Let market deal with housing crisis
To the editor:
Bob Fulkerson shared his views concerning the recent $25 billion housing settlement in his Sunday commentary, "Just a down payment." He believes that the banks need to make hundreds of billions in principal writedowns and compares that amount to recent bonus payments made by the banks.
Unfortunately, he compares the aggregate of all employee compensation (not merely the bonuses) in making his case and conveniently omits mentioning the largest players in Nevada's mortgage market, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were not part of the settlement.
The four largest banks in the settlement paid total employee compensation of $121.2 billion in 2011 (SEC filings) to just more than 1 million employees or an average of $121,000 each. That compares very favorably to our valley's unionized public safety employees.
Nevada homeowners should welcome the various settlements, legislative actions, and federal and state programs designed to assist in their current circumstances. They should not expect wholesale reductions in their mortgage principal balances and exhortations to that end only raise false expectations. It will take many years, but the market -- not any federal or state effort -- will ultimately sift out the current mess.
Mark R. Cole
Las Vegas
Money tree
To the editor:
I would like to thank officials with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce for thinking that they have the right to decide how much I and all other residents should pay for water usage (commentary, Sunday Review-Journal).
I guess they forget this is a down economy and some of us live on fixed incomes. We have done all we can to conserve energy and water usage and live within our means. I suggest all the utility companies do the same. Stop building things you do not have the money to build.
First NV Energy rate hikes, then Cox cable. Now the water district. And wait for it ... Metro wants more of our money.
Quite frankly, it is getting crowded in my pockets. So many people wanting my money. Now, where do you all think it will come from? Oh, I forgot -- that money tree in my backyard.
Diane Hall
Las Vegas
Road closed
To the editor:
The closure of F Street occurred when Interstate 15 was upgraded in 2008. It was less expensive to close it to through traffic than to build a bridge to the east side of the freeway. Plus the powers-that-be theorized D and H Streets provided direct access from West Las Vegas to downtown.
Hundreds of notices went out to residents around the F Street area. Meetings were planned and publicized for local residents to give voice to their concerns about the proposed closure. No one from F Street attended those meetings. Once the street was closed, however, the uproar began.
There were claims that nearby residents were not notified about the pending closure. These claims turned out to be lies. There were claims that because the residents were not notified and because the area is predominantly black, actions to close F Street without notification were in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Furthermore, it was claimed that the only thing this whole brouhaha was about was upholding the law. The F Street Coalition claimed that they were interested only in seeing legal justice done. That, of course, also turned out to be a lie, bold and simple.
In 2009, state Sen. Bob Coffin voted to force the re-opening of F Street when faced with the threats of cuts to Las Vegas city projects. Now a Las Vegas city councilman, Mr. Coffin more thoroughly looked into the many claims when the issue recently came before the City Council. He found that he and others were fooled into believing the citizens were not properly notified.
We now find out the residents never had the law in mind when all the claims were made about not being notified. Now the resident are claiming it is about "more than the law." It is about allegations of racially motivated street closures "in previous decades."
As Mayor Carolyn Goodman has stated, it is because of past attempts to segregate. As City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian has stated, "We have a moral obligation." As F Street Coalition Chairwoman Trish Geran has implied, not re-opening F Street overlooks "decades of racial discrimination." As West Side resident Arby Hambric states, F Street must be re-opened because "They owe it to us."
This is racist blackmail, pure and simple. It is using the race card to get $8.5 million spent for a mural and a road opening that is totally unnecessary. And that is the point.
With D and H Streets providing access to Symphony Park, this project is unnecessary. The money could be used to re-employ many of the people who have been laid off in the past couple of years. The money could be used to improve education in the West Las Vegas area.
In the words of Mr. Coffin: "What a horrible waste of money." In the words of City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian: "What a tremendous waste of money." Yet the City Council voted to waste this money to assuage the guilt for past misdeeds we are apparently doomed to carry forever.
How sad. How short-sighted and sad.
Alan Stock
Las Vegas
Bad decision
To the editor:
I am appalled by District Attorney Steve Wolfson's decision not to prosecute the Henderson law enforcement thugs who pummelled a citizen without provocation or justification. The images shown onTV were reminiscent of Rodney King-like attacks and gravely concerning to the general public.
Mr. Wolfson said, "It's been too long since the incident." This is hardly a justifiable excuse, Mr. Wolfson, if your father, son or brother were the recipient of this attack, no matter how long ago, would you have the same attitude? I seriously doubt it.
Mr Wolfson said, "It's not in the best interest of the community." If he believees protecting the citizens of Clark County from attacks by out-of-control, jack-booted thugs is not in our best interest, then I question his capability to do the job he was hired to do.
I strongly protest Mr. Wolfson's decision. It is based on faulty reasoning and I rue the day that I (also a diabetic) am pulled over due to medical issues.
Ronald Hawkins
Las Vegas
