Mandatory vaccinations
A May 2 Associated Press article talked about various U.S. states deciding what (if any) exceptions to allow schoolchildren to claim for school vaccinations. Pharmaceutical corporations and their trade groups now spend more money lobbying our elected representatives in Congress than any other group — spending more than $300 million in 2020. They are lobbying the states to mandate even more vaccines, and deny any and all exceptions.
What the vaccine makers want is for there to be a mandate for everyone in the U.S. to be mandated to take every single vaccine they ever produce. They began lobbying the members of Congress many years ago, and we see the schedule of mandated vaccines for children growing longer and longer.
No wonder critically thinking members of the public hesitate before just blindly believing the claims made by the vaccine makers for the safety and efficacy of their products. They did bribe doctors to push their products, they did push drugs and medical devices for uses that were not allowed by the Food and Drug Administration that killed and injured people, and they continue to do so in spite of record-breaking fines.
The vaccine makers are among the most fortunate serial felons in the world. For them, lies, fraud and bribery are just how they do business. When you earn about $50 billion a year, even $2.3 billion is chump change. In 2009, Pfizer paid out $2.3 billion in the largest health care fraud settlement in history.
In the case of the new experimental COVID-19 “vaccines,” which were rushed to market, a reasonable person should decide for themselves whether a vaccine maker’s claims can be trusted. Due diligence needs to be done for each and every vaccine.
With any medical intervention, one must weigh the risks versus benefits. These are personal, individual matters — there is no “one size fits all” answer. That is why exceptions must always be allowed.
Vicki Vierra
Keaau
Inequitable taxation
A fundamental principle of good civic governance is that local taxes be spent locally to meet the needs of citizens who are actually paying the taxes.
There is a glaring omission in the May 2 Tribune-Herald story on the inequitable taxation structure of Hawaii County property taxes. The omission is context.
In land area, the state of Hawaii is one of the smallest states; only Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut are smaller. However, Hawaii County has a larger land area than every county in every state east of the Mississippi River, except for two largely wilderness counties in northern Michigan and Minnesota. Counties where there are more bears than people.
Nowhere else in the country is there a local government that raises 70% of its property tax revenues in a locale (Kona and Kohala), then spends the vast majority of the funds 70-100 miles away (in Hilo and Puna).
The Hawaii County property tax structure makes a mockery of the principle of local taxation.
The result? There is little accountability in Hawaii County government. Most of the taxes go toward salaries and benefits for a bloated Hawaii County civil service. Actual services for citizens is an afterthought.
Hilo and Puna pay next to nothing and get little in return. Kona and Kohala pay for almost everything, and literally get Hilo’s garbage trucked over Saddle Road in return.
Hawaii County government is an abomination. And the inequitable property tax structure is a root cause.
Kenneth Beilstein
Kailua-Kona