A broken record on improving education
To the editor:
I see at least one member of the Legislature wants to improve education in Nevada ("More school funds proposed," Tuesday Review-Journal). How? The only method I have ever seen proposed by a politician or education administrator: Spend more money.
Also I see that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been aiding and abetting the illegal aliens. Didn't she take an oath of office to support and uphold the Constitution? In my opinion, she committed perjury.
William Kiker
HENDERSON
Productive lives
To the editor:
Re: Your recent story "Saving the Earth one hour at a time":
Instead of sitting in the dark for an hour on Saturday, I choose to turn on every light, radio, TV, computer, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher and anything else requiring electricity. It will be in honor of those inventors who made our lives more productive and comfortable.
Sonya Healy
LAS VEGAS
Government program
To the editor:
Having read Charles Blenkhorn's Tuesday letter, I wonder if he has a 401(k)? And if so, how's he doing with it?
I retired from state service several years ago. While I was working I also invested a portion of my pay into several private retirement funds. The past seven years prior to my retirement I was investing $300 a month into "government approved" programs. But with the failing economy, it was like pouring water into a sieved bucket. Since then, it has dwindled away into almost nothing. And I have heard of others losing a lot more than what I had.
So don't be telling me about the private pension programs. Even the politicians who are promoting private pension plans will receive government pensions when they retire.
When I went to work in state service (as a corrections officer), I took a reduction in pay from the private sector because of the added benefits I was being guaranteed, including retirement pension and medical retirement. If it wasn't for the pittance I do receive from state service, I could be living on the street.
As far as offering unemployed workers state employment without any "benefits," I'm sure you would have long line of job applicants. But what kind of service could you expect from them, and how long do you think it would be before they would be supplementing their incomes through graft and corruption?
H.G. Rees
LAS VEGAS
Breach of duty
'To the editor:
Anger at the recipients of the AIG bonuses is misdirected. Who among us would not accept a bonus that our company offered us? Even if our performance was marginal, I'm sure most of us could rationalize the situation and still accept the bonus.
If I were an AIG shareholder, I would be angry with the AIG board of directors who authorized bonuses which were not based on superior performance or "retention" bonuses for employees who do not appear to have been competent to begin with. Such dereliction of duty might be worthy of a lawsuit against the directors for breach of fiduciary responsible.
As a U.S. taxpayer, I am outraged that our elected representatives are lavishing taxpayer money on these organizations claiming that it will help everyone in the long run. Apparently, this is the current application of the old "trickle down" theory. Maybe the taxpayers should sue their elected representatives for breach of fiduciary duty.
John Welch
HENDERSON
Straight story
To the editor:
OK, let me get this straight:
Our government failed to regulate how insurance companies could invest people's insurance premiums. So AIG invested our insurance monies into risky mortgages which eventually caused AIG to be on the verge of collapse.
To head off disaster, our government invested $165 billion for 80 percent ownership in AIG even though it was worth less than $4 billion. Thus AIG became in effect the government too. Our government then hired Mr. Liddy as CEO of AIG and he too became part of the government.
Our government (Congress) got very upset when they found out that government employee Liddy paid out more than $165 million in bonuses to AIG's government employees. Now our government (Congress) wants our government (AIG) to pay back our government (Treasury) for bonuses paid out by our government (AIG).
Do I have that right?
GREGORY TOUSSAINT
LAS VEGAS
No kidding
To the editor:
I was recently filling out a "Seller Real Property Disclosure Form." It's a form our Legislature decided that we needed to add to the paperwork pile of all real estate transactions.
I quote from the form, "NRS 113.130 does not require a seller to disclose a defect in residential property of which he is not aware."
Isn't it comforting to know that the people who gave us this wisdom are presently trying to balance our state budget. Is it too much to ask that a person running for the Legislature at least have a double-digit IQ?
I believe a complete legislator dump is in order for the next election. Could it be any worse?
Gerald Laetz
LAS VEGAS
