07-26-2008, 01:15 PM
Rule and plans by are by very nature always elitist. Governance is those who have the time and power on their hands to either further their own privilege or to assume to know what is best for those who are unable to speak for themselves. No? Still, I'd be very surprised if 1 out of 100 "citizens" of Puna knew anything about the PCDP at all. So, I'd say, not in the pure sense or any meaningful sense is this a community effort. As well, you simply cannot expect poor people, after working menial jobs all day, raising families, and by and large uneducated, uninformed, and prejudiced,and poor spoken, to feel comfortable in a public setting with those educated, empowered, and privileged. I do not believe you can involve such people. You can only advocate for them. And without apologies that is what I am trying to do, once again. Of course, this opens me up to the charge of elitism. Fair enough. I do not personally believe that elitism is necessarily pejorative. Elitism can simply be that of one with more power or privileged aiding another. Of course that is very different than exploiting or ignoring another.
As for developers--I simply do not know the truth. When I first arrived here almost a year ago, speaking with guys on job sites, a semi-pro framer would earn 20 to 25 dollars an hour. That to my mind is par with what is paid on the mainland, and these guys were not finishers. I think that is still mostly the case. In the context of "farm labor" here paying half of that, I'd think this is a major, major loss. This of course is open to dialogue and working out the real details. The real details I do not know. The point in fact that wages are a hot-button topic make me tend to think that today, for the average Hawaiian, things are markedly worse.
Under the PCDP my neighbor would lose his livelihood, if enforced. He works out of his home, and does very fine welding and mechanical work on land zoned ag3, which is not a permit able activity. It isn't even today--strictly, but the current state of affairs with their slack enforcement allow him to provide for himself and his family in a dignified and valuable manner. The PCDP encourages a much more rigorous stance towards such issues, ignoring the entrepreneurial manner in which many local families make their better than average living. I know personally that there is a marked lack of care among some of the framers of the PCDP for such issues. Not surprising, this attidude comes primarily from those who make their living in civil government but not in the private sector. I myself have been specifically threatened with complaints if I were to follow through with my plan to build Hawaiian voyaging canoes on my property under provisions of AG3 as an unpermitted activity--by those whose names appear on the PCDP document itself. All I can say, is that anyone who believes building a canoe in the forest of rural Hawaii is out of touch with either its ecosystems, its history, or its traditions is seriously out of touch. Especially out of touch, in my neighborhood, with crime, smashed abandoned cars, absolutely feral human beings and dogs running amok--to be concerned with gainful employment and a couple hours of saw noise a couple of times a week. . well, what can you say.
As for developers--I simply do not know the truth. When I first arrived here almost a year ago, speaking with guys on job sites, a semi-pro framer would earn 20 to 25 dollars an hour. That to my mind is par with what is paid on the mainland, and these guys were not finishers. I think that is still mostly the case. In the context of "farm labor" here paying half of that, I'd think this is a major, major loss. This of course is open to dialogue and working out the real details. The real details I do not know. The point in fact that wages are a hot-button topic make me tend to think that today, for the average Hawaiian, things are markedly worse.
Under the PCDP my neighbor would lose his livelihood, if enforced. He works out of his home, and does very fine welding and mechanical work on land zoned ag3, which is not a permit able activity. It isn't even today--strictly, but the current state of affairs with their slack enforcement allow him to provide for himself and his family in a dignified and valuable manner. The PCDP encourages a much more rigorous stance towards such issues, ignoring the entrepreneurial manner in which many local families make their better than average living. I know personally that there is a marked lack of care among some of the framers of the PCDP for such issues. Not surprising, this attidude comes primarily from those who make their living in civil government but not in the private sector. I myself have been specifically threatened with complaints if I were to follow through with my plan to build Hawaiian voyaging canoes on my property under provisions of AG3 as an unpermitted activity--by those whose names appear on the PCDP document itself. All I can say, is that anyone who believes building a canoe in the forest of rural Hawaii is out of touch with either its ecosystems, its history, or its traditions is seriously out of touch. Especially out of touch, in my neighborhood, with crime, smashed abandoned cars, absolutely feral human beings and dogs running amok--to be concerned with gainful employment and a couple hours of saw noise a couple of times a week. . well, what can you say.