Local contractors get railroaded?

Could someone tell me how many local workers who pay Hawaii taxesare employed on the Honolulu rail project and how many are non-residents?

It seems to me that the work is not going to Hawaii contractors but tooutsiders.

As a local contractor my company has not benefited.

Could Kiewit Corp. tell us who is being paid for what onthis project and how much of it is benefiting the local economy?

I’m not talking about workers living in condos or hotel rooms andeating out, but about workers who live here.

This rail project was sold to the Oahu community on the promisethat we would be hired for the construction phase and benefit from it. After all, it is our tax dollars.

Bill Schroeder
Kailua

Why not a $100 minimum wage?

It is good that our state labor director tells us that a rise in minimum wage would generate more economic activity and reduce public assistance ("A raise would generate more economic activity, reduce public assistance," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, March 16).

He reminds us that our president told those of us who don’t speak old English that "Adam Smith, the father of free market economics," supported the minimum wage as implied by the president’s interpretation.

It appears that those trained economists who oppose price and wage controls in a free market economy, and tell us that minimum wage will create unemployment among unskilled workers, either don’t speak old English or misunderstood Smith’s "The Wealth of Nations," which they probably had to study as part of their training.

If the economists are wrong and politicians who tell us that a rise in the minimum wage will have only good effects are right, why stop at President Barack Obama’s proposed $10.10? Why not $20.20 or even $30.30? What do we have to lose?

Hamid Jahanmir
Makiki

Time to legalize marijuana is now

Thirty years ago, Neil Abercrombie, then a state legislator, was a guest on the 98 Rock radio station, and when I called in and when asked when he believed marijuana would be legalized, he responded, "Don’t hold your breath."

Well, I did hold my breath for 30 years, the Legislature is now pretty favorable to legalized pot and Abercrombie is the governor. Now is the time!

Over the years, I have written in support of legalized recreational pot; now we shouldfollow the lead of Washington and Colorado and legalize and tax thisnatural drug. Really now, has either state imploded and been destroyed by legal marijuana? No. In January, Washington collected $2 million in pakalolo taxes.

The time is now!

Stuart N. Taba
Manoa

Oldest profession legal elsewhere

It is amusing to follow the latest police-versus-prostitutes fiasco.

If the U.S. would just follow the rest of the civilized world and legalize the world’s oldest profession, it would free up a lot of law enforcement.

Prostitutes would pay taxes, have medical insurance and have their own place to do business. Mayor Kirk Caldwell could balance his budget and The Outdoor Circle wouldn’t have to worry about signs on buses.

In my hometown of Hamburg, Germany, prostitution has been legal for centuries on the Reeperbahn. The area has its own police station, just to make sure everything runs smoothly. History has it that Honolulu was the same in the early 1940s.

Uwe Duwel
Kailua

Cops’ blue lights best when left on

Police vehicles appear to be driving with their blue lights on.

This visibility will help improve oversight of driving regulations and pedestrian traffic, as well as inform the public of a police presence.

This visible presence hopefully will reduce crime and violence, since it is a warning to criminals that they may be seen by the police on patrol.

Leonard Leong
Manoa