Contemplating the State of Independence

I find it very hard in recent days to listen to political chatter and such -- I remember that when I was younger I was a lot more into it, even though I was highly unsophisticated about it -- I considered myself an R during the Reagan years, for chrissake LOL

It seems to me that following something on the basis of a cult of personality -- like my childlike R status -- or on the basis of some half baked ideal that you haven't really thought out -- but really cling to not because of well reasoned thinking but because of selfishness

Ch8 Poll -- Traffic Bad, but Don't Build Mass Transit

For example, I found it interesting that everyone and their mother complains about traffic here -- now, isn't that an interesting topic -- well, having driven in it for a number of years, here is my simple GASP common sense conclusion -- too many single passenger/driver only vehicles

This is not rocket science -- the same people that say build it, wouldn't ride it to begin with -- so who are they providing the alternative choice for -- me? I wouldn't ride it either -- this is why that poll last night was the great truth telling of the state of traffic in HNL

Build it, but not for me -- in that case, everyone should just shut up or work nearer to where they live

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Gas prices and taxation

Okay, when I last checked perhaps a year or so ago for a research project, we pay the most gas taxes here -- and it gets parcelled here there and everywhere to our levels of government

So, do the roads look better to you these days? Do you see improvements in our overall highway and other transportation infrastructure? -- I found it funny to read a report on transportation infrastructure needs in the US in general -- they said if we fixed our house like we fixed our infrastructure, our house would be a beat up shack

Which brings me to another point, why interview the grumbly rich person driving a porsche at the gas station about raising fuel taxes or imposing a gas cap -- how do most rich people get rich anyways -- well, common sense answer #2 of the day -- you either are tight, but in a nice way to say it, you have control over accumulation versus spending -- and at the end of the day, rich, poor, green, blue whatever, I don't think people will stop driving until the gas is of rent-priced proportions -- in other words, $10-20 a gallon -- yes, think of the per week and month cost

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Disposable Income -- Who Are These People?

I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about either how financial credit is issued nowadays or how big ticket items here are just getting damn out of control in comparison to the incomes that most people have here

Private school

Okay, so supposedly these places are better than public school, right? -- as a percentage of the median income for most families spending on most of the schools, the CHUNK would be 25% per year -- now that's out of the gross, pretax income -- yikes -- and off to KS, my children go, I hope?!?!?!?!

Cars, Trucks, and Esuvees, Oh My

A cash deal on a car here LOL -- don't make me laugh -- so I wondered as a I wandered through a lot recently about some of the cars and trucks and other vehicles that I saw on the road ...

It's funny, I can think of a point maybe 10-15 years ago where Hawaii was Hondaville -- all these reasonably sized, priced, mileage wise cars -- I mean, I would have called it almost reasonable and almost sustainable in some financial sense

Now, I drive into town and it's definitely 40-50% Esuvees and trucks -- and why? Because we are all pig hunters on the weekend? -- need to lug around that big haul from Costco? -- I mean are we a stupid species? ...

I remember from my childhood, there was a period where you could only buy these poor handling, gas guzzling, large American cars -- and you know what, at least in Hawaii, for a short time, we adjusted -- bought the Honda, went with reliable and good gas mileage -- I don't know maybe the kids of this generation were stupid or weren't paying attention -- ooh, nice rims

When did we become a place of posers (letting what we have become more important than becoming decent people)

How do you buy a $40,000+ truck or SUV when the stats (God Bless the Census, their work couldn't be wrong, could it?) say it almost costs more than what half the families make in a year in GROSS -- how do these places extend credit to these guys in good conscience, you'll be paying for it long after the useful life has concluded

And yes, I know people with 20-30K on their several, many credit cards ... ok
And they own houses with mortgages, and they don't make a shitload of paper

Homes and condos

The price of buying something nowadays on this island -- again, I ask who are these people that are buying high -- do they not know the lesson of the cycle -- we saw the trough 99-00-01 -- it's called foreclosure and bankruptcy -- or perhaps I am stupid to assume that the stats are right, and only the people on the high end of the income scale are buying ... or these faceless mainlanders with money are moving us all up and out ... oh no, all this growth will grow salaries and personal income -- umm yeah, sure ... I'm sure you just missed the perpetual annual trophy in the Governor's office for highest cost of living, lowest wages

Are you kidding me? LOL -- so I ask again, and maybe it's because I naively think real estate and banking are somehow independent of each other -- they are not -- and again in a few years bad mortgages will put many of these buys up for hock, and all these people will move in with their parents or to the beach

Is this a way to run a railroad?!?!?!?

This place is changing, and I would not say for the better -- oh and by the way, the remaining amount of Oahu's fresh water supply ... LOL that's something for another day I suppose, as I owe and off to work I go ...

I have no answers to these issues, I pray that people who can make critical decisions that impact these issues -- will actually open their eyes and see the falls coming