GOP victory would bring only bad news
To the editor:
This is serious stuff. We simply cannot allow those evil Republicans to take back the White House this November. Just think of the consequences: Roe v. Wade will be overturned by a conservative-packed Supreme Court, which will mean 1.3 million fewer abortions (paid for with taxpayer dollars) performed every year. Unemployment might actually drop down to a measly 4 percent. The national debt could be reduced by $5 trillion, and gasoline prices would be at $2.50 a gallon. You know, like they were in those horrible Bush years.
Welfare and food stamp recipients will fall below 50 million; and they'll actually have to (gulp) work for their benefits, thanks to a President Romney. Naturally, the borders will become more secure. Then how will all those illegal aliens - I mean new Democrats - ever get here to vote? And who's going to cut Nancy Pelosi's lawn and wash Sen. John Kerry's yacht - his wife?
And we came so close to finally getting "God" out of the Democratic platform and making sure that Jerusalem will never be the capital of Israel.
You heard it - Bill Clinton was cheered, and God actually got booed off the stage by a clear majority of delegates. Never mind that we ultimately had to leave Him in; you know, to appease those crazy Catholics and insufferable Jews. We did manage, however, to redefine marriage to include gays, lesbians and, well, whatever.
Sadly, we'll have to send Ol' Joe Biden back to the plantation, along with his chains. Michelle Obama will never have a second chance to be proud of her country. And worst of all, Barack Hussein Obama might actually have to find himself a real job.
JOE PRUSSING
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA.
'Gainsharing'?
To the editor:
Sometimes I read an article and have to reread it because I can't believe what I read. About $1.3 million in Las Vegas city coffers and is slated to be paid as a bonus to city employees. This is supposedly money that is over and above expenses that need to be paid.
City Manager Betsy Fretwell was kind enough to make it simple for me by saying that it is called "gainsharing" and is similar to profit sharing in the private sector.
Gainsharing? If the government takes in more money than it needs, then it can just be divvied up among public employees? Not put aside in case the economy gets worse, or, better yet, returned to the taxpayers who overpaid?
The scary part about the article was that the unions love this idea so much that they are negotiating for it to be in their next contracts. Where will this extra money come from? How can government employees generate this excess?
Not only that, the bonuses could be paid in mid-September. This must be part of that alternative universe that I find myself too often experiencing.
SHIRLEE YUNKER
LAS VEGAS
Silent Cal
To the editor:
This country desperately needs a Calvin Coolidge.
History has done a poor job of publicizing how President Coolidge handled his "eco-distress" compared to the Hoover-Roosevelt or Bush-Obama era.
After the 47.2 percent stock market crash that occurred from late 1919 to mid-1920, President Coolidge, with the help of his treasury secretary and his secretary of state, reduced government spending by 10 percent. They reduced income tax rates and they dropped marginal tax rates from 53 percent to 25 percent. (Compare this to the Reagan reduction, which went down to 28 percent.) He also vetoed or pocket-vetoed 50 Senate or House spending bills. These Coolidge tax and spending reductions led to that great period of prosperity known as the "Roaring Twenties." That 1919-20 depression lasted only one year!
After the Coolidge era and toward the end of the '20s, bank cash liquidity dried up because of the huge amount needed to cover the "calls" on all the stock purchases made on margin. This bind exemplifies the past and present failure of the Securities and Exchange Commission to fix the problem. Also, it shows the futility of the Federal Reserve bank to provide timely help in liquidity stresses. These sloppy failures led us to the Great Depression from 1929 to 1939, which was ended only by World War II.
And now we are faced with a Bush-Obama failure without a Coolidge to bring common sense into our government.
THOMAS F. JEFFERSON
ELKO
No to online gambling
To the editor:
So it took all of the editorial page staff to try and defend the gambling industry by saying Nevada should have a piece of the pie (Friday editorial).
Really? Doesn't anyone remember the fraud and corruption of less than a year ago? Even if they could somehow make sure it was honest and on the level, what does that really accomplish for us living here? We can see the social problems of this addiction, and now you want to hide them? Is the casino industry that greedy? Is this going to be one more revenue center just for them?
This new law, or deletion of an old law, is dangerous. It should go away. Is Nevada that desperate? Is Sen. Harry Reid that much in the pocket of the casino executives?
What the state of Nevada really needs is diversity of businesses. We need a variety of businesses, and we need them fast. The Review-Journal needs to focus on and champion all of Nevada's resources and opportunities.
ROBERT OWEN
LAS VEGAS
