Time to end the madness
Sandra Simmons (Letters, July 25) likes Obama and the Democrats because they insulated pipes and installed a new water heater. A lot of people have gotten home credits and car credits. Do they think this money fell out of the sky, and won’t have to be repaid?
Obama and the Democrats want us all to be dependent on them and give them complete control over our lives. Example: massive government health takeover, finance takeover and unlimited unemployment benefits but no jobs.
The Republicans have made their share of mistakes, but this fall’s election will be our best hope to stop this country from becoming a socialistic country, cut government expansion, cut government spending, and put our country back on solid footing.
When you vote this fall think of how the country was 10 years ago, where it is presently heading and vote Republican to stop this madness.
Art Bradley
Nine Mile Falls
If Jan Quintrall is the best example of “Better Business” that Spokane has to offer, then it’s no wonder Spokane has trouble doing business. According to Jan’s Aug. 8 article, worker “attitudes” and economic “growth” dictate her decisions about “downsizing existing employees,” and she seems to expect Spokane to smile and be happy about her hierarchical criteria.
Meanwhile, the rest of our nation is maturing to realize that unemployment is not the best response to financial hoarding, and that economic growth is the greatest contributor to environmental degradation. To cope with recession, many companies throughout the United States are cutting hours instead of workers. Operated through the regular unemployment insurance system, state-based work-sharing programs provide a more humane approach to “downsizing.” Employees whose hours are reduced in order to save jobs at their company claim unemployment benefits, retaining typically half of their lost wages.
Work-sharing isn’t complicated. But neither is arbitrarily firing people and forcing others to work overtime to maximize shareholder value. There are plenty of alternatives, including democratic reorganization of the workplace and the establishment of a basic income guarantee for every American citizen regardless of employment status. As Jan suggests, it’s all a matter of “perspective.”
David Kendall
Spokane Valley