Letters To The Editor

WASHINGTON STATE

Parsimony by fiat - what nonsense

I read somewhere that in the land of the blind, a one- eyed man is king.

Well, King One-eyed Tim Eyman is certainly stretching his royal muscle. He’s not satisfied that his pet project will not only cost Washington’s citizens needed services, programs and, in many cases, their livelihood, but wants to make it impossible to effect recovery.

The sightless citizens who voted for Initiative 695 say there are plenty of funds in reserve to forestall the damage that is being done to the state. They say the “bloated bureaucracy” should take a hit. Well, that may not happen. The bloated bureaucrats are in control and if they would rather not lose their jobs, they probably won’t. It’s the firemen, police officers and other public servants who will feel the sting.

When I was a kid, my mother would tell me that if I did something she warned me not to do, I would be punished. If I did it anyway, I was most certainly punished.

State leaders told us over and over that if I-695 passed, the citizens would suffer. It did and we will.

I suggest Washington should pass an initiative forbidding movie theaters to charge admission. That way, we could see blockbuster movies for free! Makes about as much sense as I-695. Ed Meadows Spokane

Those who have get, right, Eyman?

Please, God, deliver me from “bottom-line yuppies” like Tim Eyman, who seem to be inheriting the Earth. His 10 Jan. guest column lists education, transportation and public safety as our state government’s top priorities.

Well, young fella, how about people as a top priority? Kids in poverty, elderly people without means, the handicapped, the disabled, the mentally ill, the abused and neglected, the working poor? They don’t fit on your bottom line, do they? Of course not, they’re only disadvantaged people. Who needs the state to waste resources helping them?

As long as you’ve got your very comfortable and secure life, as long as you’ve got yours, why should your ideal government be responsible for people? Sally Jackson Spokane

I want my money back

On Dec. 23, I bought my car license for $136 because it expired Dec. 31. I only have one car to drive, so I couldn’t park it and drive another. I try to be honest and legal at all times, but the way I read The Spokesman-Review, the police won’t give a ticket for expired December license until Jan. 14. The state owes me approximately $100. Ed Conant Veradale

Thanks to 695, I’m out $3.65

I previously paid $29.35 to license my 1979 Grand Prix for one year. With the passage of Initiative 695, my fee increased $3.65. I hope this helps with the 2.5 percent shortfall. Alice A. McDowell Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Unfettered capitalism aids freedom

Fred Glienna’s defense of big government (Street Level, Jan. 2) is certainly well timed. In this election year, no topic deserves more discussion than the proper role of government in our lives.

Government is every bit as prone to mistakes, malfeasance or selfish motives as the private sector is. In my mind, the greatest injustices of my lifetime were segregation and the Vietnam War. Both were created and stubbornly defended by government. Our most disastrous anti-poverty program was the old welfare system, which probably created more poverty than it eliminated. Welfare was a government program.

As for Glienna’s contention that “unchecked capitalism” always results in a huge income gap between the rich and the poor, I wonder where he’s looking. When I think of class-based societies and income gaps, I think of India, with its huge, powerful, democratically elected government. Or Third World countries where tiny elites are kept in power by powerful governments. None of these elites would survive for long in a capitalist system, where government doesn’t protect their status and productivity is the main determiner of success.

I suggest that a review of history will show that, with a few exceptions, the most prosperous and open societies are those where government’s role is limited to providing basic police functions and community goods such as roads, schools and public health. It’s the wide open world of free market capitalism, not government paternalism, that unleashes human creativity and creates prosperity and equality. L. Jim Shamp Cheney

New Deal president deserves honor

I agree with Don Barnes (Letters, Jan. 4) regarding man of the century designations. Yes, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in office from 1933 until his death in April 1945, deserves recognition above many others.

We Great Depression kids recall vividly our parents’ attempts to keep us fed and clothed. Roosevelt understood the problems and pressured his several legislative groups to enact many programs under the New Deal concept. The National Youth Administration helped me and some of my poor friends.

I worked in the office of the dean of women at our high school and junior college, and was also employed at the downtown Boy Scouts of America regional office, where I worked my free hours from college classes, as well as during the summer. These incomes were very small but I could purchase college textbooks and buy personal grooming items, a few clothes and give my mother cash for small household bills. I was also given a school cafeteria lunch card so I could have at least one hot meal each school day.

Some public disapproval existed regarding so-called giveaway programs, but young people on the receiving end saw it as a chance to gain work experience, complete their education and become responsible, taxpaying citizens. Our knowledge, our inborn work ethic and fierce patriotism enabled us to fight World War II and assist in returning our country’s free-enterprise system to peacetime manufacturing. Lillian O. Forster Spokane

More voices, choices needed

Here we go again. As in 1996, a small group of Republocrats are deciding which candidates are viable for the highest office in America. What could these entrenched beltway bandits be so afraid of? Recent polls show that 50 percent of all Americans want a major third choice in partisan elections.

The Reform Party has earned its place in the political landscape by electing a governor in the state of Minnesota. Prior to the debates in Minnesota, Jesse Ventura was polling at 10 percent, well below the 15 percent requirement just handed down by the presidential debate commission. We all know that Ventura went on to win.

Voters such as myself desire some contrast in the candidates who appear on the ballot. I desire a presidential candidate who’s not beholden to big-money interests or communist dictator-trade partners.

A free society cannot remain free if selected voices are excluded from the process. Steve Thompson Reform Party of Washington, Spokane

OVER THE LINE

BNSF plans more than safe enough

I have spent the last 12 years dealing with land use issues, and was taught from the beginning to always study in depth the issues which came before me. I was also taught that, whenever possible, I should personally visit the sites and question the issues before me.

I had the opportunity to do this in September, when Burlington Northern Santa Fe offered some community members the chance to visit its refueling facility in Commerce City, Calif. I was excited about those who took the opportunity but disappointed with those in opposition who didn’t avail themselves the chance to view firsthand what was being proposed in our area.

What an impressive facility. The safeguards are remarkable. The monitoring systems are unbelievable. And when the workers were questioned about possible problems, the backup safeguards were shown and explained to us. They were phenomenal.

The construction of the Hauser facility exceeds the standards of construction of the facility that I viewed in Commerce City. It also exceeds federal, state and local requirements.

BNSF’s studies and its contractors will provide a safe, beneficial refueling facility. I also feel that our precious aquifer will be preserved for myself, my children and their children. Chris Copstead Coeur d’Alene