Editorials
Tuesday, December 10, 1996
Hawaii needs ways
to stimulate growth
THE stock market moved back into positive territory yesterday on the first day of trading following last Friday's steep dive. That brief collapse was blamed on cryptic remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who seemed to be suggesting that stock prices might be too high. Investors worldwide panicked, but the New York Stock Exchange recovered the worst of its losses by the close of business. To paraphrase an old TV commercial: When Alan Greenspan speaks, people listen. And how!
Will the market resume its advance? Nobody knows, of course, but it has gone so high so fast that the probability of a "correction" seems reasonably strong. The economy, however, continues to demonstrate slow but steady growth with no inflation, a scenario that is attractive to many investors.
None of this applies very well to Hawaii, where we are still waiting to experience the recovery that began on the mainland in 1992. Hawaii has had little or no growth in the years since, in part because Japan has also been in recession and Japan's economy can have major effects on ours.
The most important laggard in the Hawaii economy has been construction. The building of the state convention center has helped, but not enough to take up the slack. That is one reason why enactment of amendments to the Waikiki land-use laws is important. It will provide incentives for landowners to rebuild their aging and obsolete hotel properties and thereby provide construction business and jobs.
For decades since World War II, economic growth was rapid in Hawaii, so much so that it was taken for granted. The emphasis was often on controlling growth, not stimulating it, because too much growth was bad, or so we were told.
Times have changed. The people of Hawaii are learning that slow growth or no growth isn't so great. The need now is to find ways to speed up growth, and the land-use changes passed by the City Council should help.
Standards for robbery
CHICAGO police officer James Boreczky understandably is infuriated about a Hawaii jury's refusal to convict the officer's assailants of first-degree robbery. Boreczky was horribly beaten at a North Shore bus stop in April, suffering a broken nose and multiple facial fractures. The jury found that his attackers did not intend to cause him serious injury.
If an assailant knew or should have known that the blows being inflicted were likely to cause serious injury, that should amount to first-degree robbery, regardless of the intentions.
Iraq’s oil exports
THE poor people of Iraq should benefit from an order by U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali permitting Iraq to resume oil exports for the first time in six years. The proceeds are to be used to buy food and medicine. Iraq will be permitted to sell $2 billion worth of oil every six months, but only to buy food and medicine.
The remaining sanctions should remain in place until Iraq is in full compliance with weapons requirements. Saddam appears to be still trying to evade those requirements.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor