Ka‘ū News Briefs, Saturday. Feb. 19, 2022

TODAY IS THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR INTERMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS DURING World War II. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942, which led to the internment of Japanese Americans. Sen. Mazie Hirono issued this message of Friday:
    "Long-standing racism and xenophobia led to one of the worst decisions made by a President of this country 80 years ago. Due to unsubstantiated fear of Japanese Americans in 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which led to the unjust and unconstitutional internment of Japanese in the U.S. This horrific treatment of Japanese people, simply because of their ancestry, is a stain on our
country's history.
    "Although we have come a long way since 1942, the last two years have shown us that we still have a long way to go when it comes to treating everyone in this country with dignity and respect. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, we again saw the detrimental consequences of unfounded fear and misinformation as discrimination and racism incited a disturbing rise in violence and hate crimes against
Asians in communities across the country.
    "In honor of the sacrifices made by those who survived such horrendous treatment, it is our responsibility to ensure that history does not repeat itself. We must do everything in our power to prevent the mistreatment of not just Asian American Pacific Islander communities, but also all marginalized groups."

Kīlauea Military Camp building #35, where Japanese detainees spent most of their days during its use as an internment camp. Image courtesy of Kīlauea Military Camp and HVNP

    

Hirono noted that Executive Order 9066 "authorized the forced relocation and exclusion internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, without trial, due process, or any allegation of wrong doing. In addition to losing their property and assets – which were sold, confiscated, or destroyed – incarcerated individuals and families were housed in isolated, dilapidated conditions. EO 9066 was not formally terminated until February 1976 and had lasting consequences for Japanese Americans for decades to come."

Fred Korematsu took the internment of Japanese during WWII to the U.S. Supreme Court

    There are three notable legal cases that arose from the implementation of EO 9066 – Yasui v. United States (1943); Hirabayashi v. United States (1943); and Korematsu v. United States (1944). Yasui and Hirabayashi attempted to challenge the constitutionality of enforcing curfews against U.S. citizens and minority groups at the time. Both cases ended in convictions, which were later overturned in the 1980s. However, "the Supreme Court's decision in Korematsu (1944) resulted in a shameful precedent, which has been repudiated and recognized as a horrible mistake," said Hirono.    "If you, for example, penalize somebody who has a business with a hundred employees, he's not going to just stand there and take it," explained Yamachika. "He's going to pull out more money from the business to cover the tax, which leaves less for the employees or higher prices for the consumers or both. ... Or, the person says, 'I don't need this, I'm getting out of Dodge. I'm going to jump on a plane, and I'm out of here.' So the business moves, the jobs move, and what happens to us? Well, we lose the revenue."
    Even "sin" taxes, like the proposed surcharge on alcoholic drinks, could have effects that our legislators might not realize.

Keli'i Akina, President of  Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i, opposes state tax increases.

    "When you ... find a cause that depends on that sin tax — for instance, using a tobacco tax to fund a school of medicine or a cancer center — the tax causes some people to stop smoking, but that means revenue goes down," said Yamachika. "Then the [supporters of the] causes being supported by the sin tax panic, wondering if [the revenues] are going to disappear. Their answer is to raise the tobacco tax even more."
    While the supporters of these different tax proposals might be swept away by ideological considerations or the allure of playing Robin Hood, we need to keep reminding lawmakers that tax hikes have real economic consequences, like discouraging investment and raising the cost of living.
    That's why we continue to urge that the Legislature ditch the tax hikes and focus on policies that will make Hawaii more affordable — like reducing regulations, removing barriers to housing and cutting taxes and fees.
    Taxes should not be used as a policy tool to shape public behavior. All they do is make Hawaii more expensive and increase the number of people leaving our state for better opportunities on the mainland.

KAʻŪ TROJANS MADE A STRONG SHOWING AGAINST HPA in boy's basketball Friday night. In the first quarter, Hawai'i Preparatory Academy came up with 21 points, with Trojans scoring 11. Trojans outscored HPA in the second with 12 -8. HPA took the third quareer with 11-9 and Ka'u outscored HPA with 10-9 in the fourth. HPA came out on top with a final score of 49-42.