Retirees have paid their due
With all the people out of work and all the people who have lost their homes and forced to live in apartments, I am shocked to see that every school levy in Clark County passed. A lot of retirees have already paid school taxes, year after year. We raised our kids. We did our school volunteering. We paid ungodly amounts for four years of college for more than one child. And now we see people voted to continue or in some cases even raise our taxes for schools.
We seem to keep a school open for too little a time, then tear it down and build one right on the same lot as the one torn down. Look at Harney Elementary School on Evergreen Boulevard. Yes, we’re all paying for that one and others also.
I sure didn’t like the headlines claiming that the levies passed, way before all the votes were even counted. I’d sure like to see a recount, just to keep the honest folks honest. Look at the cost of mailing out the ballot, with only one item on it, and all the extra pieces of paper per envelope per household in Vancouver.
Wake up, and count the money we do not have and not the money you think you’re going to get.
Betty J. Pelayo
Vancouver
Larch offers many benefits
Is the closure of Larch Corrections Center imminent? This unlikely convict (a resident of Larch) begs to differ with an “inside” point of view.
Prisons are an unsavory fact of life that harbor the promise of eventual release for the majority of criminals being held within.
However, not only does Larch’s prisoner labor force play a valuable role in managing our forests and other community services, the facility rehabilitates prisoners through GED, higher education, apprentice programs, treatment programs, a hobby-craft charity program and a host of family-oriented programs/events.
In other words, prisoners at Larch are being held accountable, by and through prison officials making available the necessary tools and mechanics (a foundation) for a convicted criminal to survive in the community as a responsible (crime-free) citizen … ultimately creating change for the prisoner’s eventual release.
The time for change in saving Larch is at hand, and the collective voice of you — the public — is a moving force to be reckoned with. In fact, your voice is so powerful that, together, it can create a much-needed change, in the right direction, towards safer communities. How? By raising the low-level bar of accountability (currently being enjoyed in Olympia) one signature at a time — by and through formal citizenry petition.
Jerry M. Mullikin
Yacolt
Back to the future
Let’s regress to 70 years ago when just about every city had mass transit, trolleys were everywhere, oh what happy days. People lived in apartments and shopped and worked in town.
Then came Mr. Ford making mobility affordable for everyone. The auto gave us the means to move about and spread our wings and boy, did we. Highways, bridges and cities came from nowhere. Shopping and where you worked were no longer dependent on location. All of this was made possible by inexpensive fuel.
Everyone was happy, gasoline taxes paid for everything.
Now our leaders want us to go back to light rail, buses and bikes. Yikes. Bike/light-rail lanes on a new bridge are short-sighted. The majority of people will drive given the choice.
Let’s now look at the future. More than one manufacturer has produced electric cars that will go 100 miles on a single charge. Every auto company will soon build even longer-lasting charges. These cars will give us enough power for the average commute. So if the ride is green, and it should be with all those windmills, solar panels and maybe even nuclear options, why would we want to ride trolleys again?
If the bridge must be replaced, build it for the future, not the past.
Scott Dalesandro
Vancouver
Changing direction takes leadership
Jon Clyde’s Feb. 16 letter, “Changing course takes time,” tries to lay America’s economic problems on the Ronald Reagan era. I disagree and could build a good argument that the Lyndon Johnson administration’s actions of fighting the Vietnam War while spending on the Great Society are the root of today’s problems but I really don’t think any administration can take the blame.
Our problems have their roots in the aftermath of World War II when America was the only industrial nation left standing. By the time Europe and Japan had become fully competitive with America in the 1980s we had become complacent and uncompetitive and have been losing market share ever since.
Everyone likes to think that if we simply return to the policies of the 1950s and 1960s we will fix everything. I don’t think so. The world has changed and we need to change also.
I don’t see any actions planned by either Republicans or Democrats that will change the direction this supertanker is on.
Carl Price
Vancouver
We should give more of ourselves
My attention was caught by a Feb. 1 Newsweek article “Ask more of us, Mr. President.” Although generally supportive of President Obama and appreciative of the crushing problems he inherited, the author remarks, “It does not surprise me that we asked too much of him in his first year. What does surprise me is that Obama did not ask enough of us.”
As a child of the 1930s and 1940s, I remember how we responded to crises — first the Great Depression with 15 percent unemployment, then World War II. At the behest of our president, we made sacrifices. We did without and tightened our belts, we bought war bonds and we paid big taxes, but there was broad agreement that we had to give a lot of ourselves if we were going to get through it all.
This is the resolve we seem to have lost. As the author of the article, Louisa Thomas, observes, “like most politicians, (Obama) appears to assume that the public is incapable or unwilling to take on the challenges that real reform demands.” Sadly, “no politician wants to admit that real reform requires real sacrifice.”
When it comes to responsible citizenship, there’s no free lunch, and we shouldn’t pretend that there is.
David C. Duncombe
White Salmon
Make a safety check of your car
Just to take a breather from the political spectrum, I’ve observed that there sure are a lot of cars being driven with defective lights, whether it be headlights burnt out or tail/brake lights needing replacing.
If you’ve been tipping a few adult beverages, the police may stop you and tow your vehicle. Then, chances are the bulbs will be the least of your problems.
Glenn Alan Pierce
Battle Ground
