Many thanks to Les Thuitt, Jack Ross, Ron Clark, “Red” Butler, Lex Brodie and all of the other volunteers and monetary contributors who made the entrance to Honokohau Small Boat Harbor & Marina more significant. Many of us have worked
Mahalo for
sprucing up harbor
Many thanks to Les Thuitt, Jack Ross, Ron Clark, “Red” Butler, Lex Brodie and all of the other volunteers and monetary contributors who made the entrance to Honokohau Small Boat Harbor & Marina more significant. Many of us have worked this harbor in a variety of capacities for many years and have always wanted more public awareness to our amazing fishing industry in Kona.
Thank you for your vision and thank you to everyone who made our new flag pole display (Kona Granders) at the harbor entrance possible.
Capt. Dennis Cintas
Tropical Sun Sportfishing
Kona
ACA does nothing
to lower costs
I am a supporter of a single payer health care system. I was disappointed in the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The ACA is a prime example of what happens when you try and stand in the middle of the road — you get hit by a truck.
Many Americans are finding out that reality now. For anyone to think a twenty or thirty something is going to spend any amount on health care they do not think they need is fantasy. Even if the ACA succeeds in its enrollment goals, it does nothing to bring down health care costs.
Insurance creates a giant pool of money and no incentive for individuals to price shop since the insurance company ends up paying the bill anyhow. Insurance companies have a perverse incentive toward higher costs since they must spend 85 precent of premiums on direct health care costs and can pocket the rest. Well, higher costs and higher premiums equal more money for them to keep. Fifteen percent of $1 billion is less than 15 percent of $2 billion. Where’s the cost control logic in that?
For a true market-driven approach that is not socialism, why not just allow people to get a medical care credit card backed by the government? Go to whatever doctor you want and “charge it.” The doctor gets his money right away and you get a bill but at no interest and payments capped at 5 percent of your income. This would be a huge incentive to shop for the lowest price and drive down costs. Most people would end up paying their medical debt off and some won’t but isn’t that the way it is now with Medicaid and uninsured people?
We lend money to every country in the world with little or no expectation of repayment. What’s wrong with lending money to our own citizens in medical need?
Joseph Appleton
Waimea
