Letters for Jan. 10, 2016 Middle class under attack Can you imagine losing $200 per paycheck? Not a year, not a month, but per paycheck. It happened when Wisconsin became a “right to work” state, and it could happen in
Letters for Jan. 10, 2016
Middle class under attack
Can you imagine losing $200 per paycheck? Not a year, not a month, but per paycheck. It happened when Wisconsin became a “right to work” state, and it could happen in Hawaii very soon.
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association and if the court finds in favor of Friedrichs, then middle class working families nationwide, including Hawaii, could see a drop in earnings.
I, for one, think it’s time the middle class deserves a raise and not more austerity. When Scott Walker became governor of Wisconsin in 2010, he passed legislation which stripped working families their right to collective bargaining. The effects were soon felt with the average Wisconsin worker immediately seeing a $200 drop in pay per paycheck. That’s an immediate loss of over $5,000 a year. I know many of us already have to work more than one job just to survive but how much more would you have to work to make up for that kind of loss?
I’ve heard many people say, “Oh, it can’t happen here.” Well, it can. Nothing is set in stone, and just look who the keynote speaker at an upcoming Hawaii GOP event is going to be. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
“Right to work” in Hawaii is closer than we think. The time is now for the middle class to unite and demand our voices be heard.
Joshua Capp
Kilauea
Use deteriorating dams for solar pumps
To a thinking administrator on the island of Kauai, the deteriorating dams in Anahola present excellent opportunities to create solar pump-storage installations, to bolster Kauai’s electrical system. The sun’s energy would pump water into the reservoirs during the day. The electric pumps become water powered generators at night or when there is extra demand, anytime.
They can be brought on line by remote control, almost instantly, to quickly balance system load fluctuations. They are highly economical to install using standards equipment. Unlike diesel generators, they require no costly fuel. They would augment the present solar installations that produce no power at night by storing some of that solar energy.
They would lend themselves to a unified management plan for the island’s water and power. The resultant electricity would pay for the necessary renovations needed to preserve these extremely valuable irrigation and flood structures. One wonders how they were allowed to deteriorate to such an extent. This neglect borders on criminal negligence by the government officials who have allowed this to occur. This is to say nothing of the hundreds of lives that are currently in danger of a catastrophic dam failure.
Whose children will die if this comes to pass? A higher standard must be required of the administrators who are now responsible for these water structures and systems. They should be much more concerned with the very real safety of the people they have sworn to protect and serve. Also, with the long-term self sufficiency of Kauai.
Syman Pons
Kapaa
