07-26-2008, 10:52 AM
Sorry, I don't want to be seen as nonconstructive negative. That's not my point.
First, the example you make about the county clerk and your metaphor about the grocery clerk, which is not to the point.
I of course would not begrudge the clerk for the price of milk.
I would, however, begrudge a grocery store that somehow passed legislation to force me to purchase their milk. THIS is what we are speaking of, if legislation is passed that requires new permits, fees, consultations, and other processes that 1) serve no sensible purpose 2) cost me money 3)to the point often were benign small scale operations becomes unprofitable/untenable. If I had confidence that such processes were indeed benign, and were able to be applied fairly and constructively to all, I would feel very differently. At the moment, with a background of nepotism, localism, and low level corruption, I have little confidence in this indeed. In general, we hold those who prosper by corruption accountable at whatever rung of the ladder of corruption they live on.
Second, the PCDP is most certainly NOT a community effort. It is an effort made by a certain small segment of the Puna population, expressing a more or less affluent, elitist mainland attitude. Before anybody gets particularly twisted by that comment, let me point out that by and large the spirit and ideology of the PCDP I would personally wholeheartedly endorse. But, it must be asserted, that the majority of Puna, unfortunately, as we seem too often to forget, is poor, rural, uneducated, and dispossessed. In general, and perhaps my biggest complaint with the plan as it sits, is that to my mind it takes far too little interest in the needs of the average citizen of Puna. I might even go so far to say it seems to cast them adrift.
The average citizen in our area could not give a fink about bicycle trails. They don't care a bit about grubbing and grading, or embellishments to zoning regulation. They'd love to see jobs. The fact is that the development we all hate has been the primary provider of living wage jobs in Puna for the last 10 years. Clearly, the hobby farms we see here and there, and service jobs catering to the retired and elderly are NOT going to replace these lost jobs and there is no indication of any will to pay persons in these fields decent living wages. In fact, there is a clear effort in the PCDP as I read it to arrest such development that HAS paid living wages. I agree this must be done, but it must be done without pulling the plug on livelihoods. It is simply an unfair omission to ignore this issue.
I am in no way "trashing" the plan, again, at least in spirit, if not in particular, I'd support it. Others will trash it. As well, some involved in this process are expert at providing their opposition with ammunition. But, I must say, if you presume to be expert enough to stamp your name on any document that attempts to portray the moral high ground, well, you had best walk on water. Everyone knows that to be the case, and I'm sure those were the rules in the baboon troop for as long as plans were made and agendas were launched.
First, the example you make about the county clerk and your metaphor about the grocery clerk, which is not to the point.
I of course would not begrudge the clerk for the price of milk.
I would, however, begrudge a grocery store that somehow passed legislation to force me to purchase their milk. THIS is what we are speaking of, if legislation is passed that requires new permits, fees, consultations, and other processes that 1) serve no sensible purpose 2) cost me money 3)to the point often were benign small scale operations becomes unprofitable/untenable. If I had confidence that such processes were indeed benign, and were able to be applied fairly and constructively to all, I would feel very differently. At the moment, with a background of nepotism, localism, and low level corruption, I have little confidence in this indeed. In general, we hold those who prosper by corruption accountable at whatever rung of the ladder of corruption they live on.
Second, the PCDP is most certainly NOT a community effort. It is an effort made by a certain small segment of the Puna population, expressing a more or less affluent, elitist mainland attitude. Before anybody gets particularly twisted by that comment, let me point out that by and large the spirit and ideology of the PCDP I would personally wholeheartedly endorse. But, it must be asserted, that the majority of Puna, unfortunately, as we seem too often to forget, is poor, rural, uneducated, and dispossessed. In general, and perhaps my biggest complaint with the plan as it sits, is that to my mind it takes far too little interest in the needs of the average citizen of Puna. I might even go so far to say it seems to cast them adrift.
The average citizen in our area could not give a fink about bicycle trails. They don't care a bit about grubbing and grading, or embellishments to zoning regulation. They'd love to see jobs. The fact is that the development we all hate has been the primary provider of living wage jobs in Puna for the last 10 years. Clearly, the hobby farms we see here and there, and service jobs catering to the retired and elderly are NOT going to replace these lost jobs and there is no indication of any will to pay persons in these fields decent living wages. In fact, there is a clear effort in the PCDP as I read it to arrest such development that HAS paid living wages. I agree this must be done, but it must be done without pulling the plug on livelihoods. It is simply an unfair omission to ignore this issue.
I am in no way "trashing" the plan, again, at least in spirit, if not in particular, I'd support it. Others will trash it. As well, some involved in this process are expert at providing their opposition with ammunition. But, I must say, if you presume to be expert enough to stamp your name on any document that attempts to portray the moral high ground, well, you had best walk on water. Everyone knows that to be the case, and I'm sure those were the rules in the baboon troop for as long as plans were made and agendas were launched.