Vote your interest
Vote your interest
Not voting plays into the hands of the status quo.
While I have randomly seen many ads for how to register to vote, I have not seen any good pitches to tell you why to vote.
While I have come to realize that most people are rule-breakers when in need, they want the rules to provide and protect them. The problem with that is the system has been decaying for the past 40 years and this behavior has exacerbated the economic woes we are facing today, which I do not need to iterate here.
Again, for decades the two-political-party system has only given us the lesser of two evils, and the efforts of independents and other third-party candidates have been fruitless.
So, unless you are preparing to brandish your weapons in the streets, the only possible way to cause a change is to overwhelmingly vote your interest and not your fear.
Not voting should not be an option with a tax penalty consequence, but you know that the powers want the status quo, so there is not an effective campaign to get nonparticipants to vote.
In 2012, a record 51 percent of voters elected Barack Obama — that’s only 42.5 million votes, and that was only 13.6 percent of the total U.S. population.
So, you nonvoters have more votes than that and can completely control the election outcome if you just go out and vote.
John Begg
Pahoa
Tuition hardship
I am a Hawaii Community College international student and the tuition is really a hardship on me and my family. I am happy to be here in Hawaii. I want to contribute to the community and lessen my financial burden.
International students cannot find employment with a student visa. The only income I can receive is the help of my parents and summer jobs when I go back to Japan. International students have to pay double the tuition, pay for room and board, and the round-trip airfare. Am I getting my money’s worth?
A better option is that the tuition for international students attending HCC and UH-Hilo be lowered. Then, more international students and their families will come to the Big Island and spend money during their stay.
I agree there needs to be tuition, but why do international students have to pay so much more? Education is important to everyone. The tuition has been increasing every year, and it is really hard for international students to stay over here for two years because of this high tuition.
Lower the tuition for international students and be pleasantly surprised by the great added value to Hawaii. Lowering the tuition will help not just international students, but will increase enrollment of the schools, businesses will have additional profit and the community will be more diverse.
This can be a win-win solution for Hilo, our “college town” of the Big Island.
Amami Sakano
Hilo