If honest government is what we want, then pay raises for Honolulu’s mayor and City Council are appropriate and long overdue.

The city is a huge corporation, and it is the branch of government that most affects our daily lives. By underpaying the mayor and Council, we unfairly subject them to moral hazard. By this I mean that when a councilmember must supplement his or her income with other work, you can be certain that companies and unions affected by the city will try to hire that member, the member will be grateful, and we, the public, will be the ultimate loser.

Simply put, it is unreasonable to expect the mayor and City Council to deal fairly with us if we are too cheap to deal fairly with them.

Note that the above considerations do not apply to the recent huge pay raises and bonuses for HMSA executives, which seem to me to be very unfair to HMSA subscribers and employees. If HMSA executives do not refund those raises and bonuses, they should be replaced.

Neil Frazer

Kailua

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