• County budget problem is crystal clear; the fix is not • Trump’s vetting good for the dogs, why not people? • Protect reefs, use oxybenzone-free sunscreen always County budget problem is crystal clear; the fix is not The flaw
• County budget problem is crystal clear; the fix is not • Trump’s vetting good for the dogs, why not people? • Protect reefs, use oxybenzone-free sunscreen always
County budget problem is crystal clear; the fix is not
The flaw in the budget is simple. The fix complex.
The flaw: the 38 percent budget increase over the last seven years is primarily the number of employees, their salaries and benefits. That’s the majority of the budget.
The unions firmly control the state’s government and any attempt to reduce (control) those costs is akin to herding cats or pushing chain uphill.
As many projects as possible should be privatized, put out to bid, where competition can work to lower costs while improving quality.
Then allow attrition to reduce the size of the government workforce.
To fix a problem one must define it.
Rather than attempt to deal with the problem itself, use the principle of the second element.
If in the dark one does not try to remove the dark itself, one brings in light and the dark is not found.
Government is by nature non-competitive, which is the cause of all its problems.
So, there’s the answer.
Frank Kelly, Koloa
Trump’s vetting good for the dogs, why not people?
I find it so ironic that in a state where dogs must be quarantined for up to 120 days before visiting or moving to Hawaii to protect disease from spreading — that Hawaii was the first state to sue President Trump over his revised executive ordered travel ban which bars new visas for people from six predominantly Muslim countries and temporarily shuts down the U.S. refugee program.
Why does Hawaii have an extreme vetting process for every plant and animal before it can enter the state? I’ll answer that myself, to protect the environment.
The same should hold true for people that come from countries with extreme radical Islamic terrorists. We must vet people too, to keep them from destroying the environment — the environment being, “We the people.”
The liberal progressives insist on protecting the environment, but not its people, go figure?
God Bless all our elected politicians, let there be peace.
James “Kimo” Rosen, Kapaa
Protect reefs, use oxybenzone-free sunscreen always
The coral reefs are being decimated by warmer ocean temperatures, but there is something we each can do to help. We can choose to use sunscreen that does not contain the chemical oxybenzone.
Scientific research carried out on Hawaii has shown the damaging, bleaching effect of this chemical on coral, reducing the ability of the reefs to adapt and bounce back from the effects of climate change.
There are many brands of sunscreen that do not contain oxybenzone, just check the contents when making your purchase. This is particularly important here on Kauai, but it is also important no matter where you live. All the sunscreen eventually ends up in the ocean.
This is a simple way to help our reefs to stay alive.
Laura Levine, Glastonbury, CT
