Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Saturday, August 8, 2020
Lockdown mania, at what cost?
By Grassroot Institute @ 9:45 PM :: 2097 Views

Lockdown mania, at what cost?

From Grassroot Institute, August 8, 2020

Hawaii lawmakers have again shut down bars, parks and beaches, and re-imposed an interisland travel quarantine after a surge in reported coronavirus cases. These lockdowns are well intended, but they also are causing a lot of pain.

I don’t envy Gov. David Ige and other Hawaii leaders having to make these kinds of decisions. We do, however, need to fine-tune the management of this difficult situation, so as to better balance immediate public health concerns with the longer-range concerns about our livelihoods and social bonds. In that respect, we are not criticizing our governor or mayors for the difficult decisions they are making. Instead, we are asking, “At what cost?”

Day after day we learn of businesses that have filed for bankruptcy or shut their doors for good; the tens of thousands of people who have lost their jobs and incomes; the conflicts between landlords and renters, both of whom are finding themselves unable to pay their bills; and the billions of dollars our state is having to pay to try to mitigate all this pain.

In mid-June, when the lockdowns were entering their fourth month, independent business owner Sarah Schroeder on Kauai told the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, “I have been greatly affected by this lockdown, not only financially in regards to my business, but also emotionally due to the stress of not knowing how or if I will ever recover.”

A single mother of a toddler, Schroeder added, “It has been months full of severe anxiety, depression and worry over my future and what I have lost after years of hard work and sacrifice.”

Cliff Slater, chairman of Maui Divers, Hawaii’s largest jewelry retailer, told us, “Other than our Honolulu business, more than 90% of the company’s revenue comes from tourism. Aside from our online business, we’re out of business currently. We had to furlough 300 employees.”

Bill Comerford, owner of four popular bars on Oahu that used to employ about 80 people, told Hawaii News Now just a few days ago, “I’m actually going to be applying for unemployment on Monday morning. That’s my goal right now because I’m unemployed … I can’t pay myself, can’t pay my company, can’t pay my landlords, can’t pay my insurance and my taxes.”

One issue of concern is that the policymakers who are making the lockdown decisions are not the ones who are personally bearing the brunt of the pain. They continue to receive paychecks regardless. Understandably, this has led to some resentment among the many Hawaii residents who have lost their jobs or businesses because of the lockdowns.

This is obviously unhealthy for our community, since people are dividing along what they perceive to be the real class lines: Not management versus labor or rich versus the poor, but private sector workers versus unaccountable government officials. At times, it seems like we are not really all in the same canoe after all.

That issue aside, Hawaii residents have complied with these sweeping measures intended to control the spread of the coronavirus since early March; we now are in the sixth month of having our lives circumscribed in the name of public health. Besides giving up our individual liberties, many of us have lost our jobs, seen our savings decimated and our passions for sports, travel, music and other activities and social events put on hold. We no longer even have transparent, accountable governance, as countless government decisions are being made without public input.

Whether you agree or disagree with the lockdowns, our policymakers need to realize this can’t go on forever. They have to decide — and make it clear to all — what they are trying to achieve. Is it to eradicate COVID-19 completely? Or rather to achieve some level of what is known as “herd immunity,” so as a society we can get on with our lives?

As the scientific and medical community achieves greater understanding about how the virus works, we can focus on protecting those among us who are most vulnerable to its dangers. Let us work together to decide how we can do that — without indefinitely shutting down our beloved state entirely and causing more pain to the people of Hawaii than they already are suffering. 

Yes, protect the public … but at what cost?

E hana kakou! (Let's work together!)

Keli'i Akina, Ph.D.
President/CEO

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT