who?

Who’s gouging who?To the Forum:

RE: “Two oil companies pay state to settle price-gouging claims,”

Nov. 24, and “Governor says gas tax hike may be necessary,” Nov. 24.

Gov. Cayetano, ruler of Hawaii’s absolute monopoly-the state

government-shows us that politicians and bureaucrats will do anything to take

and keep our money.

Having strong-armed Tesoro and BHP into settling with

his monopoly for the sum of $15 million, Cayetano is now faced with the

prospect of having to return this allegedly “stolen” money to its’

rightful owner i.e. those of us who have purchased gasoline during the period

the suit covers. Yikes!

Concerned with this prospect of having to return

the money, which your article characterized as “…impossible to

return…to motorists…” the governor and his”experts” came up with a

better idea. They have proposed to raise the gasoline tax-which is already one

of the highest in the nation-and then “offset” this hike with the

proceeds of the settlement.

This devious plan is as immoral as it is

transparent. What an outrage that the governor and his pals think that we are

so stupid that this would go unnoticed.

What happens after all the oil

company settlement money is gone? Will the governor, or his successor, then

lower the gas tax? Don’t hold your breath.

What is most likely to happen?

The higher tax will remain and in the end we consumers will be gouged all

right, but not by the oil companies.

Currently all taxes on gasoline

amount to approximately 54 percent of the cost of a gallon. How arrogant of

government to accuse the oil companies of price gouging when, in fact, it is

taxes that comprise over half of the cost to the consumer.

By now those

out there that love government, and believe that it is our nanny, are crying,

“What about the greedy oil companies?”

Well, all I can say is

that the basis of government is its monopoly of force and that we all have no

choice but to deal with it-like it or not.

The oil companies comprise what

economists refer to as an oilgopoly-a market with a few competitors. The big

difference is that if I don’t like the oil companies, I am free to not deal

with them; after all, there are alternatives like propane, and soon electric,

powered vehicles. In short, I won’t be put in prison or have my bank account

seized if I refuse to buy gasoline, unfortunately the same cannot be said when

it comes to government-either pay up or get hammered.

R.S.

Weir

Kmart, the only stop

To the Forum:

Armed with my

newspaper ads, I set out for the early bird after Thanksgiving sales.

First stop Wal-mart at 7:45 a.m. the VCR advertised for 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. was

sold out, I asked for a raincheck, the clerk and courtesy desk both said no.

Next stop Kaybees, this time the clerk said the items I wanted sold out in the

first half an hour, and again I was told no to the raincheck.

Next stop

Kmart, where not only did they give me rainchecks for the items they had run

out of, the clerks suggested I go get one.

And lucky for me I remembered

that Kmart will honor every other stores advertised price, I didn’t need

Wal-mart or Kaybees rainchecks after all.

Next time Kmart is the only

stop, I’ll just bring along all the other stores ads for they obviously want

our return business and they seem to realize that if they understock it is only

fair to offer a raincheck.

Wish I knew the Truth in Advertising Laws, I’d

venture a guess that Kmart is following them. Wal-mart and Kbees need to

understand that they are supposed to satisfy their customers wants and needs,

like Kmart does.

J. Cohen

Kapaa

Not a lot to show for all

that money

To the Forum:

Attn: Senator Chumbley:

We homeowners have

been sent an update on the Kukuna Program and not much has changed since I

wrote to you last June 14.

As I pointed out in that letter and by phone,

one of our primary concerns with this program is the huge amount of money being

spent on what has basically been the rehabilitation of TWO youths.

Their

program specifies a total of three people, but most of the time only two have

occupied the facility. Hopefully you had a chance to review the copy of the

budget from Tom Maedo that I passed along to you.

We certainly compliment

and salute you for securing this large grant and if it were to rehabilitate 10

to 20 youths, it would be cost effective and well worth the money.

However, we believe it is totally out of proportion for only two or three

youths.

In his last update to the homeowners (11/23/99), Jimmy Trujillo,

program director, states that OYS has extended the current contract to June

2000 due mainly to availability of pre-existing funds.

Obviously, there

SHOULD have been unused funds in this program due to low participation at the

facility.

A question many of us have asked is who audits and oversees the

use of this $362,850 grant—can you let us know?

The copy of the budget

from OYS is a projected budget and any numbers can be plugged in to where the

monies will be spent and then very easily used.

Our other concern was and

still is security. Jerry Reardon said a wire fence would be erected, BUT a

careful look at the fence will show it secures nothing, PLUS a gate that is

never closed invites anyone in or out.

Their “no-touch-hands-off” policy

led to one youth walking away and never found—he later turned himself in—so

much for security.

The biggest point here is that these youth offenders are

put in a secured facility on Oahu where there are walls or fences before they

are sent to Kaua’i and on Oahu there is no “hands-off” policy in effect.

So why should these same youths be sent to Kaua’i without the exact security

measures?

However, if their hard work and rehab proves fruitful, then

allow them more freedom or greater privileges.

Please address our concerns

and I will relay your response to the community.

Glenn Mickens