My take on this editorial: Okay, so say for instance the majority vote on the City Council is to give back the money (not likely), or worse yet, just rip up the Full Funding agreement and tell the Feds "yeah, we ain't paying it back".

Outside of the "then what" question that I'd be asking, another concern would be how this affects other grants that the federal government provides the state and counties at all levels. Because you know, the last time we decided not to take the funding agreement in 1992, the FTA created a entirely new rule - the Honolulu Rule - which one of the provisos of that rule was that the community needed to guarantee a local source of revenue before any FTA money would be awarded.

Are we ready to live with new rules on how non-military grants are awarded to this state? Because while we may think giving it back ends the discussion, it only ceases the discussion on our side. Regardless, the Feds may demand the last say on this. 

Think about it.