Consider the 1 percent

I agree with some of Joe Kelly’s points (The Safety Valve, Nov. 13), but:

1. Occupy Wall Street’s “successes” are mostly being identified with depravity, violence, thefts, rapes, public copulation and defecation, killing, drugs, anti-Semitism and communists.

2. Stockholders, not board members or government, should determine CEO compensation.

3. Any “banksters” or Wall Street investors should be persecuted if they broke any laws, along with those congressmen who aggressively promoted the issuance of those subprime “liar” loans by the banks (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and others) to those who could never pay them back. That led to those toxic investments and the financial collapse of 2008.

The boiling-over pot could very well be a different pot than that which Esther McAmis is considering (The Safety Valve, Nov. 6):

The temperature of taxpayers is indeed rising when we see all the wasteful spending and the current attempts to redistribute wealth from those who work to create and earn it to those who do not. When the average taxpayer discovers the cost of the new health care law through new taxes and cuts in Medicare, and rising healthcare costs resulting from a plethora of new regulations on providers, there will be anger brewing.

The facts: The 99 percent represent annual incomes less than $337,000. Of those, a minority have had their incomes and health care security yanked, but many seniors soon may after ObamaCare fully kicks in. The 1 percent includes a minority of CEOs, hedge fund managers, etc., that get those obscenely large compensations. That majority are small businesses and investors who finance small business startups and expansion. While there should be an end to special tax breaks for the “super rich,” if we want sustainable job creation in the private sector, the majority of the 1 percent should get relief for excessive taxation and stifling government regulations.

Mike Campbell

Chelan

They don’t care

The problem we have in my country today is there is no true leadership in Washington, D.C. No leadership in Olympia, either. Things just get worse each day.

It is time to end the fiasco in Afghanistan — going on probably forever. Bring our heroes home.

Also, it’s not a picnic for over 40 million Americans in poverty and more are added every day.

But our leaders don’t care about these people or the men and women in the military. All the politicians think of are ways to fill their bankrolls. And what about our infamous president? Instead of his hot air speeches and campaign traveling he should be doing something for this country. But he doesn’t care, either.

God help us all.

William F. Ervin

Wenatchee

Common sense uncommon

It is sad for me to see that the American go-for-it spirit is fading and that part of the reason for it is a ridiculous power game being played by small-minded bureaucrats with too much influence and too little common sense.

As taxpayers, we are paying for government employees who are making it more difficult to run a business or to operate a farm. Small business owners are inundated with rules and fees that are nearly taking away the incentive for being in business. We are moving away from the American we-can-do-it spirit to an economic system that never did the east bloc any good.

If fruit growers are required to fill out paperwork to prove to somebody, somewhere, that pets are not doing their “business” in the orchards, then we are tying the farmers hands and wasting their time. If these butt-head restrictions are only applied to domestic growers and not to growers in countries we are importing from, then we are simply preventing our farmers from having a chance.

We cannot afford to spend our tax money on people who do not understand the value of entrepreneurship and free enterprise. This is America after all.

Frants Holm-Nielsen

Chelan

No tax hike

I just heard that the governor is asking her Legislature to increase the state sales tax. They say it will pass the Legislature and go to the voters for a vote. The problem is this: Why is it all she ever considers is to raise taxe? All this governor has done is raise our taxes. There is still plenty of wasteful spending to cut out of her budget. She needs to stop pandering to her union friends and start listening to the people. We don’t want new taxes. Why is it that politicians can’t see that we are in a recession, unemployment is still at record highs and we continue to see increased inflation costs? Our food, our gas, our clothes, even our electricity is costing us more and more but what is her idea of coping with the budget problems that she got us into? She wants to raise our sales tax. This is unacceptable in my book. I can’t wait for her to leave office and I ask that everyone who reads this to replace her party when it comes to electing our next governor.

Nickolas Riker

Wenatchee

Celebrating death

In a recent edition you once again show a young woman having shot an animal. It does not impress me and trust me, I’m pretty easy to impress.

You seem to forget that probably the majority of your readers are more saddened by that picture. I would rather see this lovely young woman doing just about anything other than killing creatures — volunteering, supporting orphans overseas, working on her badges for Girl Scouts, Camp Fire or doing scenery for the local plays. All of these things would impress me far more than posing with a once-vibrant innocent animal, going about its business, that now is dead.

How are we ever going to evolve if you keep celebrating the taking of lives? Sheesh.

Judy Brezina

Carlton

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