Things looking up for next year? Not so fast
To the editor:
I had to laugh when I read Wednesday's story in the Business section indicating that better times are ahead for the local economy, as stated by UNLV economist Stephen Brown. When you hit rock bottom like this town did, there is no place left to go but up.
I wish Mr. Brown could have used his expert analysis and economic indicators to have told me that it was going to hit the fan a couple of years ago. I would have made arrangements to try to save my house, my job and definitely would have saved a little more money.
More disturbingly, though, is the tunnel vision all the economic experts have when it comes to diversifying our local economy.
Gambling and construction is no longer going to get it done. Right now, the city of Miami is considering casino construction in the South Beach area. If approved, it won't be long before expansion takes place as the local government takes a liking to all that extra revenue. We'd better start looking ahead, because a South Beach Strip with 80- to 90-degree temperatures year round and an ocean 200 feet away will soon turn this place into a ghost town. At this point, it's not if it will happen, but when it will happen.
I'm sure Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson won't want to invest in that.
Gerard Ahern
Las Vegas
Down the middle
To the editor:
Oh my goodness, what happened to Review-Journal political columnist Steve Sebelius?
His Tuesday column on compromise was right down the middle politically, and actually explained Washington politics quite elegantly. Given the time of year, I wonder if he has been visited by three spirits? And no, I'm not talking about wine, beer or liquor.
Perhaps he suffered a blow to the head.
For the love of all things liberal, please get him checked out by a physician ASAP.
Mark Morris
Las Vegas
Dead serious
To the editor:
In response to the Thursday letter from Eugene Sloane, who wrote about his fear of the police while taking his evening stroll, I have to ask: Is he serious?
Apparently, the only story he has read in the last year or so is the Review-Journal's series on police shootings. He obviously has missed the daily stories of murders and muggings, especially in his North Las Vegas area.
And then there are all the pedestrians getting run over. He doesn't cringe while crossing his neighborhood streets?
I would advise the Sloanes (and anyone else who feels the same way) to take a deep breath and really think about who or what they should fear most. If it's still the police, then for the sake of their health they should find another area to live.
Bill L. Wilson
Henderson
Living for free
To the editor:
In his Saturday letter, William W. Moreland wrote about the country's mortgage fiasco. Why is Mr. Moreland the only one who has hit the problem square on the head? If you go for more than a year without making payments, what gives you the right to question anything?
You failed to honor your contract and you no longer are entitled to reside in a home that no longer belongs to you. What difference does it make who signs the foreclosure papers? You breached your contract. Some delinquent homeowners have exceeded a year without making a house payment or paying property taxes and other obligations homeowners have on a regular basis.
Many of these who have not made payments have blown the money and not saved one penny of what should have been used to make mortgage payments. I know three of these people who have lost homes and not saved one penny.
Mr. Moreland also is correct when he blasts Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and her California counterpart, Kamala Harris, for grandstanding on a matter in which they should be defending the mortgage companies, not the deadbeat home occupiers who are not making mortgage payments or paying taxes. I guess those of us who meet our obligations and have taken a hit on the value of our homes should just smile and watch the government shaft us once again. It's not fair, but you know what? Neither is life.
Les Altman
Henderson
Known unknown
To the editor:
Goodbye, Herman Cain. Your past was thoroughly investigated. Girlfriends imagined and perhaps real were dug up to tell us what a terrible person you were. A Republican candidate for president bites the dust.
So is that the end of the mudslinging? Give me a break. Whoever the final GOP candidate is can expect to have his entire life examined, and something or things will certainly be found. After all, we have learned that the Democrats fight this way.
By the way, has President Obama's history ever been examined as closely as Mr. Cain's? OK, he was born in Hawaii. He lived for awhile in Indonesia. He was a professor at the University of Chicago. Impressive. How did he get such a prestigious job? What was in the resume he presented to university officials that made him stand out from other candidates? What is the story of how he was elected to the Illinois Senate, where he voted "present" about 130 times? Any shenanigans there? How was a man sitting in the U.S. Senate for four years ever elected president of the United States?
Investigative journalism? There is no such thing when it comes to Barack Obama.
Fifty years from now our history books will declare that Barack Obama was the biggest unknown to ever hit the American presidency.
GEORGE D. COGHLAN
LAS VEGAS
