Public sector contributes much to economy

To the editor:

In response to John D. Dooley's Monday letter, "Easy math," criticizing government-sector employment:

Mr. Dooley makes the assumption that the pay and benefits that accrue to government workers result in a total loss to taxpayers. This argument is overly simplistic and completely without merit.

Yes, it would hold true if government workers cashed their paychecks and then burned their money. Obviously, this is not how it works.

Government workers and private-sector workers do exactly the same thing with their money -- they spend it. The moment they spend that money it goes back into the hands of the private sector. They buy homes, cars, food, clothing and education for their kids. These are all private-sector benefactors of those public-sector paychecks.

The U.S. military is the largest employer in the country. There are cities in this country that thrive off of the money that military personnel bring to these communities.

A few years ago, America had one of the lowest unemployment rates in recent history. During the recession, millions lost their jobs. During the recovery, there have been substantial numbers of private-sector jobs created, but they have an offset by nearly 900,000 public-sector job losses.

Federal, state and local governments employ more than 20 million people. These jobs are absolutely necessary, especially during a time like the present when there are only 3 million job openings in the entire country. The never-ending public-sector job losses that are taking place in Nevada are contributing to the collapse of the entire real estate market as well as keeping us right at the top of the unemployment statistics in the United States.

Gerry Hageman

Las Vegas

Selective racism

To the editor:

It's good to see that liberal Democrats still can reach back into that silly old book and bring back a classic play from the past ("Cain campaign: Harassment allegations not true, unfair," Monday Review-Journal). Ah, the old sexual harassment charge!

Does anybody remember what U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas went through?

Liberal Democrats didn't waste any time attacking another black male who isn't on the Democrat plantation. This just shows the selective racism of the liberal Democrat.

Raymond Chadwick

Las Vegas

Old stuff

To the editor:

I read Sen. Dean Heller's Sunday commentary ("A jobs plan for Nevada") very carefully and came away scratching my head. He wrote that he and several of his "colleagues have proposed new ideas" for growing the economy. All I read was a re-hash of old Republican ideas that did little or nothing to improve our current situation.

Let's review: His first "new idea" is to reform the tax code. Sure, a simplified tax process would make reporting and paying taxes easier, but he fails to demonstrate precisely how doing so would create jobs. This "simplification" typically is code for lower taxes on those who make the most money.

Second, he wants to eliminate "regulations." Again, he doesn't provide a single example of a regulation he'd get rid of or how this would create jobs.

Next, he criticized what he calls "out-of-control spending" and supports a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. There is certainly a valid argument for reduced spending. Unfortunately, spending cuts alone will not solve the problem.

Lastly, the senator supports an energy policy that will lower gas prices and electricity rates, arguing that these costs hurt economic vitality. His remedy is restricted to expanded oil exploration.

None of the "ideas" are new, nor do they speak in specifics or how they will help Nevadans get back to work.

Joel Rector

North Las Vegas