Politicians need to re-take remedial economics

To the editor:

Once again our politicians are trying to disguise their profligate spending by increasing the cigarette tax ("Smokers fuming as state considers adding to tax hike," Thursday Review-Journal).

In the real world, one has to cut back to stay within budget when revenues fall short. If a car company is losing money, it can't simply raise the price of new cars 40 percent and expect that to be a long-term solution.

Whatever happened to the concept of living within one's income?

It's certainly lost on our politicians.

David Paul Goldsmith

LAS VEGAS

Political re-branding

To the editor:

The war on terror is now called "overseas contingency operations," illegal aliens are undocumented workers, enemy combatants are people having a bad hair day, government spending is now called investing -- and a presidential news conference will now be called "expelling linguistic flatulence."

David Baker

LAS VEGAS

Whipping boys

To the editor:

Everyone loves a whipping boy. If Washington had stayed out of the equation and forced AIG to meet its maker in bankruptcy court, this whole travesty would have been prevented. The so-called bonuses would have been reviewed and dismissed by someone who actually reads and thinks. The nation would be a step closer to resolving these nasty legacies.

GM, Chrysler and Ford need to be cleaned up in bankruptcy, not by sweeping new congressional and executive powers, and not by our great overtaxed work force, which will pay the freight on this unprecedented mortgage on America. We are being sold as the whipping boy, girl and child.

James Parks

LAS VEGAS

Their job: save jobs

To the editor:

If these were different times, I might be a little suspicious of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid running interference for a casino. But with business in this town tanking because of the economy, I'm rooting for Sen. Reid and Sen. John Ensign as they look for ways to help CityCenter (Tuesday Review-Journal).

Whatever they can do to keep jobs from pulling a Houdini is a good thing. Lay off the senators for doing their job: protecting the jobs that are on the line.

Cassondra Major

NORTH LAS VEGAS