A desperate plea for bold thinking, action

To the editor:

Whenever there is an earthquake, tornado, hurricane or other disaster here in the United States or abroad, the U.S. government and state governments rally around and promptly send aid to the victims. Well, in the worst disaster to ever hit Nevada and Las Vegas, little if no help has ever been sent.

I’m speaking about the economic disaster. Double-digit unemployment forever, thousands of people living on the street, like they’re in one of the worst Third World countries. People sleeping on sidewalks, behind Dumpsters, in their cars. People eating out of trash cans or not at all. Mortgages crashed, businesses gone under. A holy mess.

One can look away from this and pretend that it doesn’t exist, because just enough people are doing just fine. That is the most diabolical element of this tragedy. The jokes we have had for mayors, the jokes Nevada has had for governors, the biggest joke of all calls himself a U.S. senator from Nevada — these people should be held partially accountable for letting so much of their cities and state die.

I have been underemployed for more time than the United States needed to win World War II. Longer than the expanse of the American Civil War. I have skills, a college degree and I worked steady for 40 years — before 2008 and before living in Nevada. No one here will hire me.

If I owned a company here I would only hire the homeless, the people unemployed for a year or two, or three or four or more (like me). There is a massive able-bodied, skilled, anxious and willing-to-work group of people out here waiting. I would say hoping, but in most cases I think hope is gone. Waiting to get some kind of work or some kind of special aid.

Tell the employers and legislators to get creative and for once in their pitiful lives, do something remarkable, do something good, something worthwhile, besides just making money and making laws. Hire and help the people who need the help the most.

JAMES BRESNAHAN

HENDERSON

Array

Public pensions

To the editor:

Retired teacher Jim Hayes, in his Feb. 10 letter to the editor, takes offense that some of our legislators believe the Public Employees Retirement System puts too much of a financial burden on the state. He goes on to state that reducing or eliminating pensions for future hires would amount to the beginning of the end of public education in our state, “much more than a slap in my face.” Mr. Hayes says “the backbone of a successful democracy is a government’s support of its public education system.”

If all it takes to begin the end of our failing education system is reducing or eliminating teacher pensions, let’s do that immediately. Maybe then we would evolve into a system of private schools in which the taxpayer dollars go toward vouchers to pay for the education of our children. In this private-school system, some schools would possibly be unionized and others would not. How long do you suppose the unionized schools would be able to compete and stay in business?

Why is it that public employees feel entitled to pensions funded by the taxpayer? My guess is that they think they are a special class above the rest of us. I don’t have a pension. But I did invest in an individual retirement account, with my own money, not taxpayer money, and I managed to save a little money of my own, again not taxpayer money. I receive Social Security benefits.

I would not begrudge Mr. Hayes receiving Social Security benefits, but I do take it as a “slap in my face” that I have to fund his pension.

GALEN D. DECKER

LAS VEGAS