‘Atmosphere of corruption’
‘Atmosphere of corruption’
Councilwoman Margaret Wille’s attempt to get a county resolution reprimanding Mayor Billy Kenoi may have done more harm than good. By letting our charismatic mayor off the hook, a message has been loudly sent to all residents and government workers in Hawaii that it’s OK to break the rules, take some money and apologize for it later.
As with all leaders, the mayor of Hawaii sets an example with his or her actions and attitudes. People follow their leaders. They are role models for children and adults, and government workers look to their leaders for signs of how to do their jobs. Leaders who work hard and are honest and conscientious create an atmosphere of the same in the government they lead.
Leaders who don’t obey the rules, help themselves to public funds for personal reasons, resist exposure of their misdeeds and then, once caught, merely apologize while staying in office, create an atmosphere of corruption.
Mayor Kenoi’s character has been tarnished. But his actions can tarnish the character of others, including children and young adults trying to figure out the secrets of success and learning from the mayor that success means not having to obey the rules.
The only honorable and public-minded thing Mayor Kenoi can do is to step down voluntarily to demonstrate the virtue of admitting one’s errors and accepting responsibility and punishment for having committed them. That’s a lesson that everyone should learn, especially those who work for the government.
We cannot have a system of accountability and integrity when our leaders — even charming ones — cannot obey the law and don’t get punished for breaking it. The fact that the County Council needed to try to reprimand by resolution, and even that failed, is a green light for corruption for all of Hawaii’s residents, politicians and government workers.
Sydney Ross Singer
Pahoa
Misleading conclusions
Regarding Chris Tamm’s letter of Sept. 16, “Too much government” (Tribune-Herald, “Your Views”): The question of whether government is too big per se is an interesting one, and one I won’t address here. What I’m concerned with are a few misleading conclusions.
1. “The government’s contribution to the $5.4 billion is zero!” Not so. Services, which he includes in his previous sentence as a part of the gross county product, are an essential product of a functioning government, to say nothing of the large purchases of goods necessary to perform those services.
2. “50 percent of the working people … pay the salaries and benefits.” Not so. The government employees also are taxpayers, rate-payers, fee-payers, in essence paying for their own jobs, as well as subsidizing other governmental functions.
3. “The role of government is primarily infrastructure and defense.” Not sure where this comes from. Government is supposed to “promote the general welfare,” too, as our Constitution advises.
Patrick Donovan
Keaau