Sebelius should consider basic economics

To the editor:

In Sunday’s Viewpoints, Steve Sebelius argues against a balanced budget amendment. But he ignores the fact that the present Democratic administration has incurred more debt than all administrations combined. Now his solution is to tax the evil corporations to raise revenues that can continue to pay for a wasteful government.

Perhaps Mr. Sebelius should consider basic economics. Wal-Mart and Target are going to charge whatever the local market will bear, no matter the tax climate. With higher taxes, a company may need to re-evaluate the use of revenues in promoting and hiring more workers, not to mention giving less back to their communities in charitable contributions.

H. Rene Quiroz

Las Vegas

New breed

To the editor:

The recent "60 Minutes" report on the ability of members of Congress to "legally" trade on insider information is precisely what is wrong with the system. We all have instinctively known that there is a huge financial benefit attached to serving in our nation’s legislative body. What wasn’t known was the means, manner and unconscionable depth and breadth of such.

Armed with this new information, a few thoughts come to mind.

Since most states are in financial trouble, our leaders, if they truly cared, could have, with insider information at hand, simply contacted the treasurers of their respective states and instructed them to move the investment positions of the state to this or that — virtually guaranteeing a financial windfall. Problem solved.

But that would have been illegal, wouldn’t it? Instead, what is legal is to personally enrich oneself with a provision they themselves legislated, which is patently ridiculous.

I’ve always marveled at how fiercely people fight for the positions in our nation’s government. Why would any sane person so eagerly inject himself into an arena to face such difficult, daunting and seemingly insurmountable problems? The answer is that they don’t really have to do anything about the challenges at hand, but instead must only appear to be diligently working on a solution.

The sober truth is that the system, as it exists today, virtually guarantees that America is doomed to failure. Given the opportunity, the overwhelming majority of people, in general, will act in their own selfish self interest. What we’ve done election after election is send people to represent us who have no intention of doing so but instead look to enrich themselves and their cronies.

I propose removing all financial incentive for those wishing to serve the American people. Pay our elected representatives what the average American makes per annum which is probably around $40,000. Now some will say well we need to pay enough to attract the best minds and talent, but look around, that strategy has proved disastrous both in the public as well as private sector.

Further, any bill that inures to the benefit of those serving, such as pay raises, exemptions from prosecution for insider trading and the like, must be put to a vote by the American people. With preventive measures against unbridled greed, we are more likely to produce people who have a genuine interest in doing what’s right for the country.

Our revered "leaders" have been defecating on the American people for decades and the stench has become incredibly overpowering and unbearable. Let’s change the rules of the game now while we still have a chance for survival and a breath of fresh air.

Allan Gregoire

Las Vegas

Economic stability

To the editor:

Make your plans fit the circumstances. Gen. George S. Patton’s words can be considered the new battle cry for the Battle Born State.

After being involved with the Phoenix/Scottsdale post-S&L debacle planning for stability and growth, I was well aware of what lay ahead for Northern Nevada when we moved up here in 2004 (we had been visiting the area for years). The lack of cohesive planning, even before the Great Recession, was the ticking time bomb. The industries that our economy relied on are not sustainable ones (mining and gaming, primarily). The Great Recession just strapped on a warhead to the stick of dynamite that went off in 2008. The bright flash did, however, create a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel: a revamped economic development engine with leaders with a proven track record.

Being privy to some of the discussions that surrounded the recently released Brookings/SRI study — which in turn led to the launch party recently for ReCharge Nevada at the convention center — it appears we have the buy-in, the energy and, most importantly, the leadership to create substantive action. We’re in this together. We have a plan that fits the circumstances. Time to act.

Bruce Specter

Reno

Art works

To the editor:

Sunday’s Review-Journal contained two excellent political cartoons that captured two of today’s prevalent problems in the United States: the Occupy Wall Street syndrome and the president’s inability to offer any assistance toward the unemployment situation.

Michael Ramirez’s cartoon perfectly delineated the differences between the Tea Party activists and the Soros-inspired and SEIU-supported Occupy Wall Street radicals. And his caption which asked: "Which one is closer to 99 percent of America" was dead-on in its assessment.

The second cartoon by Lisa Benson captured the perfectly arrogant attitude this president has regarding the handling of the economy in the United States. When Barack Obama had a solution to offer thousands of jobs by authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline he deferred to environmentalists, still striving to maintain an elective base. Instead he pushed off a resolution until late next year, presumably after his re-election when he can then turn his nose up at the "greens" the same way he did to the unions, which sought his approval so many of their membership could gain re-employment.

While so many other news organizations refuse to rattle the status quo of the Democratic leadership and offer so much lip service to their liberal-agenda, it is a true pleasure to acknowledge the fortitude and courage of your editorial position to offer the diverging views that appear on the editorial pages of your newspaper. Keep up the good work.

George Pucine

Las Vegas