Your report on proposals to increase the general excise tax focuses on its regressive effects as an argument for opponents of an increase (“Pumping up the GET,” Star-Advertiser, Insight, March 6).

It is indisputable that lower-income people devote a larger portion of their income to consumption than wealthier people, which means they must pay relatively more GET.

However the article fails to examine adequately the tax’s effect of shifting part of the burden to visitors, most of whom are tourists who probably are not poor.

It has been estimated that 20 percent of current GET revenue comes from visitors.

Although this figure is certainly far from exact, I believe this shift is real and more than offsets the negative effect of regressiveness. It’s a better way for the state to raise money than the income tax, which affects only state residents.

If legislators are going to confront the state’s pressing need for more revenue, they should take an increase in the GET seriously as an option.

Carl H. Zimmerman

Salt Lake

Let Democrats fill court vacancy

I’m on the left end of the political scale, but I’m pleased that U.S. Senate Republicans are trying to stop President Barack Obama from naming the next Supreme Court justice.

If, and most probably when, a Democrat wins the presidential election and, because of the quality of the Republican opposition, Democrats take back the Senate, President Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders will not have to name a moderate in the hope she or he will be confirmed by a Republican Senate.

Peter Burns

Kaneohe

Ivory bill shields innocent owners

Randy Harris makes some good suggestions for the legislation that would ban the trafficking in endangered wildlife species and products made from them (“Proposed ivory ban should not treat everybody like elephant poachers,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, March 6).

In fact, most of his recommendations already are included in House Bill 2502, House Draft 2, and Senate Bill 2647, Senate Draft 1, which aim only to stop illegal trafficking.

In crafting these measures, we in the Legislature made an effort to reach out to groups and individuals in the community who had legitimate concerns about possible unintended effects of this legislation. This outreach resulted in broad exemptions for ivory and other animal products found in antique art works, musical instruments, guns and knives, or objects used in traditional cultural practices, while also giving wildlife agencies a much-needed tool to target the worst offenders.

By passing this legislation, our goal is not to criminalize the average owner of inherited ivory. Instead our goal is to prohibit illegal wildlife trafficking in Hawaii.

Rep. Ryan Yamane

Chairman, House Water and Land Committee

ERS uses experts to pick winners

In your article on bills to fund tech ventures, you contrast the Hawaii Strategic Development Corp.’s method of investing state money with that of the Employees’ Retirement System (“Two bills offer $25M to fund isles’ fledgling tech ventures,” Star-Advertiser, March 6).

Specifically, “HSDC’s method of investing state money through privately managed funds avoids having state officials pick winners. That’s in contrast to the state retirement fund, which does try to pick winners among local tech companies.”

Like HSDC, we also invest locally targeted monies through professional external managers. Those managers are solely responsible for investment selection as well as the decision to write down the value of an investment, as was the case with Hu Honua Bioenergy.

Neither our investment staff nor our board gets directly involved in picking specific Hawaii-targeted investments. We delegate that responsibility to our managers.

We are proud of the success of our Hawaii Targeted Investment Program and regularly encourage managers to consider additional Hawaii-directed investments.

Thom Williams

Executive director, Employees’ Retirement System

Cane smoke, vog a dangerous mix

Today we have thick vog and the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar’s sugar-cane burn smoke filling up the Maui air.

The West Maui mountains, the valley floor, the ocean and the volcano have completely disappeared from the view from Kula (3,200 feet), meaning the air at this elevation is also affected, and I am obliged to suspend my outdoor chores.

This surely will cause susceptible plants and animals to die off. This is a crime. Nothing can be done about the vog, but something can be done about allowing HC&S to add insult to injury and burn on a day like today.

It should never, ever be allowed to burn, but somehow our Hawaii Department of Health thought it should.

Yes, HC&S has said it will burn for just one more year. It can say what it wants.

I am talking about today. It’s a crime any day, but to burn when the volcanic haze is already predicted to be thick is inexcusable.

Peggy Reeve

Kula, Maui

Sugar families OK with burning

I am writing on behalf of those who don’t agree with Trinette Furtado’s article on plantation life on Maui (“Romanticizing sugar plantation life is pure fantasy,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, March 7).

My three siblings and I were born into the plantation life and lived on Maui in a home surrounded by three sides with sugar that was burned yearly.

No one ever had health problems with the smoke and ash during that time and neither did our parents.

They had friends who lived in homes next to the HC&S sugar mill on one side and sugar fields on the other.

I hope Furtado feels very sad that hundreds of people will lose their jobs and probably will need Maui County’s assistance to survive. Maybe it was time for the sugar industry to move on, but not so quickly.

What’s going to be planted on the aina now — coconut trees?

Lyn Knox Turner

Kailua

Waimea needs infrastructure

It is about time that surfing is supported by our state to benefit surfers, the public and tourists, and to generate public revenue.

At first, all that needs to be done is to build the infrastructure necessary to make going to Waimea during the big surf months and contests, from November to February, a pleasant experience.

Right now it is a daymare of being stuck in traffic, with people developing a bad attitude toward the police, who constantly ticket locals and tourists alike.

Lots of parking and spaces for lunch wagons and covered pavilions for the public are needed, so more people can come to view surfing events, and, incidentally, visit business establishments in the area. That’s a no-brainer.

Incidentally, did you know that Haleiwa is a commercial graveyard at night? Check it out.

Zario Zolo

Aiea