Letters To The Editor

WASHINGTON STATE

Right terminology vital to argument

John M. Hardin (Letters, Dec. 29) states, “the voters’ mandate to eliminate the regressive tax imposed when registering a motor vehicle in Washington.” In truth, voters removed a progressive tax, one where amount charged is linked to ability to pay, and replaced it with a regressive tax, one which hits the poorer taxpayers as hard or, in percentage of income terms, harder than it does their wealthier compatriots. For comparison, federal income tax is progressive, the Washington state sales tax is regressive.

It’s important that we use such terms correctly, not just grab at the one that seems more pejorative and bend it to appear to support our arguments.

David H. Tiffany Cheney

Cut the waste and we’re OK

I’m puzzled. Which state agency has had a drop in caseload of 31 percent in the last three years, yet now employs 6 percent more people? And what agency budget grew from $4.8 billion to $5.6 billion in that same period?

Now, if we left the Department of Social and Health Services (oops, I gave away the answer to the puzzle) with the same amount of money it had before the 31 percent drop, or $4.8 billion, that would be a saving to the state of $800 million per biennium which, wonder of wonders, is exactly the amount the naysayers tell us we need to cover the Initiative 695 situation.

I suggest your readers look up www.wips.org and read “25 commonsense ways to implement Initiative 695.” The above is just one way this can and should be done.

Our Legislature now has the opportunity, the privilege and the responsibility to right the ship of state without doing damage to the people who pay the bills. As one West Side representative said recently, “If we (the state) cut out the foolish, wasteful spending, the passage of I-695 would pose no financial problems for the state.” H. Duane Brown Spokane

De-icing activities not wasteful

Re: “I-695 a wake-up call for officials”

Let me get this straight. Rhonda Esco (Letters, Dec. 29) is proud to have voted for Initiative 695 because she sees an apparent misuse of de-icer chemical on the road, and that’s her idea of an absurd waste of taxpayers’ money. If she is looking for waste, she’s not going to see it out in front of her; just the opposite is true. It’s hidden in the shadows, far, far away.

If you think any of us throw out de-icer just for the fun of it, with nothing better to do, please get a clue. We are professionals with a direct responsibility to areas that we are familiar with to give taxpayers round-the-clock protection. We know where frost usually develops and when; where high-maintenance corners, curves and hills are. This is called preventive maintenance. I guess that under her management style, we’d wait until there was an accident or a fatality and then apply it.

We don’t operate that way. De-icer is very cheap insurance. Ed Ellenz Spokane

State finances mismanaged

Three points need to be made on Initiative 695.

1. The more I see what my auto excise tax was paying for, the angrier I get. Why were so many things being paid by that tax? They included police, fire, nurses, bus service, libraries and others. Because the tax supported all of these services, it should have been gotten rid of a long time ago, but there is an absolute guarantee that the politicians would never have done anything about it.

2. I-695 is now the law. All of the whining in the world will not change that. Let’s quit wasting so much time and energy whining about it and get on with life. We need to learn to live with it. The Legislature will make most of the adjustments needed in the 2000 session. Let’s give them a chance to do their job.

3. A number of people say that I-695 is a law for rich people. That is a ridiculous statement. I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination and my tags were costing over $300 per year. One of the results of the high cost of this tax is that many people could not afford to own reliable, safe transportation. Maybe now they can afford to junk those cars and buy something that makes driving safer for all of us. Jacob R. Hoirup Cheney

Poor will pay for luxury ride

As the fallout starts from Initiative 695 and services to the neediest of the needy are slashed, I hear more and more people who voted for I-695 comment “Oh well” in regards to the layoffs and the social services cut. They seem to want to deny the implications of a vote that lowers license tabs for people who drive luxury cars and trucks and cuts public health funds for women and children. In a democracy, it’s imperative that citizens educate themselves about ballot issues.

Regarding I-695, it’s clear some voters were dazzled by the lure of cheap license tabs and did not read the fine print. There is a human cost to I-695 that in effect punishes the poor and needy. Those individuals who wanted to send a message to Olympia about lowering taxes instead have sent a message to the disenfranchised that says, “Oh well.”

