Tweak tax policy and let’s move on

The national gridlock over taxing the rich is silly.

On the one hand, slightly higher taxes on the rich won’t damage the economy very much because businesses hire people based on demand, not small changes in tax rates.

On the other hand, taxing the rich at slightly higher levels doesn’t generate much in total revenues and won’t help the deficit very much.

What we ought to do is to tax people who make more than $400,000 a year an additional few percentage points more so that we avoid hitting small business and really target the rich who can absorb the tax without difficulty.Then we should move on to the next problem, because there are a lot of harder issues that need to be dealt with.

Lloyd Lim
Makiki

Wonder Blunder great for lawyers

What? Now that the University of Hawaii president keeps her job, no one is being punished for the WonderBlunder?$200,000 of taxpayer money goes down the drain, everyone keeps their job or gets a new job and programs at UH still suffer.And the lawyers get rich.

What a world we are living in.

Rosita Sipirok-Siregar
Makakilo

Park archery range should stay closed

Lamentably, and perhaps forebodingly, city Parks and Recreation Director Gary Cabato may be about to re-open the Kapiolani Park archery range, closed since April 24. As the Star-Advertiser pointed out in an editorial, "For archers, safety must come first" (May 12).

Apparently not for Cabato. He may be persuaded to allow resumption of the potentially deadly shooting by the archer cabal that states that it will be self-policing and therefore not a threat to the lives of city workers next to the range or nearby tennis players.

How ironic that on Arbor Day, when two new trees were planted across from the range and tennis courts, what would be an egregious decision is being contemplated.

Would that the mayor intercede and direct as one of his final wise decisions that the range be permanently closed. After all, there are numerous other facilities for archers on Oahu where the public is not endangered.

Peter Millard
Diamond Head

Christians should not dismiss voting

Christian leaders need to change their message to their followers for future elections; otherwise "Christian" candidates and issues will continue to lose ground.

In general, while churches tell their members to vote, they also advise that it does not matter who wins because ultimately the results are "in God’s hands."

Unfortunately the message becomes reinterpreted by Christians as, "It doesn’t matter who wins, so why bother voting?"

As more and more leaders are elected who are hostile to Christianity, it becomes more difficult for the church to evangelize. Even if you believe that we are in the Biblical "end times" (each new generation thinks it is), it is unclear as to how long that will last, so it could be thousands of years of (losing) elections yet to come.

Leighton Loo
Maunalani Heights

Out-of-state donors trying to end racism

As a demonized out-of-state donor to Keli‘i Akina’s OHA campaign, I’d like to answer Derek Kauanoe’s questions ("OHA under attack by out-of-state interests," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Nov. 18):

» I hope Akina runs in 2014, and I will support him no matter where I’m living. Akina is the only candidate in history with a platform that does not judge who is Hawaiian based on blood.

» By treating all Hawaiians, regardless of blood, as "Hawaiians," I believe OHA can be saved. If Akina runs again, or if another candidate promises to build "OHA for Everyone," I will contribute as generously as possible.

» The suggestion that OHA is unique, and therefore should allowed to be racist is the last bastion of people who understand they are defending the indefensible.

All Hawaiians, all Americans, should be concerned about the race-based allocation of public resources. If in-state forces cannot end the race-based nature of OHA, then out-of-state forces should.

He Hawaii au; he mau Hawaii kakou a pau. I am Hawaiian; we are all Hawaiians.

Jere Krischel
Los Angeles

Cal Thomas ignores Israeli provocations

A black cloud descended as I found Cal Thomas’ column ("For Israel, every day is like the movie ‘Groundhog Day,’" Star-Advertiser, Nov. 20).

It was astounding in its compilation of lies and omissions over the Zionist assault on the Palestinians. Not one word about Israel’s flouting of international law;justice; objectivity; the right of any people to resist occupation; the confluence of tangents leading to this eruption by Israel.The murdered-and-maimed count in Gaza approaches 1,000.

One example of Thomas’ reversal of reality: "Israel’s considerable restraint while facing intolerable provocations." Does Thomas really not consider Israel’s cruel years-long blockade of Gaza, with all land, air and sea portals sealed, and Israel’s periodic, violent eruptions of criminal psychosis using its full arsenal of war, "intolerable provocations"?

Robert H. Stiver
Pearl City