Opinion
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Government fiascos
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Published: June 26, 2009
Let me start my letter by saying that I am a political independent who is extremely disgusted with Republicans and Democrats. I want someone to show me one thing the government does well. When bureaucrats tell us how much something is going to cost, you might as well double the figure.
Local government examples of promises broken include the baseball stadium and the Dell fiasco. Most government skeptics saw both coming from the start. State government also gives us a number of examples, but none better than the lottery. Ask a teacher losing his or her job how that lottery-money-to-education promise is working out.
Last but not least, we have the wonderfully efficient bunch in Washington. They are on their way to bankrupting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. We have the bailouts and way too many takeovers of private industry by the federal government. Now they want health care and cap and trade. What in the track record of this monolithic advance of federal power gives any confidence that they'll get health care right?
We need less government, not more. If Republicans or Democrats can't give us that, then this country needs another option now.
ERIC FEARN
Winston-Salem
Misleading survey
I was very disappointed to read in your June 21 SpeakOut Now column that 90 percent of the respondents answered "yes" and 10 percent answered "no" to your question, "Do you receive adequate health care?"
How many people without a job and/or health care have the luxury of subscribing to a newspaper, or have a computer or the time to respond? I consider the survey very misleading.
I am fortunate to have good health care, for which I am grateful; however I would be willing to make sacrifices so that all people might have affordable health care.
JUNE MOORE
Clemmons
Use the lottery
The June 18 headline, "Perdue urges higher taxes," stunned me. Gov. Bev Perdue was urging higher taxes for education, but I thought that our wonderful Education Lottery was going to take care of just about anything that would affect our schools. The lottery has taken in over $3 billion in three years.
She is also worried about classes getting larger. The lottery has several provisions that address this particular issue. Why not use that money for what it was intended? Don't just automatically raise taxes.
The June 20 headline stated "Jobless rate in N.C. at 11.1%." Where does Perdue expect to get additional dollars? We are so overtaxed that it is really getting painful. Everyone feels the crunch and we are already sacrificing. I do sympathize with our teachers and I want good schools. I also want to be able to afford my home and buy the medication I need, for I am a diabetic and disabled.
I hope that the governor will be more creative and come up with alternatives to raise money rather than raise taxes. For starters, she and her staff could hold an "educational bake sale" every Saturday at the Capitol or have an "educational car wash" to offset the difference.
We just cannot afford more taxes for anything. If any government official -- local, state or federal -- even mentions new taxes, he or she should be tarred and feathered and driven out of town on a rail. I'll be heating up the tar.
STEWART SHAW
Winston-Salem
Out of touch
I was amazed to read the quote from Winston-Salem city councilman Dan Besse in the June 17 story "City deals with input," to the effect that the ballpark issue is " … at the top of very few people's lists." One wonders how he arrived at such a conclusion. Did he get that impression from the standing-room only crowd that showed up at the city council meeting on June 15? Or from the huge torrent of letters to The readers' forum filling the mailbox at the Journal? To the contrary, I think that most commuters, like me, who drive by the empty pit on Business 40 every day would agree that the ballpark is one of the most, if not the most, important issues the city council is dealing with right now, whatever one's position on the subject might be.
This is yet another example of Besse being out of touch with the wants and needs of his constituents and reaching conclusions not based on obvious facts, which is the reason I will vote to replace him in November.
JILL BENSON
Winston-Salem
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