No political leader will be punished or turned out of office because of I-695. Instead, the populations of people who already are being punished because of their race, age, disabilities and economic status will continue to suffer more.

As Washington voters begin to pay $30 for their license tabs, I hope they will remember that some people will have an even lower standard of living because of I-695 passing.

Oh well - happy motoring. Robert Stirling, MSW Colbert

OVER THE LINE

Locke has got it right; support him

I commend Gov. Gary Locke on the stance he has taken in opposing the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway’s proposed fuel depot. As a citizen of Washington, I am concerned about this proposed depot over the aquifer for several reasons:

Nearly half a million people drink the water from the aquifer that flows out of Idaho into Washington. It is a unique source of drinking water and it needs our protection.

BNSF’s record of incidents and accidents is not spotless. Ground water pollution can often be a result of these accidents.

Profits should not come before public health concerns.

I do not oppose the railroad or its need for a refueling depot. I just believe there are other, safer, more environmentally correct alternatives to the proposed site.

Locke should be supported in his efforts to protect this region’s drinking water. This matter involves protecting the health of current and future generations, as well as the health of our environment and its unique, irreplaceable resources. Dawn L. Saari Spokane

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

`Rabid consumption’ a blight

Re: “In 21st century, we’ll need help consuming” by editor Chris Peck, Dec. 26 (Perspective):

Despite what corporate shill Peck and one of his business masters, Bill Williams of Telect, would like us to believe, rampant and excessive consumerism is not the path to nirvana. Our society’s penchant for consuming unnecessary and increasingly disposable products has led the entire world to the brink of economic and environmental catastrophe.

Rather than continue this rabid consumption with its corresponding depletion of nonrenewable natural resources, the United States needs to assume the leadership role and demonstrate that peaceful and productive lives can be led without destroying the Earth in the process.

The United States has terrorists sneaking across its borders because it exports Coca-Cola and “Baywatch” rather than food and medicine. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Margaret E. Koivula Spokane

AIDS is not a `gay’ disease

Jack Terry’s letter supporting the ban on gays in the military because they are “at high risk for AIDS” is a sad testament to the ignorance that still persists about the disease. AIDS is not a “gay” disease. It is a virus transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids. Heterosexuals and homosexuals are equally at risk if they engage in unsafe sex.

From the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the people who have been infected with the virus around the world have been predominantly heterosexual. It is true that in this country the gay community was among the first and hardest hit, but gays led the battle against the disease through grass roots education and fund raising efforts, in stark contrast to eight years of silence from the Reagan administration. As a result, by the end of the 1980s, new AIDS cases among gays were on the decline while dramatically increasing among heterosexuals.

Unlike the military, AIDS does not discriminate. Ignoring this fact has already killed tens of thousands of people who thought they were immune to the disease. It is both disheartening and maddening that after two decades of dealing with AIDS there is still such a level of ignorance about the disease, and that it is still being mistakenly used by some as justification for continuing discrimination. Charlie Creasy Spokane

Letter was just so much gay-bashing

The newspaper’s letters section often is the most thought-provoking and even though I often want to jump into the fray, I try to let others’ letters stand on their own.

However, I cannot let Jack G. Terry’s letter of Dec. 30 go unchallenged.

First, there is no evidence, or even credible suggestion, that gays in the military have a higher rate of AIDS than heterosexuals. If one is truly concerned about serving beside someone who may have contacted AIDS (as opposed to someone who is simply gay), one should put much more effort toward stopping IV drug use and sex with prostitutes.

Second, any cost of treating AIDS patients is an infinitesimal part of the military’s medical budget and is so small when compared with the entire military budget that it has virtually no impact.

Third, to suggest that gays are President Clinton’s “main supporters” is like saying the Log Cabin Society (an organization of gays that supports the conservative Republican agenda) is the driving force behind the Republican Party. The fact is, gay men and women function in all aspects of this nation, which is as it should be.

