• Honor co-op principles • Far left collapse Honor co-op principles Since the operations of KIUC don’t at all resemble those of co-ops I knew on the Mainland, I checked with the website of International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), which acts
• Honor co-op principles • Far left
collapse
Honor co-op principles
Since the operations of KIUC don’t at all resemble those of co-ops I knew on the Mainland, I checked with the website of International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), which acts as the standard for co-ops worldwide. Here I discovered “7 Principles of Co-operatives,” which includes “Democratic Member Control.” The same “7 Principles of Co-operatives” also appears on the KIUC website.
According to the ICA, no entity is permitted to call itself a co-op if it violates any of the “7 Principles of Co-operatives.” One of those principles, “ Democratic Member Control,” has been consistently violated by the board of directors during all of KIUC’s 10 years of existence.
According to ICA regulations, “Democratic Member Control” entitles each member of any co-op to one vote in order to make all major co-op decisions.
It is not true that the board of directors is permitted to make major decisions on behalf of its members simply because the co-op membership voted them in.
According to ICA regulations, co-op members at-large absolutely do not vote for the board of directors to represent them in major decisions such as those current plans to install the controversial smart meters. Rather, the board of directors run the day-to-day operations of the co-op, leaving all important decisions to co-op members.
ICA regulations state that all legitimate co-ops are legal entities.
If, however, any co-op violates any principle of co-operatives, it loses its legal co-op status and can no longer represent itself as a co-op. This should apply to KIUC for violations of co-operative principles, including KIUC’s violation of “Democratic Member Control.”
But KIUC continues claiming to be a real co-op. In actuality, any major decisions by KIUC’s board of directors are not legal, including its strong-arm tactics to install smart meters.
The good people of Kaua‘i need to stand up and speak out now to halt the corruption of KIUC’s board of directors. Doing nothing about KIUC’s down and dirty behavior makes all of us part of the corruption.
Hannah Brandeis, Kilauea
Far left collapse
If they weren’t so biased and uninformed, the far left letters written by David Presley and David Thorp (Letters: Jan. 23) could easily be discarded as comedy.
The Davids, of course, blame every ill on the rich, Republicans and George Bush in lock step with their heroes Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
So let’s start with some facts to try and wade through the spin from these entitlement addicts on our left.
The wealthiest 1 percent of our citizens earn 19 percent of all income but pay 37 percent of the income tax.
The top 10 percent of our citizen workers pay an enormous 68 percent of all federal income taxes. The bottom 50 percent of our income-earning citizens earn 13 percent of all income but pay just 3 percent of all collected federal taxes.
Of course this does not include Social Security, sales and other taxes we all pay, but the more successful among us pay a much higher percentage of these taxes, as well, because they buy more stuff and they’re not even eligible to collect the Social Security they paid into for so many years because, though they earned it, the government says “they don’t need it.”
Our entitlement programs that support the elderly, disabled, our health care, students, the unemployed, non-working, down trodden, homeless, drug addicts, single parents, charities, etc., in the federal budget account for a whopping $2 trillion of our expenditures — the vast majority paid for by the current transferring of money from the top 10 percent of income earners to the bottom 50 percent.
Contrast that to just $700 billion, which accounts for our total defense spending, including the wars we’re involved in.
Mr. Thorp says we need to make a world where 100 percent of our citizens “thrive.”
We all want that, Mr. Thorp, but unfortunately some choose to not work, not go to school, do drugs, steal, drop out and live off of those who work, build, create and risk.
Your unrealistic view of the world, along with Mr. Presley’s and the far left, is creating nothing but excuses for going down that road of unearned entitlements you and those who lack ambition so enthusiastically embrace.
Mr. Obama, who’s never had a real job or created one, and the Democrats have had their moment in the sun and have done nothing but spend trillions of dollars they can’t even account for, and without any benefit to our economy.
Of course, Obama just printed the money out of thin air and borrowed it from the Chinese because he couldn’t confiscate a higher percentage from our more hard-working citizens.
The authors and Mr. Obama are going down the entitlement and confiscation road called Socialism at light speed. Your destination? Collapse.
Gordon Oswald, Kapa‘a
