LETTERS: Hillary editorial hides from transparency

To the editor:

The Review-Journal likes to claim it is big on transparency, and in keeping with that, the newspaper attacked Hillary Clinton in an editorial for her failure to answer questions for the last month (“Mum’s the word,” May 18 Review-Journal). So far, so good.

But then the editorial went on to blast President Barack Obama for doing the same thing (note the not-so-subtle attempt to link Mrs. Clinton to the right wing’s hated President Obama). Quoting from the editorial: “Obama has little interest in taking live questions from reporters, either. ... The president has held a combined 124 regular and solo news conferences since being elected. That number pales in comparison with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who held 210 and 193 pressers, respectively.” Really? Is it really a pale comparison between 124 and 194?

The editorial also points out that as of January, the president has sat for an additional 872 one-on-one interviews. Let’s see, since the editorial failed to give a figure for President Bush, we must assume that his one-on-ones were negligible. So that leaves us with a 996 interviews for President Obama versus 210 for President Bush. Now, which one pales in comparison?

The Review-Journal’s editorial page is right-wing. OK, fine. But the Review-Journal is also a newspaper, and as such, the reading public deserves more in the way in which this paper treats facts and statistics in its arguments.

RICHARD L. STRICKLAND

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Minimum wage cycle

To the editor:

Having lived a few years, let me lay out some facts about the minimum wage. When I was a teenager, the minimum wage was $1.25 and gas was 33 cents a gallon. You could get a hamburger for 19 cents and buy a nice house for under $30,000.

As the minimum wage went up, so did prices. Consequently, the current minimum wage doesn’t buy any more than $1.25 did back then. No matter how high we raise the wage, it will never constitute a living wage. Everyone who has gone to college or has any particular skill will refuse to work for minimum wage and will want a significant raise, causing businesses to raise prices to stay in business. Face it folks, it’s a never-ending loop.

VICKY DE LEO

OVERTON

Gas prices

To the editor:

I guess we’ve gotten so used to being taken advantage of by oil companies and local gasoline stations that no one even comments about the 50- to 75-cents-per-gallon increase in the last 30 days. Ah, but you say it’s the summer driving season increase. Really? When crude oil prices don’t increase substantially and diesel prices are lower than gasoline prices, you’re being taken advantage of, plain and simple.

Can you imagine the amount of money made from a 50- to 75-cent increase? How much it reduces our discretionary income per month? It would be nice if someone watched out for consumers now and again, don’t you think?

GARY CROSS

LAS VEGAS

Layout lacking

To the editor:

I do not like the current layout of the Review-Journal, especially the decision to shrink the paper by moving the Business section. With new ownership, it seems that the paper is getting smaller and smaller, although this could have started with the former owners.

I hate to read anything online; I usually will print what I want to read, but that doesn’t work with a newspaper. With the continual shrinkage of content in the Review-Journal, I am thinking about not renewing my subscription.

Hopefully, the Review-Journal will give us more content and quit putting the comics behind the Business section. It might be true that business is comical at times, but I don’t think it needs to have the comics at the end of the same section.

ADRIA COLE

LAS VEGAS