LETTERS: Taxpayers again fund paid suspension

To the editor:

Once again, I see a taxpayer-funded organization suspended someone with pay. The Clark County School District paid Lied Middle School principal Kimberly Bass-Davis $20,000 to stay home for 2½ months before transferring her. (“Principal gone after arrests,” Saturday Review-Journal). First, it shouldn’t take that much time to figure out if there was any wrongdoing. Next, how about having the Ms. Bass-Davis go to work somewhere doing needed tasks or just being available if needed, rather than sitting at home while getting paid?

Ms. Bass-Davis is now working in purchasing and warehousing, at a salary of $87,000 a year. I’m sure someone who worked their way up the education ladder to principal has excellent credentials and experience for this new position.

We, the taxpayers, need people who negotiate contracts to get tough about things such as suspensions. It seems like nobody in the public sector is ever suspended without pay or assigned to work somewhere else while suspended from their primary job.

PHILLIP MLYNEK

LAS VEGAS

Wind power myths

To the editor:

In his letter to the editor, John Feehery defends the Wind Production Tax Credit on the grounds that the wind power industry attracts investment, creates jobs, stimulates economic development and saves consumers money on their power bills (“Wind power worthy of tax credit,” Sunday Review-Journal). Let’s start with tax credits. They are really just tax breaks given to a specific sector or company. But government budgets depend on a total tax revenue figure, so giving one party a tax break means the lost revenue has to come from someplace else. That would be you and me.

Now, as for saving consumers money on their power bills, my latest NV Energy bill includes one line for basic electric consumption. But the bottom-line bill is 20 percent higher. That additional bump is accounted for under such eco-friendly terms as “temporary green power financing,” “universal energy charge,” “renewable energy program” and “energy-efficiency amortization.” So any benefits from wind power, or any other renewable energy source, seem to show up in higher bills rather than efficient and competitive power rates. Who pays for that? Well, that’s you and me again.

Finally, on wind power creating jobs and stimulating economic development, wouldn’t reducing energy bills let Nevadans keep more of their own money to do exactly that — create jobs and stimulate economic development? Shouldn’t we expect the wind power industry to make it on its own, like a private-sector company? And shouldn’t NV Energy’s main goal be to provide electric power at the lowest possible cost to consumers? You know, like in a competitive market, where government isn’t involved.

ROBERT R. KESSLER

LAS VEGAS

Red Rock shooting

To the editor:

I watch TV news daily and read my Review-Journal, and it has become normal to see injustices done to American citizens in our own country. Saturday’s front page brought the story of the grieving mother of D’Andre Berghardt Jr., who was shot and killed by police at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area on Feb. 14 (“Berghardt’s mother tormented by several unanswered questions”).

Mr. Berghardt was hitchhiking with his rolled-up sleeping bag before being stopped by police. Why did police stop him? Did the police offer him a bottle of water out there in the desert? Did they ask him if they could help the young man with anything? He knew he had done no crime of any kind, so he refused to be arrested. Anybody would fight back if falsely arrested; he had no weapon but himself, and he bravely used it until death. God bless his soul.

Should mothers teach their sons to blindly obey police? Police should be our friends and help those in need, rather than striking fear in them. It certainly seems the police acted the wrong way when they accosted the wanderer.

RUTH JOHANNE HUFF

LAS VEGAS

Minimum wage

To the editor:

The primary beneficiaries of any increase in the minimum wage would be high-income government and other union employees whose contracts include adjustments equivalent to any increase in the minimum wage, as well as other workers such as dealers, cocktail waitresses, bartenders, waiters, etc., whose income is based on tips but who additionally receive the minimum wage.

Very few low-income workers would benefit because, although their wages are low, they are already above the minimum wage. The small percentage of workers, mainly part-time teenagers, who actually receive the minimum wage would more likely be laid off because businesses simply cannot compete if they are forced to pay employees more than those employees’ contributions are worth.

Any inflation in business expenses will naturally force the business to raise the prices of its goods and services. And any time the government arbitrarily interferes in the natural flow of free enterprise, it is detrimental to the health of the economy.

ROBERT WELZ

LAS VEGAS