• Abject failure • Let the sun shine in • Never mind the chickens • Abject failure Mr. Samu, in his push for big government, takes exception to Bob Bartolo’s budget numbers and dictatorship murders I quote. Mr. Bartolo’s obvious
• Abject failure • Let the sun shine in • Never mind the chickens •
Abject failure
Mr. Samu, in his push for big government, takes exception to Bob Bartolo’s budget numbers and dictatorship murders I quote.
Mr. Bartolo’s obvious point is that government has us on a fast track to the poor house. Yet, Mr. Samu says we need more government, not less. We now have nearly $50,000 of debt for every person alive. Obama’s programs will have doubled the national debt by the end of his second term, taking it from $10 trillion to $20 trillion.
As to businesses moving jobs offshore, the question needs to be why? It’s because they have an obligation to stockholders to maximize profit. Nobody relocates jobs unless they’re forced to. And profit margins are none of our business.
Obviously, death totals are estimates. But those I quote can all be found in the literature. For sake of argument, reduce them by half, or even 90 percent. Are they then acceptable to support Mr. Samu’s advocacy for central planning?
Private enterprise, respect for private property, and the profit motive have done more to improve man’s condition than all the big government, busy-body, bean-counters can ever hope.
Not a single net job was created in socialist Europe during the Reagan boom years. And Obama’s pump-priming has been an abject failure.
John Burns
Princeville
Let the sun shine in
Our expensive electricity, the highest in the U.S., presents a burden to both to the economy of Kaua‘i and its residents.
The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative has expanded its reliance on photovoltaic power in the past year, but the co-op still maintains a debt of approximately $200 million. At current rates of payments it may take several generations of Kaua‘i residents to eliminate this debt. Thus, lower electric rates will not occur, now or in the foreseeable future.
What are we to do? Many island residents already practice reasonably inexpensive energy savings measures, and about one-third of homes have solar water heating.
But for those who plan to live here for 10 years or more, now is the time to seriously consider installing PV panels as a major way to save money. This investment will pay for itself in approximately six years and provide free electricity for the additional life of the panels (about 15-20 years).
There is an upfront cost for PV, but there are tax credits, which usually reduce the cost about 50 to 65 percent.
However, many homeowners pay little or no income tax and therefore the cost cannot be significantly reduced because the tax credit cannot be utilized. In such cases, leasing plans are now available to reduce the total price of PV to about 50 percent of the original costs with no tax credit offered.
For example, if your estimated PV system would cost $18,000 to buy, the total amount could be reduced to $9,000 using tax credits. However, you can now lease the same system for $9,000 and receive no tax credits. The length of the lease is 20 years and you have an option to buy the system at any time. Moreover, the PV company is responsible for maintenance and replacement of the panels.
Start gathering information now; get estimates and compare various financial approaches. Talk about your plans with friends and financial advisors. Then make the move to solar, and enjoy the economic benefits.
Douglas Wilmore
Kilauea
Never mind the chickens
Sleep is a blessing for a lot of people, in fact, a necessity for humans.
Imagine being sound asleep then being awaken by a leaf blower at 6:30 a.m. every morning? Not wild chickens, like we usually have here, but by someone blowing their leaves at 6:30 a.m.?
Well, that’s what the maintenance people do at The Shops at Kukui‘ula.
Last week, at 6:05 a.m., they also used a loud, high-powered drill to do some drilling in their parking lot.
They probably think that everyone is up at that time, but please, they should have the common courtesy to think about the residents who have to put up with that noise every morning.
It also happens on the weekends, so yes, seven days a week, the leaf blower goes off at 6:30 a.m. I’ve tried calling and emailing the management of the shops, but all I got was, “Oh, we’ll discuss that at our weekly meeting.”
Well, that was about a year ago or so. The leaf blowers used to go off at 5:30 a.m, would you believe it?
You would think the maintenance people would do their leaf blowing at 8 a.m. or at a more reasonable hour since the shopping center doesn’t fully open until 9:30 a.m.
I hope they read this letter because not even the wild chickens make noise that early around us!
Melinda Yomen
Po‘ipu
