It’s time to put an end to long-hauling
To the editor:
I work in the tour industry here in Las Vegas and get to talk with our out-of-town visitors on a regular basis. A number of these guests have told me they were aware that the cab ride from the airport to their hotel took considerably more time and money than it should have. I immediately apologize on behalf of those of us who do not cheat our visitors, and I double my efforts to make their stay a favorable experience.
Long-hauling and other ways to cheat people out of their money infuriates me, and it should infuriate everyone who makes an honest living in the tourist trade. Those scofflaws are taking money from guests that can be spent on tours, tips, dining, gambling, shopping and more. The extra money these visitors must shell out for a cab ride decreases their disposable funds, and we all suffer.
In addition, our industry relies on return visits from these guests. A negative impression of one of our primary means of visitor transportation results in people not wanting to come to Las Vegas on their first or return visits. This practice hurts all of us short and long term and must be brought under control.
Although I am not in favor of giving our government more power and control, this issue requires aggressive enforcement. I am sure there are sufficient data available to the Taxicab Authority to target suspected cabdrivers and/or companies and place undercover personnel in cabs. Document the long-hauling, cite the driver and follow up in court. In a very short period of time I believe the number of incidents would decrease.
A little paranoia can go a long way - something honest folks need not worry about.
Daniel E. Barnett
Las Vegas
Police state
To the editor:
Will there ever come a time in this county when any police officer is held liable for the shooting death of any citizen ("Police: Woman had hands on gun," Tuesday Review-Journal)?
Are there any circumstances under which an officer would be unjustified in killing an unarmed person? I've never seen it in my 35 years here.
I can conceive of a scenario in which I have to draw my weapon to defend my life against another person who has drawn on me first. What if that person happens to be a police officer?
If the police are automatically right, and the armed citizen is automatically wrong, it follows that any officer who shoots and kills any armed citizen will be deemed justified. In other words, the armed citizen is wrong simply by being legally armed.
I can foresee a time when citizens will conclude that this environment is unacceptable and will take action to defend themselves against an unreasonable and unruly police state. Then what?
Joe Pantozzi
Las Vegas
Cookie jar
To the editor:
In response to the Tuesday Social Security story, "Funds to run dry earlier":
Our government is quick to rush the news of an impending Social Security disaster, only 21 years into the future, blaming baby boomers and the economy for the now-certain failure of the New Deal's great entitlement program.
But the real issue on the table is not whether you are a supporter or a detractor of Social Security, but whether our government can be trusted with our money.
The demise of our national retirement endowment - not an entitlement but a true investment of ordinary working citizens - was determined long ago when members of government could not keep their hands out of the cookie jar, taking surplus funds through intergovernmental loans to be used for their own purposes. The minute that benefits began to exceed contributions, forcing the government officials to go find the money they spent, we started hearing their dire warnings of insolvency.
The truth is that without tax increases to fund intergovernmental loan repayments, there is no Social Security Trust Fund. The money is gone, reduced to little pieces of paper that mean little of anything.
Imagine, if you will, a fantasy where our Social Security funds were safeguarded by private fund trustees who loaned themselves our money knowing that it could be returned to us only by us. They would be tried and sent to prison for embezzlement.
If the Social Security Trust Fund had been managed the way most public employee retirement plans are, it would be flush with cash and there would not be a problem. They know this. I know this. Why doesn't the country as a whole know this? That's the real issue.
Lloyd Wendell Cutler
Henderson
On the road
To the editor:
I wanted to let you know how much we appreciated travel columnist Margo Bartlett Pesek's recent articles on the Kingman, Oatman, Laughlin-Bullhead City areas and historic Route 66. Our little corner of Arizona gets so little press. To see not just one article, but three, was heart-warming.
There is so much to see here. To think that the Review-Journal would make space is wonderful. It means a lot to those who have grown up here as well as those of us who now call it home.
SANDY HUBKA
KINGMAN, Ariz.
Running mate
To the editor:
I was watching one of those TV political talk shows featuring former NPR contributor Juan Williams. The subject turned to Mitt Romney's potential running mates. Someone on the panel suggested Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican. Mr. Williams had the audacity to say that Sen. Rubio didn't have enough experience.
At first I was shocked. How could Mr. Williams suggest Sen. Rubio doesn't have enough experience to be vice president when he has exactly the same experience that Barack Obama had when he ran for the presidency in 2008?
Then it dawned on me: Mr. Williams had made an excellent point.
Robert Gardner
Henderson
