Beers’ arguments still watered down

To the editor:

It's obvious that former state Sen. Bob Beers has a lot of time on his hands. What else could account for his rambling Sunday commentary attacking the well-reasoned post of University of Nevada, Reno professor Elliot Parker?

Mr. Beers, a Republican who lost his re-election bid last month, grudgingly admits Mr. Parker is correct when he states that "only 5.5 percent of Nevadans work for the state or local or governments, the lowest share in the 50 states by far." This fact was the major premise of the professor's argument that we need more government employees.

Mr. Beers, however, has another agenda. The professor's position gave him another opportunity to repeat attacks on the benefits of Nevada's government employees.

For example, Mr. Beers mentions that Social Security taxes are paid by non-government workers but not by government and school employees. He omits the obvious reason for this disparity: Nevada governments opted out of Social Security, thus saving the state millions of dollars in matching contributions.

Mr. Beers continues with his familiar argument that government employee unions have too much power, without any elucidation.

Finally, he uses the per-pupil costs of Faith Lutheran Jr./Sr. High School to illustrate that education can be provided privately at competitive costs. Because Faith Lutheran is a religious school with a selective admissions policy, this comparison is meaningless.

Mr. Beers could spend his sabbatical auditing classes in economics and education so he can better understand the topics he opines upon.

Irwin Kaufman

LAS VEGAS

Driving basics

To the editor:

R. Gill's Wednesday letter to the editor criticizing the city of Henderson's handling of snow-laden Eastern Avenue and Anthem Parkway is an example of the typical Las Vegas driver's attitude.

Granted, the city of Henderson should have closed the icy streets and prepared them for traffic before the rush. However, that requires gathering city trucks, installing snow plows, filling the trucks with salt, cinders, etc., and dispatching them to the trouble spots. That is a multi-hour project.

The quicker answer is for drivers to avoid streets with hills. I know it is a lot to ask of drivers who need billboards warning them not to drive into streets with rushing water during rainstorms, but come on. If the driver's normal route home involves a steep hill, and heavy snow is falling, avoid the hill.

We have two basic driving rules to remember: Don't drive into rushing water during rainstorms, and avoid driving up steep hills during snowstorms.

Don Merz

LAS VEGAS

Charge it

To the editor:

I have only one comment in response to bleeding-heart trial attorney Albert G. Marquis' Dec. 23 letter to the editor regarding the possible closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities and the safety and security of our grand nation:

If applying electrical wires to just one terrorist's testicles will save one U.S. military or civilian life, red is positive, black is negative.

Joseph W. Johnson

HENDERSON

Boot-licking

To the editor:

I read Albert Marquis' Dec. 23 soliloquy on closing Guantanamo Bay. It is the typical mantra of appeasement that is prevalent among so many apologists, from Neville Chamberlain to Jane Fonda.

Like those who find boot-licking fashionable, Mr. Marquis should have ended his missive with the phrase "so that we can have peace in our time." The al-Qaida he refers to will like it.

Michael John

LAS VEGAS

Out of touch

To the editor:

The Nevada Republican Party's recent reiteration of its stance on the Yucca Mountain Project -- accept the nation's nuclear waste and reap financial benefits -- demonstrates once again how out of touch the GOP has become (Thursday Review-Journal). It is no wonder that the party is losing elections and support.

The majority of Nevada citizens are against the dump and have been for decades. Even California has come out against the dump -- and California has nuclear waste that it needs to store somewhere. Republicans need to stop looking in the rear-view mirror and start casting some vision for the future. Why not suggest that we dump the dump and convert the project site northwest of Las Vegas into a huge solar and wind farm?

Donna West

LAS VEGAS

Rebates, not bailouts

To the editor:

Rather than hand a bunch of taxpayer money to American automakers, would it not make more sense to give the money back to the taxpayers in the form of a rebate as an incentive to buy a new American automobile? I would suggest a rebate of at least 25 percent. This would get cars moving off assembly lines and maybe instill a little confidence in the economy.

Don Dieckmann

HENDERSON