So I gotta start with this homeless issue which has plagued much of Honolulu. The plan that the governor proposed in regards to the homeless population was a 90 day improvement initiative to either place much of the homeless into shelters, and overall reduce the number of the homeless folks in the city. Of course, this means tax money, and like the rail, the whole state is paying for it. For starters, I would rather see my tax money go into the homeless, but I don't agree that the state should pay unless this initiative covered the whole state. Regardless to my opinion, it happened.
Today is day 91. How did the state do? Well they brought more food in to pass out. That's good. There are more shelters set up. Excellent. It looks nice on paper, but they're really overshadowing another agenda. Something that is going down towards the end of the year. For those who don't know, we're having APEC over here, and the world will converge on poor Hawai'i to get their conference skills on. Knowing this, Governor Abercrombie had 90 days to set these facilities up and get as many homeless folks in them. It's still a good thing, but as far as overall improvement, no. Nothing was improved. The tent city that was lined up at Kaka'ako was driven out, and instead of seeking these shelters, they moved inland... in particular, where North Beretania meets North King St. and along Dillingham Blvd just before the back entrance to Costco. The same tent community that was driven out resides along these streets. This is not to include the communities at Ala Moana Beach Park, Iwilei Rd (by K-Mart and Dole Cannery.), and I'm sure many more areas in Waikiki. That's not an improvement. The state just relocated the homeless to areas where they think APEC dignitaries wouldn't venture to.
Now, this isn't all just the state. You have to realize that a number of these homeless folks are homeless because of mental disabilities, and they refuse to enter shelters. Case in point: a woman lived at a bus stop on the corner of Kapiolani and Keaaumoku (right next to KFC). Because of her ungodly funk, city transit authorities moved the bus stop 60 feet away from the woman. Her funk was due to not having a shower....for 10 years. She was mentally unstable and refuse to seek shelter. She may have been forced into one since I no longer see her at her bus stop home, and it's a prime visual area for these APEC dignitaries considering places like Nordstrom (and the largest open-air mall in the world) is across the street.
Despite missing the meat of the objective, the city is still making the effort to bring in the goods for the homeless and underprivileged folks. The means are good, but knowing why they escalated their efforts to get them off the streets is not. This should have been an ongoing effort. Of course, that's wishful thinking and worse, our current efforts are being hindered by another issue in our state.
Compact of Free Association Act
In 2003, the federal government renewed the above act which basically enables the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau to be considered an associated state of the United States. The COFA was a result of the nuclear testing we did in the area during the Cold War. It wasn't until recently that a large number of Micronesians started to arrive in Hawai'i to live, work and make use of the medical facilities that places like the FSM don't have. Them being here is suppose to be at the cost of federal taxes being that this was a federal act signed into law at D.C. Instead, Hawai'i tax payers are paying immensly for them to be here. Keep in mind, that they're provided with housing, and a large number of immigrants are up for free medical as some would really need it for post radiation issues (among other things). The COFA also allows Micronesians to come in without a Visa and without a prior health screening. According to the latest census, Hawai'i is housing 12,000 Micronesians.
In my eyes, this is fine. They're entitled to this right. I have no problem with them being here... as a person. A human, and someone who just wants to live their lives. I'm fine with it. Despite this, there are a number of issues that I do have a problem with. The first thing is sustainability. This goes in multiple directions. One direction is the fact that the state tax payers are paying a large sum of cash to sustain their living. This is one thing that I can agree with Governor Abercrombie: the federal government needs to step in and pay up....big time. The federal governement needs to account for bills that we never asked to pay alone. This can be even easier if the feds instilled a immigration cap for Micronesians so they can spread the population to other states. Like I said, this is a federal act. The way I see it, these issues shouldn't be placed under the burden of just one state. The 2nd thing really grinds my gears. I have witnessed on multiple occassions, harassment of others, red-handed stealing of petty items such as hedge clippers, to hose nozzles, and shovels from someones backyard. The worse...THE worse is the occasional stack of furniture (intact or broken) and matresses on the sidewalk on Keaaumoku (and actually, all around the city). Even after addressing and placing laws to prevent or minimize the time of dumping said furniture (or you can call it what I call it: my $$$) for the bulk rubbish trucks, I see piles on the sidewalk. Many see this as them showing the US a "you owe us" mentality for the nuke tests that we done over the Cold War era. It's fine to have that mentality. It's understandable yet, when they cry that they're being discriminated by the locals, it's just as easy to pin everything that I just said to justify it.
We may be a state that prides on our diversity, but because of the strife that the COFA brings to this state, some use it to justify racism against the associated states. Like the few Micronesians who have the potential of making their entire population look bad, the same can be applied to the local resident population. This is bad... for us. This is class action status right here. If people think that using the "you owe us" defense for the little stuff was bad, wait until some dumbass local decides to escalate a racial situation with them. Even if that were to happen, it wouldn't be the first time that the Micronesians taken an entity to court for some class-action... action. The Lingle administration also committed discrimination under the momentum that we agreed that this whole situation was an "unfair burden." Basically, the state took away a hefty Medicaid program and placed an inadequate program called Basic Health Hawaii. Equal justice lawyers and other law firms sued the state and won using the Equal Protection clause within the 14th Amendment. The prior medicaid program was reinstated shortly after the ruling. History has shown what discrimination does. It has no place in such a diverse state.
Regardless, we're still paying. In fact, last years bill topped at $100,000,000.00 (yes, I laid it out like that), and the annual reimbursment that we're suppose to receive from the feds is only $10 million dollars. In terms of money, I don't like the fact that these immigrants throw our money on the sidewalk, or when they have to either face trial or jail time for petty crimes. Yeah, one can easily say that the piles of crap on the sidewalk can easily be someone elses filth, but for all the years that I lived in Honolulu and all the changes I seen, I have never seen a bulk trash issue until after the COFA was renewed and immigrants started flooding the state (oh, and seeing it firsthand..). Shit, the bulk trash law was a result of the excessive bulk that remained on the streets for weeks. The Federal government needs to step up and help with the mess that they created. The population per state cap should go into effect considering the terms of the COFA. That's a start, and it's completely fair.
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