Too risky
Too risky
A proposed amendment to the Hawaii Constitution is to make it easier for agriculture-related ventures to obtain loans by using the taxpayers (i.e. government credit) to protect lenders against potential losses. The following explanation contains questions I hope you can answer.
To understand how dangerous this amendment is, some background is helpful.
It is the idea of no-risk investment. No-risk investment is how financial corporations are able to accumulate tremendous wealth, which later turns out to be at taxpayer expense.
It’s very simple. Loans and investments always have risk. Some provide gain while others incur loss. Overall, profit is made by making prudent investments to minimize potential loss while maximizing potential gain. This is pure and simple logic.
Now, let’s consider what happens when the investments become risk free — for example, when taxpayers are willing to cover the losses. Now loans and investments can be made without care. Anything goes, even transferring large amounts of capital to gamblers, friends, co-conspirators, etc., since all losses will be paid by the taxpayers (who probably won’t even know about it until after the players are long gone).
This is exactly what happened to create the biggest theft in U.S. history: the banker bailout of 2008, where the taxpayers were assigned to cover the losses, the “toxic assets,” that had been accumulating and were held by the “too big to fail” banks. This added tens of trillions of dollars to our taxpayer debt.
The question I have is this. Do you think there are bankers out there right now watching to see if this amendment is made to the Hawaii Constitution? Do you think they would seize an opportunity to exploit risk-free financing if it becomes written in law that the taxpayer will pay for the losses?
Do you think that a government agency assigned to decide on the worthiness of particular investment is sufficient to prevent abuse? Whether or not you think that the amounts involved (at least $5 million per case) are large enough to “influence” a government agency, let’s not be naive.
David Webb
Pahoa
Useful tools
The public has been well-served by your publication of the USGS lava flow maps that include flow lines predicted by steepest-descent analysis. They show that lava flows can follow somewhat predictable flow lines and reduce the fear factor related to these events.
As we’ve seen, these maps have their limitations, which the USGS emphasizes. The lava supply may slow or stop at any given time. The lava flow may change direction when channeled by unique topographic features such as ground cracks, or when obstructed by the cooled lava flow itself. And, it seems possible that a lava flow may even encounter and be channeled by an artificial topographic feature such as a filled roadway bed.
But even so, these lava flow maps are useful tools for planning purposes, and I would urge the USGS to publish such models for all high volcanic hazard areas, as I would urge county and state governments to take them into consideration when selecting sites for public facilities.
Graham Paul Knopp
Honokaa
Eliminate cesspools
Regarding “Scrutiny needed” by Paul Andrade (Oct. 23, Your Views): We live in Hawaii, undoubtedly the most beautiful and diverse state, from snow-capped mountains to tropical beaches. The proposed amendments by the Department of Health are proposed to protect what is being contaminated.
Paul, you propose more studies about the effects of a cesspool, which is merely a hole in the ground for human waste to be deposited for a direct path to groundwater. Wells in Hawaiian Paradise Park are showing human fecal contamination from cesspools in the area. Of all the 50 states, Hawaii is the only — I repeat, only — state that has not outlawed cesspools. That should tell us something.
I live in Kapoho Vacationland, and the users of the water association voted three years ago to force upgrades of wastewater systems upon sale or transfer of the property for continued water service from the association. Since then, we have eliminated nearly 20 percent of the cesspools in the area! It is working, and I hope the DOH will pass the elimination of cesspools and force upgrades.
James Lehner
Pahoa