The rich love to say money doesn’t matter

To the editor:

I read the headline on Geoff Schumacher's Sunday column lamenting the fact that Gov. Jim Gibbons does not want to tax us into slavery ("Special session will bring pain and parody, not the tax increases we need"). I reluctantly read the column, and two things became apparent in his use of multimillionaire Chancellor Jim Rogers as a source.

First, isn't it interesting that those who scream the loudest for more taxes are those who are independently wealthy? Reminds me of the line from the movie "Operation Petticoat," when Tony Curtis' character points out that he was always told that money wasn't important until he realized that the people saying that were the people with all the money.

Second, isn't it equally interesting that the example of higher education success cited by Mr. Rogers was a private-sector organization, Stanford, which is not dependent upon taxes nor managed by public-sector robots.

Mr. Rogers, who I'm sure doesn't worry about making it to the next payday and likely has an accountant to manage his wealth and pay his bills, and Mr. Schumacher, who would prefer to have us pay his bills with higher taxes, will continue to scream for more taxes to solve the problems created by their incompetence.

Mike Garrison

HENDERSON

Fact-finding trip

To the editor:

Members of Congress are quick to take junkets to popular tourist destinations under the guise of a fact-finding trip; however, few take real fact-finding trips to an unpopular or remote destination. I have an idea for a real fact-finding trip that all members of Congress should take to learn the truth about a controversial issue that is before them.

All members of Congress should be required to visit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska so that they can see for themselves the small area on the north slope of that preserve where the oil companies want to recover perhaps as much as 10 billion barrels. Only after seeing it for themselves would the members of Congress be sufficiently knowledgeable and competent to render a fair vote on opening ANWR to oil drilling.

I don't believe a few caribou would be too upset if oil wells were dug on a few remote acres of their refuge.

What say you, Congress?

S.G. Hayes

LAS VEGAS

School cuts

To the editor:

I saw no mention of cuts in administrative staffing and salaries in your Saturday article ("District braces for cuts," Saturday Review-Journal). Apparently, those Clark County School District expenses belong to some other budget.

How about funding those who actually work with the kids and eliminating the middle- and upper-management positions of dubious value?

Phyllis Anderson

LAS VEGAS

Failing administration

To the editor:

It was revealing to read your Saturday article about proposed school cutbacks. All the cuts directly affect the students.

Is it a sin to suggest cutbacks at the administrative level? Start with the worthless curriculum development department. They have failed us beyond description.

Robert Raider

HENDERSON

Anti-education

To the editor:

Given that I am a schoolteacher, it was with great interest that I read your Sunday article, "Special session: Workers not losing all raises." Yes, it is true that those teachers with less than 14 years of experience can receive a "step" pay increase for showing up the next year, regardless of whether the Legislature rescinds the 4 percent cost-of-living pay raise it approved in 2007. But what of those who have moved past those years? Are we to be considered a piece of machinery, depreciable over the rest of our lives as employees, to be replaced by new ones?

And if the newspaper's continued orthodox anti-public-service spin wasn't bad enough, you dragged in the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce's Cara Roberts, the mouthpiece for the most anti-education group east of Constantinople and west of Istanbul, with her vacuous observation that in these tough times, some private-sector employees are not given raises at all ("Studies examine salaries," Monday Review-Journal).

This is probably true, but during good times these raises are not limited to a statutory amount set by a group of people, the Legislature, funded by another group comprised mostly of the gaming and construction industries.

Some private-sector employees might get a 10 percent raise or maybe more when "the good times roll," while someone like myself may get 2 percent. In my profession, we can create value through our input, but we are not allowed to have that same value added to our wage.

And Ms. Roberts' claim that private-sector cost-of-living wage increases are not commonplace is pure fantasy. Most medium to large businesses give COLAs with their semi-annual or annual reviews.

Paul Ruth

HENDERSON