Repeal the PLDC

Hope all of you are having a "super" weekend, just wanted to mention in my national column today I brought attention to the fact that the Hawaii State Senate has stalled on its bill to repeal the Act 55 (2011) Public Land Development Corporation mandate and the measure, SB1, was deleted from its hearing agenda. I call upon everyone to e-mail the Senate and to request that SB1 be heard at once. Check out the article by clicking here.

Contrary to what you might think, the PLDC issue is not just a Hawaii-state issue. It sets a legislative precedent for oligarchy that we do not want to see other states duplicate, let alone the Federal Government for that matter. The PLDC is exempt from all taxation and all laws and is authorized - exact quote - "to do any and all things necessary to carry out its purposes." In law, words have meaning. That's not a pithy quote or nonbinding platitude. That's a codified statement that they have unlimited jurisdiction. Combine that with the fact that they are in charge of making public-private land deals and we have a major moral hazard on our hands. You'd think that the Legislature had learned from the mistakes of the 2008 banking crisis.

Hawaii needs to abolish the PLDC to set an example for the rule of law.

I'll let you read the article over there, but leave you with a quote from Madison to meditate on: "Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations; but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism. If we go over the whole history of ancient and modern republics, we shall find their destruction to have generally resulted from those causes."