Terry passed quickly over the “social and moral reasons” but that is where the real battle is. I invite him to give his real reasons why gays cannot be part of the “warrior lifestyle.” Jerry Shriner Coeur d’Alene

APPRECIATION

Thanks for preventing Y2K crises

A hearty thank-you to Avista for no interruption of my power or natural gas; to US West for keeping my dial tone steady; to the city for no problems with my water supply; to the TV networks and local stations for keeping the great pictures of the 2000 celebration loud and clear; to the U.S. government, US West and financial institutions for processing my Social Security and retirement checks on schedule; and to the U.S. Postal Service - it delivered my bills today as I knew it would.

If I missed anybody, I apologize. The time, effort and money all of you spent to make sure Y2K was covered is certainly appreciated. Wm. J. Hiatt Spokane

Laurels for PBS

I thank the Public Broadcasting Service for terrific coverage of the millennium’s passage around the world. It was a great program of music, dance and sightseeing and a geography lesson of islands and country locations.

I also thank the computer industry, government and most of the media for creating a great fireworks display (Y2K meltdown) that went pfffffft. Fred E. Reis Liberty Lake

OTHER TOPICS

Cartoon strip sends bad message

It is disheartening to see another amoral episode of “The Simpsons” depicting more violence, this time in a nursing home/asylum.

At a time when Americans are living longer and are thus more subject to the frailties of age, compassion and understanding by our youths would comfort everyone. Instead, your persistent inclusion of this strip, despite several eloquent letters of protest, again gives children wrong messages. You are not “defending the interests of children,” according to your mission statement in the same edition.

Are the examples of school shootings and elder abuse lost on the editor for cartoons? Reed R. Lockwood, M.D. Spokane

Cartoon not a bad influence

Re: recent letters (Dec. 29) condemning “The Simpsons” comic strip:

I bet the Spokesman-Review readers who complained about “The Simpsons” comic strip have never seen “The Simpsons” television show, on which the “Itchy and Scratchy” show occasionally appears. Matt Groening, while not the best cartoonist, is certainly one of the best satirists on television today. His “Itchy and Scratchy” characters are an absurd, over-the-top representation of violence in cartoons, from the typical anvil falling on characters’ heads, to Popeye beating up Bluto, to the current craze, Pokemon monsters. These shows are seen by kids all over the world. While Pokemon has no blood, it’s at least as violent as “Itchy and Scratchy” and it’s not funny.

I watch “The Simpsons” faithfully with my family. After watching it, I don’t feel the least bit influenced to cut a fellow classmate’s head off with a pair of scissors. Children are not as impressionable as some make us out to be.

Lighten up! It may not be for everyone’s taste but it’s just a comic strip. Alice Hale, age 14 Greenacres

In-it-together notions wrong

Fred Glienna in his “Street Level” column on Jan. 2 ridicules what he calls “the myth of the free-standing, self-made, self-reliant individual.”

The classical conservative doctrine of the sovereign individual has nothing to do with personal isolationism or a survival-of-the-fittest Darwinism, as Glienna would have you believe. Common sense reveals that we are born as self-rulers; every individual is the complete master of his or her own will and life energy. In a civilized society where it is recognized that all men are created equal, each self-owning individual has the right to choose his or her own peaceful path through life. The real question is whether the brotherhood of man is voluntary or managed by the coercive force of government.

Glienna states that without “a strong, centralized government … capitalism is a riotous triumph for only a select few.” This Marxist dogma is unsupported and revisionist history. Unregulated, untaxed, early America boasted an unprecedented middle class. He pads the very arguable “accomplishments” of government, conveniently forgetting government failures such as slavery, Jim Crow, Japanese-American internment and the radiation and syphilis experiments also prominent on the resume.

Collectivists like Glienna try to persuade you to surrender your individuality to government for the good of the “community” (as interpreted by some selfless lawyer-politician, of course), and they predictably attempt to inspire this with class envy and hate of business initiative. They favor the callous force of a government gun, instead of social tolerance and the voluntary exchange of a free market. Greg D. Holmes Spangle