LETTERS: Pension study has flawed conclusions
To the editor:
“Shocking data.” “Study: State pensions sweet.” Those above-the-fold headlines in Thursday’s Review-Journal certainly served the purpose of getting attention for one of the editorial board’s pet complaints: that government employees make too much money, and taxpayers suffer as a result.
The story stated that “many public sector retirees actually receive a raise upon retirement” and quoted Robert Fellner of the Nevada Policy Research Institute saying that “it was pretty commonplace across the board.” Shocking indeed, if only it were true. In a classic case of “don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story,” the study by NPRI uses only retirees who have 30 or more years of service as of 2013 for its sample population. These retirees all entered into employment prior to the 1985 legislative action that limits pension benefits to 75 percent of compensation, as opposed to the 90 percent previous limit.
NPRI’s study looked at less than 800 retirees out of the current 49,000 to draw its conclusion. Unfortunately, NPRI’s unfounded conclusions are the ones that are really pretty commonplace across the board.
MICHAEL HENDERSON
LAS VEGAS
Ernie Banks, hero
To the editor:
I was saddened to read about the death of former Chicago Cubs standout Ernie Banks (“‘Mr. Cub’ Banks, 83, had career full of joy,” Saturday Review-Journal). As a boy, I used to go to four or five Cubs games a year, and on one occasion came upon Mr. Banks on the ramp behind the grandstand. We kids were stunned when the great Ernie Banks spent five minutes with us talking baseball. Our hero was talking to us!
I felt the same sadness when the great Walter Payton passed a few years ago. When I was in high school, we came back from playing a baseball game to find the Chicago Bears in our locker room preparing to play a charity basketball game. Before us stood the greatest player in the NFL: Walter Payton. We were amazed when Mr. Payton spent almost half an hour asking us about the details of our game (we won). I look back at the greatness of these two men who grew up in the South and were subjected to real and virulent racism. They couldn’t drink from the same water fountains as whites or ride with whites on buses.
Yet these two great men who overcame such adversity spent their personal time talking to us white kids and showed a genuine interest in us. They didn’t see us as oppressors — they saw us as human beings. We didn’t see them as black — we saw them as our heroes.
It is a shame that we can’t all act more like Mr. Banks and Mr. Payton. The country is a worse place for it. This past summer, I was in Chicago on business and happened to be in the same hotel lobby as Mr. Banks. I was late for a meeting and couldn’t express to him what a great person he was and how he had provided me with one of my great childhood memories. I would like to take that opportunity now: You were a great Cub, Mr. Banks, but you were a greater human being. You will be missed dearly.
JOSEPH SCHILLMOELLER
LAS VEGAS
Taxpayers’ hero
To the editor:
On Friday, I was present to witness the birth of a new Las Vegas icon. His name is Bob Beers, Las Vegas city councilman for Ward 2. Mr. Beers is a champion for all Las Vegas taxpayers, and his stand against the use of public funds to build a downtown soccer stadium has appealed to regular and prominent folks from every section of the city (“Signature estimate bests requirement,” Saturday Review-Journal).
Mr. Beers’ petition drive, while riddled with obstacles, moved forward with the help of citizens of all ages, colors and backgrounds. Throughout the day, they arrived in fancy cars and clunkers, by bike, motorcycle and scooter. They came by bus, taxi and on foot, and they kept coming late into the night. Politicians signed the petitions, as did old ladies with canes and construction workers and young people. They came from the city of Las Vegas — the only ones permitted to sign the petition — and they came trying to sign from Boulder City, Henderson, Clark County and North Las Vegas. They even came from Pahrump. I was there and I saw it all.
Everyone was in agreement that the voters have the right to choose how their tax dollars are spent. Even those who were in support of the stadium thought signing the petition was the right thing to do. But nowhere to be seen were Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Councilmen Bob Coffin, Ricki Barlow and Steve Ross, who all felt that the common man should not have a say in how the city spends our hard-earned money.
Win, lose or draw, the petition drive was a great thing for democracy, and I was privileged to see it all.
BRUCE FEHER
LAS VEGAS
End ‘Best of Las Vegas’
To the editor:
Don’t you think your “Best of Las Vegas” poll has run its course? Aside from gaining advertising revenues, it’s the same winners year after year. A perfect example is me, a two-time runner up to someone who has won for more than 12 consecutive years. It seems the competitiveness has lost its appeal. It isn’t sour grapes with me. I really never thought I had any chance of winning.
“Best of Las Vegas” was a great idea a few years back, when we were having a great influx of people moving into our area, and it could introduce these businesses to new citizens. I’m sure the Review-Journal’s marketing department can come up with a new program that would generate the same revenue.
CHARLES BERBERIAN
LAS VEGAS
