May 4, 2011 Letters to the Editor:

Why kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?

 Every year corporate fraud, alone, costs the government hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. Instead of going after white collar crooks, the regressive Republicans want to blame teachers who negotiated a couple of extras bucks of income for the housing industry’s financial fraud? Why are we allowing blockheads who vote against their own interests to tell us that government waste is the big problem, when the oil companies are making record profits and demanding to be subsidized? Consumers—we the people–account for three-quarters of GDP. The idiots with tea bags dangling off their hats want to cut billions in income from the middle class and give it to the Republicans. Instead of using the money reduce the deficit; the Republicans want to give billions in tax breaks to corporations. Meanwhile U.S. business is holding trillions in record profits, demanding, Bush II-no rules economy and even lower taxes or they won’t hire more workers? The middle class made America the greatest country in the world. No entrepreneur, no financial wizard, no ingenious inventor ever made a dime for America without workers.  The middle class makes the products and then buys what they make. That’s the power of America and that alone is why we are the envy of the world. The middle class is America’s goose that lays golden eggs.  Why in the world do the regressive Republicans want to kill the middle class and take America back to the time when she was a second rate nation? Richard M. Dorsey, Hacienda Heights, CA

April 29, 2011 Letters to the Editor:

Lowering Health Care Costs

 Privatizing health care will raise costs.  Free markets keep profits up, not costs down. Privatizing health care increases costs because it is based on greed. Republicans complain that consumers don’t pay attention to costs they don’t pay for.  What they mean is consumers need to feel the pain for greed to succeed. Their solution is to put the burden on those who can least afford it. Republicans know the poor will avoid going to the doctor if the money comes out of their pocket.  The rich do not have this problem.  Republicans complain that seniors are going to break the government with end of life extension medical care.  The rich do not have that problem either. Instead of putting the fox in the hen house, we should reduce the causes of high-cost health care. There is nothing wrong with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that health reform will not cure. But Republicans don’t want to reform. Reform limits profits. They want tax monies, instead, to go to business. To avoid losing profits, Republicans demonize health care reform as socialism.  Jesus Christ would have called health reform a Christian value. Richard Dorsey, Hacienda Heights, CA

April 22, 2011 Letters to the Editor:

We don’t have a spending problem; we have a collecting problem.

 Taxes are how free people pay for government. No taxes is anarchy, low tax is poverty, and too little taxes is an unlocked door for corporate robbery. In a free society, taxes are not a burden; they are an obligation. Not to mention they cost money. If you don’t want service, you are free to go elsewhere.  Taxes are lower in Russia, China, throughout the Asia and Middle East, Africa and South and Central America. Spending is necessary for a high standard of living, but  spending isn’t the problem, collecting revenue is. Corporate tax rate has been steadily lowered from 95% in the 1950s to 35% today. But no corporation pays the rate. After thousands of lawyers find loopholes, accountants find allowances and deductions, crooks offer offshore tax dodges, and CEOs flat out refuse to pay fines, royalties and loans, corporations pay an average 12%. Despite the fact that Republicans have raised taxes on the middle class and repeatedly lowered taxes for the wealthy, rates for the middle class have also gone down. Individuals pay the most taxes when you add up income and sales, meanwhile some corporations pay no taxes at all. Despite the sheep that bleat for lower taxes who really want government services only for themselves. Despite propaganda spouting nonsense about the government devouring your check. Despite the spending of millions of tax dollars on bogus organizations to elect officials that would rather government fail. We don’t have a spending problem.  If everyone paid their fair share, we could afford to be a truly Christian nation. Richard M. Dorsey, Hacienda Heights, CA