Against tax hike
Here we are, folks.
As predicted, the gas tax is in effect. Now the county wants to add an additional amount to the most regressive tax we have, the general excise tax, or GET (“Tough times: Kim seeks general excise tax increase,” Tribune-Herald, Jan. 21). This will increase the cost and services for everybody.
Meanwhile, the bureaucrats receive as much as a 30 percent increase in their salaries.
The roads are still in disrepair.
The parks are still awful.
The rest of the infrastructure is still not improved.
The water system is still not at capacity on the west side of the island.
Too much government? I see no mention of saving money in any of this.
We need a complete audit of all departments in county government.
Bob Dukat
Pahoa
Regarding GET increase
Unbelievable! This has to stop!
Take the first step, Harry Kim. Man up, and be an example!
Don’t take the raise and don’t support the additional excise tax!
An increase of this magnitude borders on the ridiculous. In the real world, raises are performance- and merit-based.
I can tell you there’s not one person I talked to Sunday who wasn’t open-mouth, slack-jawed and stunned at reading this.
Vicki Penney-Rohner
Kailua-Kona
‘Artificial stupidity’
Regarding “Timeline scrutinized” (Tribune-Herald, Jan. 20): Quite telling are the delayed responses of state government officials and staff to the knowledge that the incoming-missile alert was a false alarm.
Gov. David Ige had to first track down his spokesperson who manages his social media. Can’t the governor speak for himself to someone in broadcasting in an emergency like this? State workers were stumped because they had no prepared message for a false alarm.
Is it so difficult for one of them to draft a short message like, “The incoming-missile alert broadcast earlier was a false alarm.”
As information technology increasingly controls the humans who are supposed to be in control, one is struck by the idea that artificial intelligence is better thought of as artificial stupidity. As humans are increasingly ruled by artificial stupidity, they appear to be adopting its ways for their own behavior. If in response to a perceived incoming-missile threat, retaliatory missiles were launched — the so-called “launch on warning” Cold War policy — could humans call those dogs off when the mistake was realized?
William J. Mautz
Hilo