LETTERS: ‘Benevolent capitalism’ not so nice

To the editor:

Regarding Dan Olivier’s letter (“War on poverty actually a success,” Saturday Review-Journal), I want to thank him for providing the progressives’ new descriptive verbiage for wealth redistribution: “benevolent capitalism.” What a wonderful description. I guess all of the European nations currently in disarray practicing benevolent capitalism somehow escaped your observations. Let’s see how benevolent capitalism has succeeded here in the good old United States.

Since 1964, we have spent $15 trillion in the war on poverty. Over the past 40 years, we have managed to reduce the poverty level from 17 percent to 14.3 percent. What a resounding success. I am reminded of a study by Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the early 1960s. The study revealed that if you provide the minimum necessities for people, those people will settle for those necessities and become dependent upon the provider. That process is the Democratic Party’s mantra. Keep as many people just over the poverty line and dependent upon government, and thereby create a permanent underclass and voting bloc.

I do not believe in sink or swim. I do, however, believe in personal responsibility. There is nothing wrong with providing assistance to someone in need, but two or three years is more than enough, with job training.

This country’s success stems from education (woefully inadequate in every major city), effort and work. We have lost this process over the past 40 or so years and have become a bunch of whiners dependent upon benevolent capitalism to sustain us. Should this continue, our population will become slaves to the government’s largess, paupers to a very few wealthy and powerful persons.

Is this your utopia? If it is, you can have it.

DOUGLAS MANOOKIAN

LAS VEGAS

War on poverty

To the editor:

After reading and rereading the magnificent letter by Dan Olivier, my spirits had lifted and I felt the new year would bring more peace and good will if his thoughts were more prevalent (“War on poverty actually a success,” Saturday Review-Journal).

This would be such a wonderful change from the negativity, vituperation and oftentimes downright meanness on the part of some letter writers. I am confident many of the writers do not criticize their fellow man with the type of short-sighted views they’ve expressed through letters to the editor.

In the longer view, the war on poverty was indeed, a success. In a generation or so, after the Affordable Care Act has been straightened out, citizens will wonder what it was like back in the old days without medical care, just as many today can’t visualize gay people unable to marry.

The American Medical Association, with its deep pockets and cowed politicians, made itself the voice for the delivery of medicine. Half of the medical schools closed, resulting in scarcity of services and high fees.

We have to adopt the long view to change our system. The word among many of our citizens who came from other countries is, “America is a great country — just don’t get sick.”

Obviously, young, healthy people don’t look kindly on being forced to pay for health insurance, but as Mr. Olivier aptly put it, “The only chance for society, as it is, to survive is for those who do manage to get rich to help those who don’t.” His letter follows the Christian ethos, “The strong have to bear the infirmities of the weak.”

WILLIAM V. LOFTON

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Subsidizing is stealing

To the editor:

Put up solar panels and the government will pay 30 percent of your cost. Health insurance from the government will be subsidized for you. Lose your job and the government will send you subsidized unemployment checks. Own a farm and the government will send you huge checks to subsidize your efforts. On and on we go, just subsidizing everyone and everything that the government can find.

But wait a minute. Who is subsidizing whom? Why are we, the U.S. taxpayers, paying the subsidy bills? You may wonder why hard work, responsibility and long hours — the ideals that made America great — no longer rate that high, but I have figured it out, and it mostly comes down to one word: subsidy.

If you truly want what the former Soviet Union had or what Communist China has, then just continue supporting other people who do nothing but take from you. I guess everyone seems to have forgotten one of the Ten Commandments: Thou shall not steal.

BOB DUBIN

LAS VEGAS

McCarran parking

To the editor:

Recently, I made several trips to McCarran International Airport to pick up visitors. Although we taxpayers have invested many millions of dollars in McCarran, we still have a second-rate facility. Many airports around the country have parking lots set aside for people to wait for their arriving guests to call on a cellphone, once they have retrieved the luggage and are ready for pickup. We have no such area.

The airport owns a lot of empty land on Russell Road (paid for by us). Open the fences and let us wait there. Or is the master plan to force us to pay for parking or waste fuel and create pollution while driving in circles?

ROBERT RAIDER

HENDERSON