Muth forgot to blame the Founding Fathers, too
Chuck Muth, our resident neo-con, anti-government, anti-taxes, anti-schools, anti-arts and anti-intellectual, has blamed the international economic crisis on liberals ("Already singing the blues" 10-10-08). I was surprised that Mr. Muth didn't blame the original liberals, our Founding Fathers, for creating a compassionate government designed to serve the people.
I believe there is plenty of blame to go around for our current economic mess. And we shouldn't ignore the Bush Administration's ideological commitment to anti regulation, current regulations or rant against the initiation of new ones. This irresponsible administration has been anti-regulation for eight years, and we are suffering the consequences in the market place, the environment, and in international trade. Their actions border on criminal.
Unmitigated greed also played a major role in an unregulated free market where nothing was out of bounds. We should also be concerned about those clever executives who made hundreds of millions of dollars for themselves by selling "poisonous paper real estate deals." There's considerable "junk" throughout the world that our free market enthusiasts palmed off on unsuspecting trader-nations. Mr. Muth wants to blame the victims, the poor who were struggling to get into a home, rather than the irresponsible speculators who have come close to destroying our market economy. These speculators are the real criminals.
The neo-cons in Congress, mostly Republicans but some Democrats as well, should also shoulder much of the blame. They should have been minding the store for "Main Street," but instead turned a blind eye and offered unlimited protection to "Wall Street."
Now we need to come together and help support the solutions that our bi-partisan policy makers are developing. There's plenty of room for disagreement; but in the end we need to do what is best for the Nation, not what is best for Mr. Muth's ideological bias.
DR. EUGENE PASLOV
Carson City
Obama cares for the middle class
We are retired, and so we are watching every penny as the market plunges and rises. It's important to me who is in the White House to protect what money we have left.
Of the two men running for office, McCain has shown poor judgment, in my opinion, when it comes to our economy. In 2004 he voted for the deregulation bill, backed by the five investment banks and pushed through Congress by then-Sen. Phil Gramm. Phil Gramm then became McCain's main financial advisor, until he said that Americans were whiners and the recession was in our heads. McCain has also backed the Bush tax cuts for big business and big oil companies, and has just come out with lower tax breaks for capital gains, which is mainly of benefit to those with big money.
Obama, on the other hand, has the middle class in the center of his program, with tax cuts for those earning under $200,000, suspending the tax on unemployment benefits, and giving tax breaks to those businesses who create jobs, as well as suggesting that people can take out up to $10,000 from their 401K without penalty.
While nothing is for sure, I would rather put my money in the hands of an Obama administration than risk a McCain administration, which would seem to worry more about big business and big oil, rather than worrying about me.
RITA VALENT
Carson City
Voting in favor of V&T tax
I'm a native Nevadan and have heard about the V&T Railroad all my life. As a child, I watched the television program "Bonanza" with the Cartwrights on the Ponderosa and the V&T Railroad in Virginia City. Every child dreamed of riding the train and going to the Ponderosa. Part of that dream is gone with the sale of the Ponderosa. We can still ride the train for a short distance; however, wouldn't it be a thrill for the young and old to ride to Virginia City from Carson City and back?
The CC1 initiative will ensure that we will have the railroad built to last for our children, grandchildren and future generations. We have an opportunity to protect history rather than complaining after it is gone. We can take a proactive measure plus help our community with an annual income for years. What a unique idea for us. We usually have ideas to spend money without a stream of revenue to balance the spending such as the V&T will provide for 99 years to Carson City.
The 1/8 of 1 cent sales tax will cost about 3 cents a day to the average family. We throw that much and more on our dressers or in a jar of loose change every day. Use that small change to preserve our heritage for all time.
I'm asking you as a long-time supporter to vote "YES" on CC1 to bring this wonderful historic railroad to Carson City, which in turn is the catalyst we need to pump up Carson City's economy.
MARSHA BURGESS
Carson City