• Keep the big boxes • Big box not bad • Freedom to shop wherever • Big box about selection Keep the big boxes I think the mayor has missed the mark with his plan to effectively ban any more
• Keep the big boxes
• Big box not bad
• Freedom to shop wherever
• Big box about selection
Keep the big boxes
I think the mayor has missed the mark with his plan to effectively ban any more large retailers from our island. Big box stores are only a symptom of a larger problem and not the real problem. The issue he, the council and the planning commission must address is out-of-control growth via huge condominium and timeshare projects that are sure to doom our way of life. People living elsewhere have different lifestyles, values and needs. When they move here they bring these things with them. If this is done slowly and in a controlled manner they will tend to adopt the ways of the people living in their new adopted home and shed their old way of life. If it is done rapidly and out of control, large numbers of newcomers tend to impose their way of life on others and eventually smother the old way of life. This is happening here and must be stopped. A moratorium on any new condominiums, timeshare projects and hotels is a much more effective way to preserve our rural way of life.
Controlled growth results in less of a need for four-lane roads, bigger schools, more housing, larger police forces and yes, big box stores. If the council and planning commission are unwilling to do what is right, then maybe it’s time for them to find new jobs. A moratorium is needed to give us time to adopt regulations that will force developers to compensate us for the damage they do to our infrastructure not just throw us a few-million-dollar bone for projects that are worth billions to them. I for one like the lower prices on food, medicine and yes, gas, that these big boxes bring. I no longer have to sit in line for 20 minutes to save 4 cents a gallon. Come to think of it, I never saw the mayor or any council members in that line.
Kapaa
Big box not bad
Bills proposing prohibition of superstores on Kaua‘i are a bad idea and should be overwhelmingly defeated.
People should be free to trade without governmental interference or the use of force. All human relationships should be voluntary. That’s why I advocate a total voluntary free market. Government, if it has any legitimate reason for existence, should be confined to protecting human rights.
The new Kaua‘i Costco store is a perfect example of the law of supply and demand at work. It is a perfect example of the free enterprise system.
In order to compete with Costco, Wal-Mart is planning to build its first supercenter in the state on Kaua‘i. Wal-Mart should be encouraged to do so with the least amount of governmental interference.
Governmental interference in the economy already has been tried in the former Soviet Union. It failed.
It has been tried in Cuba. It failed.
It has been tried in North Korea. It failed.
Governmental interference, in the form of fascism, was tried in Nazi Germany. It failed.
The American tradition and system of free enterprise encourages activity. Governmental interference tends to discourage it. Let the pioneer spirit of free enterprise prevail on the Garden Isle.
Support for the state’s first Wal-Mart Supercenter on Kaua‘i may be indicated by calling the Kauai County government at 241-6300, or sending e-mail correspondence to the Kaua‘i County Council at cokcouncil@kauai.gov and Kaua‘i Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste at mayor@kauai.gov.
A public hearing on the issue is on the agenda of a Kaua‘i County Council meeting tentatively scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow in the Historic County Building in Lihu‘e. The time is tentative because the meeting is scheduled to start after the council finishes executive sessions scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
Lihu‘e
Freedom to shop wherever
As a military veteran, I did not spend a good part of my life defending this country and the freedoms our Constitution guarantees just to have a few people decide what is best for me.
I support the Wal-Mart Supercenter. It is my right to do so under the Constitution. Others have the same right to disagree with me. However, I do not support the idea that the few have the right to dictate to the many how to live their lives. Those who do believe this are entitled to do so, but it smacks of the communist system which has been a dismal failure throughout the world.
If more people on Kaua‘i don’t want the Wal-Mart Supercenter than do, that is our system at work. But any attempt to curtail free enterprise is contrary to our way of life.
I have lived in Hawai‘i for a long time. The Costco opening brought a glimpse of real competition to the people of Kaua‘i. I heard comments over and over that it was about time that we have something like Costco and the proposed Supercenter to allow our hard-earned dollars to go further. Our Kupuna may actually be able to afford their food and medications without having to make a decision on which to buy in any month. Families struggling to feed their children wholesome food instead of junk food will be able to do so.
I urge the people of Kaua‘i who support the Wal-Mart Supercenter to make their voices heard and let our elected officials know how they feel about better prices all around.
Lihu‘e
Big box about selection
Times have changed, and the high cost of rural life is lessened because of case lot stores.
Who hasn’t been to Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and now Costco and found just the thing they were looking for at the right price? Value and quality, selections, and location drive my purchases. Established local businesses offer goods and services that will remain in demand in the future because they cater to the local-palette style of living with much respect. But that is the nature of business in a free market society. If the rural folks have voted for anything, they appear to be voting daily for more quality, value and selection. Just look at the lines at Costco for people shopping and signing up. Small business owners and the general consumer benefit by purchasing goods at a competitive price. The savvy shopper knows that not all items at the big lot stores are cheaper. The bottom line is that we were all paying, for the longest time, $3.35 or more for regular gas and overnight I am able to purchase the same gas for $2.79, saving myself over 50 cents. This stuff sells itself.
If you want to put your energy behind a noble cause get control of the vacation timeshares expansion, securing affordable housing or working to establish some critical bypass roads so the taxpayers don’t have to wait in traffic for hours due to an accident that shuts down the island.
Lihu‘e
