We must all share the tax burden
To the editor:
In response to Wednesday’s letter from Jan Ashman:
Although I agree that students with parents involved will do better, the rest of Ms. Ashman’s letter makes no sense. It sounds to me like she thinks that if you have no school-age students, you shouldn’t pay taxes that go toward education, and that taxes from vehicle registration should only go toward highways.
She must understand that a certain number of dollars collected go toward many services that most of us don’t use on that intimately personal level.
I’ve lived in Southern Nevada for 34 years and have never had to call a fireman to my home. I’ve never had a police officer protect me personally from a threat. Does that mean I shouldn’t pay taxes that go toward those services, or that only the people who had fires last year should pay for firemen this year? Of course not.
Every student who leaves any local school and takes gainful employment in Nevada makes the burden on each of us that much less.
If we try to break down tax policy so that all you pay for are services you use, then none us will be able to afford the services we have — or, more importantly, need.
JEFF FRASER
HENDERSON
No vision
To the editor:
The Wednesday article by Adrienne Packer, “Public defender: Caseload increase crushing office,” is no surprise.
The voters passed a ballot initiative to fund an increase in the number of police. More police on the streets mean more people being arrested. Good thing. More people being arrested mean more public defenders, prosecutors, judges, jailers and more parole and probation officers are needed to keep track of these people who are paying back their debt to society.
So why wasn’t the ballot initiative written to address the criminal justice system as a whole? Who approved the ballot initiative?
It does not make sense to get people off the streets if there isn’t the system to support it. It is the criminal justice system, not just one component. Short sightedness and lack of vision to address the problem — that is the problem.
Russell Davis
LAS VEGAS
Draw a blank
To the editor:
How come the striking Hollywood writers aren’t walking the picket lines carrying blank signs?
Jim Brush
LAS VEGAS
Child haters
To the editor:
The Republican Party is the worst enemy of children in this country. It began early on in the history of the party and continues to this day.
Republican icon Ronald Reagan maintained this dreadful distinction in 1980 when, in his zeal to reduce “Big Government,” he chose the federal school lunch program as one of his first targets, declaring that catsup was a vegetable and therefore other vegetables could be cut from the menu.
The sane citizens of this country, to a person, stood up and roared, “What?” And the administration sat down. The GOP however, was not deterred by this minor setback. Whenever they regain power, waving their “Smaller Government” banners, they begin their spending cuts with children’s programs.
Today they want to make cuts in the federal health insurance program for children — the Democrats want it expanded. Yet Republican sucker-spin would have you believe that they are the champions of children’s health care, not the Democrats.
It is time to stand up again, and again roar, “What?” For, as everyone knows, the GOP loves children until they are born and then, their political usefulness expended, they abandon them.
James j. begley
LAS VEGAS
Petition signer
To the editor:
I have just skimmed a newly released book by Bill Walker, “The Immigration Solution.” It reveals the main problem of illegal immigrants — they are not able to pay for their health care and don’t pay sufficient taxes to make a meaningful contribution to the school system, so therefore Joe Sixpack taxpayers like me have to pay their child support.
Thus you can blame our Legislature (King Bill Raggio and his elites) for failing to force the casino industry to pay its share toward the education and health care of their low-wage employees, while the gamers pump their profits into gaming in other states and, most of all, into China. Instead of forcing those of us who pay our taxes to pay child support for their employees, all businesses should pay their share (Wal-Mart comes to my mind, also).
If the legislators would stop feeding at the casino trough and raise the gaming tax 2 to 3 percentage points, then initiative petitions wouldn’t be necessary. But there is slim chance of that because most of that governing body is bought and paid for many times over.
I will therefore sign any and all petitions I find that address this problem and force the King and his court to act. I truly believe that is Joe Sixpack’s only solution, because I have no confidence that the elite who meet in Carson City will do anything for their constituents.
Bring on the petitions.
j.w. stuckey
LAS VEGAS
