ABQJOURNAL OPINION/LETTERS: Letters to the Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Friday, October 01, 2010

Letters to the Editor

          Record Shows No Reason For Working Class To Vote GOP Republican
        MY FATHER WAS the only working-class member of the town meeting —the form of government — in the wealthy suburb of Boston where I grew up.
        Whenever an issue was being debated, my father always asked the question, "What does it do for working people?"
        At the time I thought it was a little too simplistic, but as I grew older I realized it is the most important question to be asked.
        Given that, I ask: Why would any working person vote Republican?
        Here is their recent record:
        In the debate over "cap and trade," they came down on the side of the oil industry.
        In the debate over health care reform, they came down on the side of the health insurance industry.
        In the debate over credit card reform, they came down on the side of credit card companies.
        In the debate over financial reform, they came down on the side of large banks and other large financial institutions that came close to destroying our economy.
        In the debate over student loans, they came down on the side of financial institutions that were taking a "house cut" off every loan.
        In the debate over repealing the Bush tax cut for those making over $250,000, they come down on the side of the rich.
        Is there any question about who represents the interests of the rich and powerful and disregards the interests of working people?
        RICHARD MASON
        Rio Rancho
        Let's Work To Pass the Office Of Peace Act in Next Legislature
        REFERRING TO "Money for Peace" (Sept. 22), while we may not have gotten financial support from Norway for a Center for Peace Studies, we do have a Peace Studies program at the University of New Mexico.
        They and many organizations support the Office of Peace Act which will be re-introduced in the 2011 legislative session sponsored by Jerry Ortiz y Pino.
        The House passed the Office of Peace Act in 2005 and with citizen support it will go through the committee process and come to a vote in both houses. It is not too early to let our senators and representatives know we want the Office of Peace Act to be passed.
        Peace education in the schools has already begun and is very popular with the students.
        MARION SEYMOUR
        Santa Fe
        Small Gains Indicate Stimulus Is Working, So Pass 4 Money Bills
        THE ALBUQUERQUE Journal Business section recently included an interesting article headlined with "Wall Street Enjoys 4 Days of Gains" which should have been of particular interest to all citizens of our great United States.
        The strong start in the stock market in September marked a turnaround from a miserable performance in August. The Labor Department reported that private employers added 67,000 jobs in August, more than the 41,000 which economists had forecast.
        The report also indicated more that 500,000 Americans resumed their job searches in August, which could be a sign that more of our citizens are hopeful about the recovery.
        Economists and other students who have followed business trends and federal income tax changes indicated confidence in the efforts to date by the Obama administration to stimulate our business groups.
        Perhaps it has been noted by most fellow-citizens that daily news programs do not remind us that the Obama administration inherited from the George W. Bush group the highest national debt in our history. Commentators on TV and in the press fail to point out that the Obama national debt includes that left by the Bush administration.
        I am reminded that a national news article on Feb. 22, 1993, had a headline stating "Clinton's fast on the way to one lousy term." Fortunately that column was disproven by President Clinton, whose first term included reduction in the national debt and his last four years included surpluses, not debt!
        We understand that there are three or four major bills supported by President Obama and awaiting approval by the U.S. Senate. These bills would increase the stimulus projected by the president.
        Hopefully the leadership in Congress will join in approving this legislation and contribute to the expanding stimulation.
        CARROLL CANNOLES
        Albuquerque

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