It is said that no government program is simple. That is, anytime you involve government you end up with a complex program that tries to meet the needs of all. However, by doing so, sometimes it seems it meets the needs of none.
The latest local story is the commission that is working on designing the Hawaii commemorative state quarter of the national program that will, over time, mint a distinctive coin for each of the 50 states.
However, given some of the comments of people who have been viewing some of the proposed drawings (sorry, I can't find an online source of the designs released yesterday), this is not going to be an easy decision. One example - a couple of the designs feature a likeness of King Kamehameha. Some people are saying that King Kamehameha should not be on the coin because it might be disrespectful to some Hawaiians.
I make no comment whether it would or wouldn't. But is it any wonder why government tends to produce what it does based on the lowest common denominator rather than the best (however best is defined)?
Aloha!
