On the dole? You shouldn’t be allowed to vote
To the editor:
Why do people who pay no taxes have the right to vote? Makes no sense to me.
I'm not talking about retired people or members of other groups who have contributed. I'm talking about those in society who have never worked and never intend to. You would be surprised how many are in this category, living off ridiculous entitlement programs and teaching their children to do the same.
I know many people who were offered employment but prefer to take their 99 weeks of free money and do side jobs for cash, as the government makes it so easy. Hundreds of thousands of people receive Social Security benefits who are not old, but scam the system with phony claims of why they can't work. More than half the 46 million people getting food stamps do not need them. Plus, child-care corruption is rampant with non-existent day-care facilities receiving millions. Then there's utility and rent assistance programs that have plenty of fraud as boyfriends and relatives double-dip living together and grandmothers do most of the real child care.
Our government has grown way too big and expensive. It causes more financial problems than it solves. Many workers get paid well to do very little. These workers could not exist in the private sector or the company would probably go broke. The only new jobs they have created have been for themselves.
If they want to create more jobs, how about hiring multiple fraud investigators to look at the entitlement programs? This would save money instead of costing the taxpayers billions.
They keep running up the deficit for our children so they can get re-elected, not once thinking about the country's benefit.
In summation, why should those who contribute nothing (zero) in taxes have the right to say how the money is spent? Obviously they would vote for whoever is going to keep giving them their "freebies" - almost like bribery.
JAN GILBERT
LAS VEGAS
Good meal
To the editor:
Well, I hope President Obama enjoyed his recent dinners at the homes of George Clooney and Sarah Jessica Parker. I would invite him over to my house too, but since he's been president I lost my job and barely have enough for myself. Maybe a doggie bag from him would be nice.
Anyway, I hope I can invite President Romney over next year when he gets us back to work.
P.S. What was for dessert?
ROBERT MATUSIEWICZ
LAS VEGAS
No lies
To the editor:
The more I think about the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling on the Stolen Valor Act, the angrier I become. The court struck down this law in the name of the First Amendment and freedom of speech. Instead of making it a federal crime to lie about military service, records or awards, it's now legal to lie about them.
Have our values and ethics become so distorted? Is it really all right for people to lie about their service record? Boasting of a Silver Star or a Bronze Star that has not been earned is a heinous act. What a slap in the face to our real heroes.
Thank you, Rep. Joe Heck, for not letting this issue fall by the wayside. Good luck on your new bill, which would make it a crime to gain a benefit from such lies. It has bipartisan support and is something every Democrat and Republican should rally behind.
LYNN ARMANINO
HENDERSON
Old bromides
To the editor:
Think tanks used to be comprised of independent thinkers dealing with hard problems and real solutions. Nowadays, our think tanks often seem bought and sold by special interests. And all of them seem locked into ideas from the past. They seem to be regurgitators, throwing up past problems and past solutions.
Without mentioning any names, a variety of think tanks have recently weighed in on solving Nevada's significant economic and environmental issues. So far, what we've seen are the same old bromides: Growth and diversity.
But we are already suffocating in dense overgrowth that is moving us past our supply of water. A few weeks ago, I boated down the Colorado River, near Moab, and found the river can be crossed on foot. This is the river that slakes the thirst of more than 25 million people. This is the river that keeps Las Vegas alive. Somehow, according to the think tanks, further growth will solve our problems. Wonder what those thinkers will drink.
Diversity is also a bizarre prescription for solving our problems. Nevada is one of the most diverse states in the country. We have vigorous ranching, mining, gambling, tourism, communications and banking interests in Nevada. What we don't have is an equitable tax structure.
For example, the mining industry, one of the wealthiest industries in the world, is paying one of the lowest mining taxes in the world. We can bring in new commercial interests, but that doesn't do the state any good if we give away the candy store.
So, don't bother me with any more growth/diversity scenarios. I'd like to see a plan that tells us how we can hang on to what we have, how we sustain what we have. As far as diversity, I'd like to see an equitable tax structure that could well afford the best educational system in the United States, instead of one that ranked toward the bottom.
And yes, to paraphrase Steve Martin, I'd like every kid to have a pony under the tree next Christmas.
EVAN BLYTHIN
BLUE DIAMOND
Where's the outrage?
To the editor:
Quite a stir was caused recently when two misguided boys decided to drown two kittens in their backyard ("Two teens accused of drowning kittens face criminal charges," June 28 Review-Journal).
The moral outage of this event was thoroughly covered by the media, as it should have been. This kind of behavior cannot be tolerated.
But why is it that when cruelty to animals occurs, resulting in death to those animals, the moral outrage is never-ending, yet when cruelty to babies occurs in the form of abortions, there is seemingly no outrage at all?
Even though the boys were wrong in what they did, it pales in comparison to what happens daily in abortion clinics.
LEONARD GASS
NORTH LAS VEGAS
