02-15-2008, 02:57 AM
Well, yes and no. I find it bizarre that when I go to my local Trader Joe's, the payapas (which are about $3.00 a piece) are labeled "Brazil". (By the way, because I am trying to retire, I buy no $3.00 papayas!). I can "import" a case of payapas myself from Hawaii for less than $3.00 a piece. And yet, we go to Brazil for payapas. Every time I see those payapas, I think of Kapoho and the payapa farms that are slowly being abandoned. Makes me sad.
I really do think that tariffs (they worked before) and an education campaign to get Americans to buy Americans could work. The so-called "globalized" market is just a euphemism for a particularly rapacious form of capitalism -- one that knows no country, has allegiance to no people, and that sucks the resources out of one country before it moves to the next. Not sustainable.
The island has taught me a lot about what is sustainable and what is not, and is a perfect place to begin an experiment in sustainability. Milk is the best example. There should be no reason to "import" milk to Hawaii. And the Hawaii government should have moved heaven and earth to keep the dairy producers afloat, even if it means heavy subsidies. Those subsidies would not be necessary if buyers were educated to buy local each and every time the choice is presented. In the meantime, the last Big Island egg producer is going out of business: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/arti...ures01.txt
I really do think that tariffs (they worked before) and an education campaign to get Americans to buy Americans could work. The so-called "globalized" market is just a euphemism for a particularly rapacious form of capitalism -- one that knows no country, has allegiance to no people, and that sucks the resources out of one country before it moves to the next. Not sustainable.
The island has taught me a lot about what is sustainable and what is not, and is a perfect place to begin an experiment in sustainability. Milk is the best example. There should be no reason to "import" milk to Hawaii. And the Hawaii government should have moved heaven and earth to keep the dairy producers afloat, even if it means heavy subsidies. Those subsidies would not be necessary if buyers were educated to buy local each and every time the choice is presented. In the meantime, the last Big Island egg producer is going out of business: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/arti...ures01.txt