Letters to the Editor June 4

Politicians need to think about the impact of their actions

Senate Bill 423, which raises taxes for low-income seniors, is still alive and well. This bill, which was sponsored by Governor Sandoval, eliminates the property tax rebate for low-income seniors. This is equivalent to raising taxes, which our governor recently promised that he would never do.

It seems that the Democratic legislature is more than willing to raise any tax available. Consequently, these seniors have no one on their side. Low-income seniors have absolutely no lobbyist and no representation within the leadership of either of the major parties. It's as if low-income seniors are non-existent. Well, even rural Douglas County has 487 seniors which receive this tax rebate.

Seniors have been especially impacted by the current inflation. Gasoline and food prices and Medicare supplement insurance premiums are three of the major expenses to which seniors are subjected. The cost of these has all gone through the roof.

On top of this inflation, our state government is going to raise taxes on our low-income seniors. The results of this tax increase will just cause more seniors to lose their homes, causing a much greater impact to Nevada's economy.

Attempting to solve the state's financial problems on the backs of the people who can least afford it is ridiculous. It's about time that our politicians start thinking about the impact of their actions instead of just following their party lines.

Paul Lockwood

Minden

Felons' right to vote needs to be restored carefully

Regarding the bill in the state legislature to make the restoration of voting rights to felons more automatic, from a May 31 news story, the right to vote should be restored carefully, on a case-by-case basis, not automatically. Those who are not willing to follow the law cannot claim a right to make the law for those who are.

We don't let everyone vote - not children, not noncitizens, not the mentally impaired, and not those who have committed serious crimes against their fellow citizens. We have certain objective and basic qualifications of responsibility, trustworthiness, and loyalty for entrusting people with a role in self-government - and felons can be presumed not to meet those qualifications until they have shown for some period of time that they really have turned over a new leaf.

The Center for Equal Opportunity discusses this issue on our website, at http://www.ceousa.org/content/blogcategory/64/93/

Roger Clegg, president and general counsel

Center for Equal OpportunityNevada policy encourages irresponsible lending practices

Concerning recourse versus nonrecourse lending, Nevada is a recourse state. This wasn't done by our state government to protect its citizens, but to protect lenders, which encourages irresponsible lending practices and in the long run, screws, the people of Nevada.

Our representatives won't fix this problem because it also encourages business in Nevada, irresponsible lending, but business just the same. All of us who are stuck with mortgages - twice the amount that our homes are worth - can thank our representatives for putting business ahead of Nevada citizens.

Even Komifornia holds its lenders to a responsible standard of doing business by being a nonrecourse state. What happened to Nevada? Now that we're all upside down, it's too late to help us anyway.

Mike Deal

Dayton