LETTERS: Unlike Clinton, CEOs add to economy

To the editor:

Hillary Clinton is now attacking the high salaries of corporate executive officers (“Clinton takes swipe at CEO pay,” April 14 Review-Journal). These people run companies that actually produce things that add to the gross national product of the U.S. — goods, services, etc.

On the other hand, Mrs. Clinton charges $300,000 for a one-hour speech (as does her husband) that is often purely political and in any event contributes nothing to the economy (except that of the Clinton family). She really has a lot of gall criticizing the high salaries of CEOs, and then charging such fees for a speaking engagement.

Her “salary” for a year, assuming one speech a week, would be $15.6 million, just for talking. Wow! This is probably the first example of the class warfare we can expect from the Clinton campaign for president. This attack is also typical of the hypocrisy of the Clintons —- do as I say, not as I do.

WALTER F. WEGST

LAS VEGAS

Guardianship reform

To the editor:

Three bills to reform guardianship are pending before the Legislature (“New hope rises for guardian reform,” April 13 Review-Journal). These bills will do little to improve the situation. The law already requires that all guardians submit a yearly inventory of the ward’s estate and expenditures, and the law requires the court to review these inventories every year.

But the courts do not have the funds or personnel to do this, so the inventories are reviewed about once every five years. The state Legislature does not provide sufficient funding to enforce the laws already on the books, so there is no reason to think the Legislature will fund enforcement of new administrative requirements on guardians. Professional guardians can be a problem, but many guardians — and perhaps most — are not professionals; they are family members of the wards who need to hire attorneys and accountants to compile and file the yearly inventories.

Legal and accounting fees are quite large and can deplete a ward’s estate just as quickly as a thieving guardian. And, of course, some private guardians are thieves, too.

The system needs to be changed. The Legislature should establish or authorize a nonprofit organization to serve as guardian of the estate of all wards in Nevada; a family member could serve as the guardian of the person of the ward. This would eliminate the theft or depletion of the wards’ estates, and it would be much easier and cheaper to monitor one entity than thousands of individual guardians.

JOSEPH F. BOETCHER

LAS VEGAS

Remembering Gary Gray

To the editor:

I was greatly saddened to read of the tragic death of an old acquaintance of mine, Gary Gray (“Gray, 69, husband of Giunchigliani, killed in car crash,” April 10 Review-Journal). I first met Mr. Gray in 1980. He was an English teacher and I was the librarian at Roy Martin Junior High School. We often ate lunch together, and I still remember the joy he felt when his students were able to understand the poems of Robert Frost.

But what I remember most about Mr. Gray was his enthusiasm, drive and commitment to increase education funding. He worked constantly to organize and motivate teachers to get involved in politics. The old Clark County Classroom Teachers Association, of which Mr. Gray served as president, worked for candidates who supported education. Members made and distributed yard signs, walked precincts, organized campaigns and got out the vote.

These efforts paid off: Nevada ranked 25th in the nation in education funding back then, not dead last, as it does now. Mr. Gray fought many battles against the school district administration over teachers’ rights and pay, and he often won. After he left the school district, the political power of the teachers slowly eroded away, as did many of the benefits he won for them. His leadership and drive have been sorely missed.

BOB MUELLER

LAS VEGAS