Share this story

• Truth about health care

• How much is a life worth?

• Take your trash home

Truth about health care

The truth about health care is that about 45.7 million people in America did not have health insurance.

Of that total, 9.7 million of them are illegal immigrants, 14 million of the uninsured are already eligible for existing government programs like Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP or veterans’ benefits, and 9.1 million can afford private insurance, but chose not to purchase any because they are young and in good health.

That leaves 12.9 million Americans who actually cannot afford health insurance. So why are we even considering spending well over a trillion dollars on a government intervention into a system that serves over 200 million Americans satisfactorily in order to accommodate less than 13 million?

It’s because so-called “progressives” know that the more the government provides for people, the more power the government has on making decisions for the people. America became a great nation by following the exact opposite philosophy. If we don’t want to lose the prosperity and freedoms responsible Americans have enjoyed for over 200 years, we need to stop this power grab.

We should instead preserve the free-market system and focus on keeping costs down through competition (requiring that we keep the government out of the health insurance business), technology, and tort reform (which need to be done by the individual States and not the Federal Government since most malpractice suits are filed in state courts).

We absolutely do not need another Federal bureaucracy that costs our children and grandchildren their freedom, prosperity and best health care system in the world. We absolutely do not need another Federal bureaucracy that costs our children and grandchildren their freedom, prosperity and best health care system in the world.

Craig De Costa, Lihu‘e

How much is a life worth?

How many people will have to die before we get serious about the dangerous Wailua corridor along Kuhio Highway?

Since 1999, in the vicinity of the Wailua Golf Course alone, nine people have lost their lives. There have been more deaths in this area before 1999 as well.

The options are few. We can continue to wait for someone else to do something about it, we can blame someone else for it, or we can get off our butts and start looking at real solutions.

During the six years that I served on the Kaua‘i County Council, the infamous bike path received the majority of attention from our local leaders. I have been, and continue to be, criticized on my position on the bike path.

Let me set the record straight. I have never been against the bike path. I disagree with the level of priority that this project has received, as well as the level of funding.

The last cost estimate that I heard was around $50 million, and this does not include land acquisition that will be required to complete the path. Imagine what could have been done if all this money and attention was directed to improve the safety of the Wailua corridor.

Yes, Kuhio Highway is a state road. It took cooperation with the state to have the bike path continue across the Wailua bridge.

Why can’t we work with the state on improving the safety of the highway? Kuhio Highway needs to be widened and a median needs to be installed. This will be expensive but how much is a saved life worth? In my opinion, much more than the recreational value of a bike path.

During the last 10 years, how much money has been spent on saving lives along the deadly Wailua corridor? If the state cannot help us, then let’s help ourselves.

I am sending this letter to our state and congressional delegations as well. We need their help and we need it now. This is a huge and difficult task, but it has to start with the decision to do something about it. That decision has to be made today. I hope people are listening.

Mel Rapozo, Lihu‘e

Take your trash home

We live in a beautiful place. We enjoy the white sandy beaches, cool ocean breezes and clean blue water. Why do people leave their trash all over the beach?

Take it home, recycle your junk and don’t leave it cluttering up the beach we came to enjoy. Take your beer bottles, cigarette butts, plastic wrap and pampers home.

We live in a country that legalizes ingesting toxic disease causing substances (alcohol and tobacco) and somehow justifies that sordid activity by taxing it. As long as we’re stuck in stupidity, some of that tax money should be used to clean up the mess that those filthy industries help to create.

Give us a break, we go to the beach to relax and enjoy, not to pick up your rubbish! We have traveled to many countries and Westside beaches are the most trashed we have ever seen. People who just don’t care trash the beach, local people, people from the military base. All it takes is a few uncaring people to make a mess.

Kawika Moke, Kekaha