Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 11, 1 November 1996 — State must pay what is owed to Hawaiians [ARTICLE]

State must pay what is owed to Hawaiians

It was not Iong ago that island newspapers carried articles touting how the 50th state was leading the nation in seeking protection from creditors under chapter 11 bankruptcy laws. Now following the ruling by Judge Heely, the governor has declared that the state does not owe OHA this. The reality according to Mr. Cayetano is that the state cannot afford to pay this. It will cost residents more taxes or losses in services at a time when the state cannot tolerate tax increases. You could be weak-hearted and fold under the monetary and poliheal realities of the day, or you could be strong-minded and do what is truth-

fully and objectively right. 1 Whatever you choose to do Mr. ■ Cayetano (and those in your pocket), 1 no matter how,you doctor your leg- ■ islative books, no matter how you ■ slide the ledger of responsibility, b Chapter 11 is Chapter 11. Whether I you ean pay or not does not change >B the fact that you owe. You have no H right to use the words "fair" or fl "unfair" in your speeches. You have 9t no right to use the word "responsibili- ■ ty" in your speeches. You and this 3 state have long since cashed them in. || Now, it's time to pay up. f§ Kaleo J. Waia'u B Wailuku, Hawai'i ■