LETTERS: Changes to PERS would doom plan
To the editor:
Stop already. Day after day, the Review-Journal pounds the Nevada Public Employees Retirement System with trumped up stories and predictions of doom. The fact is, creating a 401(k)-style retirement plan will spell doom for PERS.
The system works by replenishing the plan through current workers’ contributions. If you stop the money that should be coming in by diverting it to a 401(k) plan, it will eventually cause the plan to become insolvent.
Why not take editorial aim at real issues such as crime, homelessness and our outrageously inadequate mental health system?
RICHARD LONG
LAS VEGAS
Teamsters and teachers
To the editor:
The article about Teamsters requesting the roster of all Clark County teachers is an indication that change is coming (“Teamsters seek teacher roster,” Feb. 24 Review-Journal). The Clark County Education Association, which serves as the current teachers union, has done nothing to champion the ongoing issues confronting teachers daily.
Teachers are not properly represented by the CCEA, which quite frankly should be considered a company union. Since the email addressees are public records, there is no legal reason for the Clark County School District not to release them.
This year will again see serious shortages of qualified teachers, perhaps in excess of 1,000. The entire compensation plan currently in effect needs a complete overhaul to retain teachers, as well as various specialists who work with autistic children and those with learning disabilities.
Without change, all the good intentions will be for naught, and the CCSD will continue getting substandard results. It is time for Las Vegas to wake up and pay attention to these problems.
WALTER GOLDSTEIN
HENDERSON
Confusing cartoon
To the editor:
Yet another incomprehensible Mike Luckovich cartoon ran on the March 7 editorial page. This cartoon showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering his recent address to Congress.
Mr. Netanyahu is apparently saying something about the characters on “Real Housewives of Atlanta” attacking each other.
What in the world is Mr. Luckovich saying here? That the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and the feeble attempts to deal with it are like a soap opera? That Mr. Netanyahu spoke trivialities? I don’t have a clue. Maybe other Review-Journal readers can interpret this and explain the message Mr. Luckovich was trying to get across.
JAMES MOLDENHAUER
NORTH LAS VEGAS
Iran’s nuclear capacity
To the editor:
While I am no fan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is only expected and reasonable that the man would put the safety and welfare of Israel as his top priority. This objective translates to keeping a nuclear weapon out of Iranian reach (“Netanyahu decries nuke deal,” March 4 Review-Journal).
However, in a global context, the top priority of the West is to seek a more viable alternative that limits Iran’s nuclear weapon potential, but does allow its development of nuclear energy without driving Iran into a corner.
Israel is our ally in a troubled region of the world, but it is not the author of U.S. foreign policy. That’s why Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama are working hard to get the Iranians on board with a mutual agreement regarding the use of nuclear energy.
JOHN ESPERIAN
LAS VEGAS
