LETTERS: Metro’s reserve fund inspires greed
To the editor:
Regarding Ben Botkin’s article on the More Cops tax (“Unexpected funds in budget,” Sunday Review-Journal”), this is the first time I’ve read that a reserve not only existed, but how much it was. The Metropolitan Police Department seeks $30 million, but has $124 million (four times more than what they need) in reserves. But they don’t want to use the reserve money at all.
What does that tell me? That the Clark County Commission and the Police Department are either stupid or greedy and corrupt. I choose the latter. Metro’s desire to not tap the reserve fund tells me that the department wants this money to end up somewhere else, like in pockets of department employees. Why else would Metro not want to use the reserve money first? That’s what it’s for.
With people out of work in this bad economy, Metro and the commissioners want to increase taxes? What we should do is fire all the commissioners except for Steve Sisolak, the only one with any common sense. He wants to use the reserves first.
Or, instead of dismissing those officials, we can have all our elected representatives and everyone on public payrolls take a 30 percent cut in salaries, and use that money to make up the difference for Metro. Maybe then these people will value their jobs more, stop wasting money and start solving problems by using more common sense, instead of going to the people and making us pay for all their accounting problems.
EDWARD KAVINSKY
LAS VEGAS
Post office closing
To the editor:
I’ve just read about the proposed closing of a post office in Sun Valley, north of Reno (“Heller: No word on postal closing,” Monday Review-Journal). The U.S. Postal Service wants to close the small facility and initiate home delivery to its remaining 200 box holders. This would save the USPS about $50,000 a year. It’s a small amount, to be sure, but my question is: Why is this controversial?
Home delivery sounds good compared with traveling five miles to pick up your mail. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is undecided about whether this closing should occur, though the senator has been a strong supporter of disbanding the USPS.
To keep this office open just to advance one’s agenda is typical conservative thinking: Deny any means possible to save money, then criticize the parties trying to save it. That’s been the conservative way of doing things for more than 200 years.
STEPHEN L. ROSIN
LAS VEGAS
Privatize Postal Service
To the editor:
The U.S. Postal Service should be allowed to go bankrupt, and mail service should then be privatized. The USPS has the worst customer service in the nation. I suppose when your job and retirement are guaranteed, no matter how poorly you perform, the customers get screwed.
My local post office appears to have taken the phone off the hook for the day. The national 800 number has put me on hold for more than 45 minutes.
Defund the USPS as soon as possible, remove all incompetent management, and start over with employees who can be fired for poor service.
ROBERT RAIDER
HENDERSON
Boehner’s blackmail
To the editor:
If Republicans and Tea Party politicians shut down the government and cause a default, they’ll blame it on President Barack Obama. House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Tea Party politicians say they’ll fund the government only if funding is stripped from the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). That’s blackmail. A few hundred Tea Party Republican politicians are holding 30 million Americans hostage, keeping them from having health care coverage.
On top of that, Rep. Boehner says, “The American people don’t want the Affordable Care Act” and its benefits. Speak for yourself, Mr. Boehner. Americans do want the health care coverage that the Affordable Care Act provides. It’s you, Rep. Cantor and Tea Party zealots, who don’t want the Affordable Care Act to succeed.
RON LOWE
NEVADA CITY, CALIF.
Government shutdown
To the editor:
House Speaker John Boehner has threatened to shut down the government unless ObamaCare is defunded. This is tantamount to extortion. If Rep. Boehner was the CEO of a company, he would have been arrested and put in jail by now.
KENNETH L. ZIMMERMAN
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF.
Treasured mementos
To the editor:
Sunday’s article by Ed Vogel (“Mementos find rightful home”) brought tears to my eyes and a bit of wonderment that someone would spend 12 years looking for a family member of World War II Purple Heart recipient John Eddington. It also gave me hope for the human race.
It seems we spend so much time these days talking about how rude people are and that most people have an “I don’t care about anyone” attitude. Donna Gregory is a wonderful woman, and I’m sure I’m not alone when I wish only good things come into her life for her efforts. Peggy Eddington-Smith will always remember her.
JUDITH SMITH
LAS VEGAS
