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LETTERS: Bundy short-changing Americans

To the editor:

The federal government leases, rents or has fees that it charges for any number of transactions. Cliven Bundy’s accumulated grazing fees went unpaid for 20 years, and all the while, he ignored requests for payment for the illegal use of federal land for grazing. His reasoning was that his family had used that land for more than 100 years, and because of that, he feels justified.

If the federal government gave oil companies free use of federal land where there is oil and gave it to them without a lease, would anyone go for that? If the federal government owned a group of buildings and gave them to people rent-free, would anyone go for that? I certainly wouldn’t. If Mr. Bundy wants to use federal land for grazing, then pay up. The federal government and the American people are being short-changed by the Bundy family.

RUTH BAKER

LAS VEGAS

Support actual landowners

To the editor:

I am curious about the Cliven Bundy supporters. They are out there calling out for his rights to have his cattle graze on public lands without paying for it. Why are they not in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma or Texas helping the landowners there?

Why would these landowners need their help, you ask? To keep Keystone and Enbridge from taking their land to build oil pipelines. At least these hundreds of farmers actually own the land, unlike Mr. Bundy, who steals the use of the land from all of us. These people are not even getting a choice when a private company comes in and condemns their land for their own gain, under the auspices that it is for the public’s good to build a pipeline.

RODNEY L. IVERSON

MESA, ARIZ.

Mayor and More Cops

To the editor:

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman stated in a letter that the people of Clark County have spoken and are in favor of an increase in the sales tax, better known as the More Cops tax (“Mayor: To boost police, raise sales tax,” April 14 Review-Journal). Yes, we voted for the tax years ago, before the Great Recession occurred, causing our real estate prices to decrease to the point where most of the homeowners were underwater and before the unemployment rate skyrocketed to over 14 percent in 2010.

We are still in the beginning phase of the recovery, and now is not the time to again hit taxpayers in the wallet. Sheriff Doug Gillespie and the Metropolitan Police Department should be audited by an independent agency to determine whether more officers are actually needed. The sheriff has about 2,600 sworn officers. He has delegated only about 950 officers to work the three patrol shifts for the entire county. The Enterprise District I live in has 120 officers to police 350,000 people, or approximately 20 percent of the population. They write 18 percent of all the police reports. It seems that the district is getting shortchanged by the sheriff, and he needs to explain what the other 1,650 sworn officers are doing during the day.

The governments in Clark County need to reduce spending and stop always thinking of raising taxes to solve perceived problems with government. Mayor Goodman, we don’t have a taxing problem. We have a spending problem that better be reined in before we go broke.

MICHAEL O. KREPS

LAS VEGAS

Voter ID halts bribery

To the editor:

When I was a young student many years ago and had a part-time job in a grocery market that sold beer and spirits, I questioned the reasoning for not allowing alcoholic beverages to be sold on Election Day during polling hours. My manager explained that it was a law passed to eliminate election fraud and vote buying. He told me that in previous years, it was common for party bosses to frequent places where low-income people would congregate on Election Day — such as cheap bars and alleyways — offering to buy a few rounds in exchange for votes. Without TV or radios, and with many people illiterate, uninformed or disinterested in politics, placing an “X” in a certain box seemed like an easy way to earn a few drinks.

The current administration seems to be using the same tactic on a megascale. Instead of liquid refreshment, Democrats are offering enticements to those considering only immediate desires. Rather than cheap whiskey, they are being promised free cellphones, free child care, food stamps, rent subsidies and who knows what else.

The president naturally wants to exploit those in need as much as possible, accusing the opposition of trying to suppress the voting rights of many by having them prove who they are, by showing identification as proof they are eligible to vote. This is the same procedure most of us face on a daily basis when cashing a check, seeing a doctor or picking up prescribed medication, making a large credit purchase, picking up mail at the post office or even borrowing a book from the library.

The policy of buying votes is not limited to local elections; it even occurs in Congress. We all should recall Sen. Harry Reid’s tactics in the “Cornhusker Kickback.” While facing a close vote on Obamacare and squirming for more support, Sen. Reid promised then-Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson a pass for his state, paying its full share of Medicaid funding in exchange for a “yes” vote.

Bribery for votes is alive and well, unfortunately, and is only strengthened by allowing people to vote without proving they are eligible.

ROBERT LATCHFORD

HENDERSON

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