Letters to the editor 5-15

Are you willing to accept

a pay or benefits reduction like state workers?

I take exception to the comments made by Sanford Devo of Minden (May 9). It was wrong to characterize state employees as tax-takers instead of taxpayers.

I have worked for the state of Nevada for 30 years and I have always paid my fair share of taxes, just as all other state "workers" do. Our meager salaries are not tax exempt. The tax-takers do not work for the state; they do not work at all. Perhaps we need to make some changes in that arena.

By the way, are you willing to take a pay or benefits cut to help our economy?

I didn't think so.

JACK RALPH

Carson City

Economic realities lost in

fog of anti-government rhetoric by Paslov

Dr. Eugene Paslov correctly observes that the rallying cry of the Boston Tea Party was no taxation without representation, a principle of good governance set in stone by the English Bill of Rights of 1689. But the 18th century tea parties, held in numerous colonial ports, were really a protest against the whole mercantile system, under which monopolies were allowed to plunder colonies of their resources and force their inhabitants to consume finished products from the home country.

Within that system, colonial merchants like John Hancock were by definition "smugglers," but to most colonists they were idealists and patriots engaged in the legitimate pursuit of happiness.

After Hancock had his sloop "Liberty" confiscated in 1768, he organized a highly effective boycott of English tea. The East India Company lobbied parliament for a bailout which slashed tax rates, cutting the price of tea by half, from 20 shillings to 10 shillings a pound. At that price the colonial merchants could not compete, so the English tea was dumped into the harbor to keep it off the market.

Ironically, the "Taxed Enough Already" teabaggers, outraged over the so-called stimulus package, were also protesting against a tax cut. The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) includes $288 billion in middle class tax cuts, not increases. The 1773 protesters knew exactly what they were protesting against, and why. In 2009, such economic realities get lost in the fog of anti-government rhetoric.

RICH DUNN

Carson City

Column distorts truth about

Rush Limbaugh and tea party attendees

Recently, I read two editorials in your newspaper, written by Dr. Eugene T. Paslov, that distorted the truth about Rush Limbaugh and the citizens who attended the recent tea parties.

Limbaugh and most of us who attended the tea parties are deeply concerned about the recent massive move toward socialism. History shows that the long-term result will be a significant reduction in the freedom and standard of living of everyone, including the least fortunate of society. Dr. Paslov is representative of a growing group of liberals that resorts to name calling to maintain their power.

The next time I read an editorial in your paper, with little or no substance, that states or implies that I am an ignorant racist will be the last.

GARY RATEKIN

Minden

GOP responsible for

flushing sound you hear

This is for the Republican who thinks Medicare and Social Security are bad for this country. He should tell his Republican friends to stop taking them.

We, who are on Social Security and Medicare, pay for the service. The Republican Party doesn't care about old people. They only care about the rich people. They should be called the Greed Party. What they did to the country is a shame and they do not have the courage to take the blame for it.

G.W. Bush and the Republicans killed Americans for oil and let this country go down the toilet doing nothing to stop it.

JAMES STEVENSON

Carson City

WNC production as good

as most in London, N.Y.

I encourage all to see the wonderful production of the Western Nevada College Musical Theater Company play Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This production is as professional as most plays in New York and London.

I was amazed at the quality of the talented cast and the staging. This is a play that keeps you entertained from beginning to end and is worth far more than the ticket price of $20 per general admission. If you don't see this play this weekend, you have missed out.

RONNI HANNAMAN

Executive director Carson City Chamber of Commerce