Matson’s pricing
Matson has a monopoly. Period. Full stop.
Monopolies are supposed to be illegal. Our elected officials are certainly not monitoring Matson the way they do Hawaiian Electric, and set the rates.
I was told by Matson that the reason it costs twice as much to ship a vehicle from the continent to Hawaii than from Hawaii to the continent is that it uses more fuel going west to east. What I do know, and ocean maps will back me up, is: (a) the trade winds go east to west and (b) the ocean currents from the West Coast to Hawaii also go that direction.
I brought this up. A few minutes later I was told, “My supervisor says the reason it cost more is that there is a greater demand to ship to the islands.” But in any other market that is an open market, this would bring the prices down. But in a monopoly, Matson sees it as a reason to raise the rate to almost 100% more.
Where do our elected officials stand on this issue? How is it that monopolies that can perpetuate price-gouging are simply given the blank check to do what they want with zero regulatory oversight?
Competition favors the consumer. Anything else and the people are held hostage and can do nothing other than being the squeaky wheel (which, by the way, it will cost you twice as much to bring that to Hawaii, too).
Michael Marlin
Pahoa
Repeal Jones Act
The Jones Act was enacted in 1920 by President Woodrow Wilson, who was trying to help the economy recover from World War I.
There has never been a better time to repeal it. Right now, hundreds of ships are waiting to be unloaded in California, and not being able to unload is causing inflation to skyrocket.
The Jones Act wasn’t meant to be forever. After a hundred years, it is time to try something less wasteful, and stopping unnecessary inter-ocean travel will be good for the environment.
Repealing the Jones Act will help not only Hawaii control runaway inflation, but the rest of the country as well.
So, please urge your elected officials to set forth an emergency bill to repeal the Jones Act which will alleviate the pressure on California’s aged infrastructure and make things more affordable across the country by eliminating unnecessary middlemen who can no longer handle the job load.
California’s highways and harbors can’t take it.
It’s a no-brainer. Let’s make Hawaii the “Jewel of the Pacific” again.
Mike Ruggles
Mountain View
