School voucher system would favor the rich
To the editor:
Let me see if I understand how school vouchers would work. The program would award a certain percentage of the state's per-pupil funding to students who want to go to a private school. The percentage would be based on how close to the poverty line the family of the student is. High-income families would be eligible for 50 percent of the per-pupil funding. No families would be ineligible for the vouchers.
That means that as someone who is retired and on a fixed income, the taxes my husband and I pay gladly to finance the public school system will now be going to those at the top of the pay scale as a subsidy to put their children in a private school.
I can hear the governor now as he tries to lure in all those companies he's going to bring to Nevada. "No need to worry about our underfunded public schools. We will be taking the money from them and giving it to you and your employees to put your children in a private school."
I have a real problem with this. I am not paying taxes to help those with the highest incomes school their children. There should be a cap on how high the income is for those who want this voucher system. Otherwise we are taking from the poor and giving to the rich.
Makes no sense to me.
Sandra E. Thomas
Las Vegas
Tax levy
To the editor:
I just received a reply from the Clark County Assessor's Office to my contested property tax levy. Their final offer is a 10 percent increase over last year, instead of the original 20 percent. What planet do these people live on?
Every study shows that property values in Las Vegas are still declining. In addition to that, the area where the property is located has, over the past few years, become so crime infested that the police have given up on it.
Obviously the assessor doesn't need a reason to overtax us -- just a mighty pen.
HANS BOHN
LAS VEGAS
Brothel debate
To the editor:
Wow. All seven letter writers on the Feb. 25 Opinion page ("At least with hookers you know what you are getting") dealt with the subject of prostitution and argued that Sen. Harry Reid fell out of his tree. I have rarely seen this in the Review-Journal, so you must have received many, many letters disagreeing with Sen. Reid's proposal to do away with brothels in Nevada.
Congratulations to the writers. A fine showing and great remarks.
Al ciricillo
las vegas
Hiding Democrats
To the editor:
I had to laugh at the Feb. 20 column by John Brummett in which he and 80 senior Democrats were having trouble defining themselves.
Let me make it easy for all these Democrats who had no clue what to write on their little cards.The word that sums up a Democrat best is: "coward."
Look at the Democrats from Wisconsin and now from Indiana who are hiding out in Illinois, shirking their voting responsibilities. Yes, "coward" sums up a Democrat just fine.
charles adams
las vegas
Shared pain
To the editor:
As part of the debate over the household income of a state worker protesting a 5 percent salary reduction (Saturday editorial, "Struggling just to get by"), I would like to add this:
It is true that $165,000 a year is a nice household income -- and we support reducing that by 5 percent. But why, then, are we so opposed to reducing the adjusted household incomes of those who make $250,000 by 4 percent?
Reducing state workers' income by 5 percent will arguably save the state $400 million by 2014. Simply allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire would benefit the federal deficit by $700 billion. So I am appalled that some feel only a few people should feel the pain to balance budgets.
I am sure that if you feel a household making a combined income of $165,000 per year can take a 5 percent sacrifice, you must certainly agree that a household with an adjusted gross income of $250,000 could sacrifice 4 percent.
Sam Sainsbury
Las Vegas
Insurance costs
To the editor:
Surely I misread the news article that stated Assemblyman William Horne chose to forgo additional insurance and suffered as a result of his choice ("Bill: Raise minimum levels," Wednesday Review-Journal).
Assemblyman Horne, proposing Assembly Bill 120, now wants to tax and punish the rest of Nevada, already flattened by the lack of jobs, plummeting property values, rising prices on gasoline and everything else, forcing them to buy ever more government-mandated auto insurance.
It's a shame we can't furlough the Legislature and keep the teachers.
Cathy Chapman
Las Vegas
Fighting fire?
To the editor:
We are constantly told how firefighters are essential to our community. I have lived in Las Vegas for 18 years and only one home in my neighborhood has ever been on fire -- and that was started by Metro police.
Do we consider the firefighters essential for their paramedic abilities? Then why does the county contract with ambulance companies?
How many fires does a typical station respond to in the course of a year? Is it every night, week or month?
If their base pay averages $54,000 a year, how can they honestly claim salaries that are double that and not expect their employers (taxpayers) to get upset when this is brought to light?
Robert McEntee
Las Vegas
