Letters To The Editor
October 22, 2008 - MidWeek
| Share
Del.icio.usHuffington is off
Arianna Huffington seems happy to write vitriol about issues she doesn’t remotely understand. She confuses free enterprise with the policies of the Bush Administration. She blames free enterprise for the current financial crises. She argues for help for struggling homeowners as well as government meddling in the financial markets as cures for these problems.
The financial crisis is a result of: Under the Bush Republicans we have seen the most rapid increase in federal spending since Lyndon Johnson’s time to pay for wars and all sorts of domestic programs. There’s nothing conservative or free market about that. This spending has pulled resources from the private sector, whether paid for by taxes or borrowing. The result is a slowdown in economic growth.
The Federal Reserve Bank has tried to ward off recession by following an easy money policy. This can be seen by tracking the price of gold that remained quite constant from 1982 to 2002, but has more than doubled since. The billions in new money overwhelmed the financial institutions that channel it into the economy leading to a lot of poor choices, a bubble and a crash.
Helping homeowners means putting their interests above renters and homeless people who might benefit if the natural course of liquidation were allowed to proceed. The liquidation process is a healthy one, as no real tangible assets are lost. Only who owns them changes from people who have taken risks that did not pan out to those who have been more cautious.
Recession is inevitable and has been since the Bush Administration set out on its guns-and-butter spending spree six years ago. The longer it is delayed and the more the government interferes with the market’s attempts to reorganize itself, the deeper and longer the pain will be.
Tracy Ryan
Honolulu
MidWeek savings
I just want to second editor Don Chapman’s comments about how much money you can save by utilizing the grocery inserts and dining specials, among others ads, in MidWeek. The time I take each week in going through the whole paper is well worth it. I consider MidWeek a real blessing for my family, especially in these difficult times.
Laura K. Matsumoto
Kaimuki
Pamela and Gary
I loved the cover story on Pamela Young and Gary Sprinkle. Just having seen them on TV over the years, I got the feeling they are really nice people. The story showed they are, and a loving couple as well. I admire them even more.
I just wish I could have seen the artistic dish the writer described Pamela making.
Justine Camero
Ewa Beach
Editor’s note: Too see photos of Pamela’s artistry in the kitchen, check out the cover story online at http://www.midweek.com.
Shameful grafitti
The Oahu Veterans Center, located in Foster Village, was recently the target of senseless graffiti, not on a wall that could be easily painted out, but high on the roof for all to see. The result is that many roof tiles must now be replaced at a substantial cost. The Veterans Center is a nonprofit 501-(c)(3) that is operated by the Oahu Veterans Council. The center supports Oahu’s veterans, our active duty and their families. Actions such as this are a slap in the face to those who served our country honorably in the past, present and in the future.
The Veterans Center will now be forced to divert monies that will hopefully be raised during a Nov. 8 fundraiser to pay for the cost of new tiles instead of supporting our ongoing programs that benefit Oahu’s veterans, the wounded warrior programs, military families with one or more parents deployed and more. Shame on whoever did this!
Sandy Ballard, Executive Director, Oahu Veterans Center
Send your letters to MidWeek Letters, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 500, Honolulu, HI. 96813; by fax to 585-6324, or by email to dchapman@midweek.com. Please include your name, address and daytime and evening phone numbers. We print only the letters that include this information, but only your name and area of residence will appear in print. Letters may be edited for clarity and space.
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS Comments (0) |
Most Recent Comment(s):
