And what about the size of government?
To the editor:
In response to your Tuesday editorial, "The fiscal cliff goes on and on: Deficit spending, forever and ever, amen":
President Obama has said countless times that a majority of Americans support higher taxes on the rich. He has defined the rich as any individual making more than $200,000 a year and married couples making more than $250,000.
What you never hear from the president, however, is that a majority of Americans believe government is trying to do too much.
With a borrowing limit of $16 trillion, which will be exhausted in early 2013, this most certainly is the case. A majority of Americans with common sense and rational thinking know you can't just continue to raise the debt ceiling to solve the country's fiscal problems.
It's just truly unfortunate that none of this sound logic is embraced by the president and his fellow big-spending, big-taxing Democratic cronies.
Ray Kolander
Las Vegas
Reid's failure
To the editor:
The fact that Vice President Joe Biden was able to negotiate an agreement with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to avoid the "fiscal cliff" is indicative of the failed leadership of Nevada Sen. Harry Reid. His putting partisan politics above what is good for the country and the American people is an example of why Congress has not been able to move our country forward by passing legislation to help solve important issues.
JERRY STEFFES
LAS VEGAS
Where to cut?
To the editor
The majority party in our House of Representatives keeps howling about spending cuts. But Republicans seem to be very quiet about where they want those cuts to fall.
We can be sure that Reps. Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and company don't want cuts in defense or foreign aid. I for one would be willing to bet, dollars to doughnuts, they want to cut any federal program that just might benefit Mitt Romney's "47 percent," which turned out to be a bit larger this past November. So come on, Speaker John Boehner, tell us what your party wants to cut and quit accusing the president of being vague about his goals.
Jack Corrick
Boulder City
Education opinions
To the editor:
Sunday's Viewpoints section showed who is in touch with the realities of the Clark County education system.
Bravo to letter writer Tierney Jacobs, who was spot on regarding parental accountability. Every aspect of the real problems in schools was clearly defined by her analysis of the role parents need to play.
Now lets review Glenn Cook's column, in which he makes the Clark County Education Association the villain in the education system. He focuses on a former director who was earning in access of $600,000 annually. Please note the word "former." This individual in no longer employed at CCEA.
Teachers have not had a pay increase in more than four years. Mr. Cook's outrageous opinion that the union's slogan should be "Screw your kids - shut up and pay up," is typical of his ignorance of the schools. His so-called poetry is both stupid and demeaning and is one of the reasons our education system is at the bottom of the heap.
Walter Goldstein
Henderson
Concealed carry
To the editor:
Another massacre, another scream for more gun control; even though history and current statistics show, over and over again, that restricting the gun rights of responsible citizens does little to reduce crime by the irresponsible. The exact opposite is true. The good guys follow the law, lose defense capability and become softer victims for the bad guys who don't follow the law.
Isn't it interesting to note that Illinois has zero concealed-weapons permits (until a few days ago) but Chicago has one of the worst crime rates in the nation's history. On the other hand, Switzerland, with a military-style weapon in almost every household, has comparatively little crime involving firearms.
The Second Amendment provides that each of us has the constitutional right to bear arms for our protection, and to me that means always and everywhere, because bad guys are always anywhere.
Here's the part that's ironic: The responsible people who have a CCW or are willing to "openly carry" are the same people who would mostly prefer not to have to do so. But the risk involved with being unarmed and defenseless is getting worse all the time. The bad guys love gun control laws because they create a situation that gives them control of the guns.
Bearing the responsibility of carrying a concealed weapon is not something one takes lightly. Carrying a weapon openly requires a great deal of forethought and courage, because carrying your weapon in public view also makes you a target for any bad guys who want your weapon. Concealed carry is the most effective way to protect yourself and discourage spontaneous crime because the bad guys don't know who's armed.
Eugene Varcados
Las Vegas
Sane restrictions
To the editor:
The only people who need guns are peace officers and the military. I know this would never happen.
Nobody needs the weapons that are being used on our streets and our communities. The president has called for a conversation about gun violence. What we need is action - and we need it now. This action should consist of the immediate ban of all sales of assault weapons; the immediate ban of all sales of high-capacity ammunition clips; background checks on all gun purchases; and all gun purchasers must be trained and certified on safety procedures.
I am aware that the above will not stop all the violence in our country, but it's a start to bringing sanity back to our society.
Ann J. Laury
Las Vegas
