Hawaiians unite to buy back land from billionaire in a move never seen before

And the billionaires still win somehow

This is bullshit, eminent domain has been used for a lot less worthy causes. The guy’s been absent for a decade, it’s rundown, not developed, abandoned buildings, looks like a hazard to the community.

It’s a huge undertaking. If successful, it would be one of the largest land purchases in Hawaii, behind Larry Ellison’s nearly 90,000-acre acquisition on the island of Lanai.

How fucking sad that you can buy 90k acre for personal ownership. There is no reason any one person should own that much land.

It particularly infuriates me whenever I see someone claim that taxing billionaires would remove their incentive to participate in the economy. As though they’re going to say “if I work this year I’ll only be able to afford 40,000 acres, guess I’ll shut the company down”.
- Fuck those lies
I think land ownership itself is one of the big mistakes we made as a species.
- Where i live it personal land owners cut off access to water ways. There is a river not 5 minutes from my house however I cant access it cause it's all private land. Pretty sad
- It seems inevitable to me given how territorial people are. Not just people, other animals too. Like even chimps have different groups that control different territory.
Capitalism claims to be about needs but it's really just about the wants of the wealthy.
- And the stupid that believe they will be equal at some point.
Especially in a small island chain.

Buy back? Kick the billionaire out.

Sounds like a time for eminent domain.
The billionaire doesn’t even live there, he lives in Hong Kong.
- How about, just ignoring the ownership then.
- The US National Park service frowns on people tossing anything into the volcanos. But the deep, deep ocean has no enforceable jurisdiction.

Can't they just write a special law and annex the land? Ya know, sort of, like, how the US ~~stole~~, I mean, um, got, Hawaii in the first place?

Yeah, when the uber-rich write the laws in the first place, playing ‘fair’ and doing a direct purchase is a suckers move. Just take it back.
Ikr. "Hawaiians unite to give billionaire more money"
- They're a giving people, the Hawaiians. A great match for taking people.

For generations, Native Hawaiians have been displaced from ancestral lands, and on the island of Molokai, where one-third of the island is owned by Hong Kong-headquartered billionaire investment firm Guoco Group...

Same basic problem is on all the islands. Read the fictionalized story The Descendants (or see movie of same name).

... Land mismanagement causes other problems as well. Red dirt sediment from West Molokai’s eroded slopes runs into the ocean after a heavy rain, turning the water red with pollution that can kill coral reefs and clog fishponds.

“If our reef dies, we lose that as a source of food,” Kalipi said.

It sounds like Hawaii should institute a land use law where squatters on lands of absent landlords could claim ownership by working said land. I know they have something like that already because there was another lawsuit where developers purposely built on someone else's land, then sued the property owner for trying to 'steal' the luxury building they built by 'mistake' such that all she could argue was that they tear the whole thing down.

If successful, it would be one of the largest land purchases in Hawaii, behind Larry Ellison’s nearly 90,000-acre acquisition on the island of Lanai. Only this time, the land would be returning to its people.

The Molokai Heritage Trust is moving forward thoughtfully in its endeavor, dedicating years for discussion and research and obtaining its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status last year.

I am heartened by the last line, which is labeled as "Pakui’s Prophecy" (emphasis mine):

The heavens will fall, the high-born will fall, and the dark earth — the common people — will rise like a wave.

I agree with what you write. I am a bit skeptical they will ever raise the $260 million asking price. More drastic measures may be required. Hopefully they will get some public support
Regardless, I wish them luck in their endeavor
P.S.
Fuck Larry Ellison
- I would assume if you put land up for sale and it didn't sell for asking price for a decade, they could probably offer a lot less hopefully.

Billionaire decides not to sell.

Billionaire doubles price—gets rich off the poor, again.

Shitty move, Hawaii.

Dole food company eyeing this

If this Hong Kong company owns 1/3 of Molokai, Dole must own the other 2/3.