Traverse City Record-Eagle

Your Views

May 14, 2012

Letters to the Editor: 05/14/2012

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Will take care of itself

How many more years is it going to take Washington to get this unemployment under 8 percent?

A while ago, I wrote the White House, our two senators and a few of our representatives. I said Oregon and New Jersey do not allow you to pump your own gas. Let's do that for all 50 states.

So gas has to go up a dime a gallon.

Let the Feds drop the federal sales tax a dime so the price would be neutral to the consumer. The Feds would pick up a dime or so because of the payroll taxes that these new hires would generate.

Assume 20 thousand new jobs per state and you have just about a million people off the unemployment rolls and paying taxes. I got no response from anyone. Wash your windshield? Check your tire pressure? Menial jobs?

Wouldn't this compare to a dishwasher in a restaurant, someone sweeping floors in a school or someone stocking shelves in a supermarket?

The president keeps saying that businesses should hire more. Business says we have no one to sell our products to. Put people to work and it will all take care of itself.

Ed Fries

Honor

Process should be fair

On May 5, at 12:30 p.m., 17 of us Benzie Democrats had a rally in front of the Secretary of State's office in Honor. Many of us worked hard on the emergency manager's petition, and we demand that the issue be on the November ballot, for the people to decide one way or the other.

Bureaucracy should not trump democracy. People of all political parties should demand that the process be fair and not "tricky" as in font size. You'd expect it in Iran or Cuba, but not here.

David Green

Honor

Democracy in action?

In the April 27 Record-Eagle, the article "Board keeps emergency manager law off ballot" is sure to stir up controversy.

It should be re-titled "Emergency manager law recall thwarted by special interests." The article goes on to say how the "will of the people" was circumvented by two members of the state board of canvassers. The effort was thwarted by two members of the four-member panel with obvious Republican ties; one member of the board in particular, Jeff Timmer, works at the consulting firm that is challenging the validity of the petitions because of the type size?

Can you say a "conflict of interest?" Can you say partisan manipulation? It's obvious that this is not in the best interests of the powers currently in power in Lansing. So, we can see where Mr. Timmer's motivation comes from.

Is this democracy in action? I certainly hope not.

Todd Seguin

Traverse City

Frightening first step

I totally agree with the Record-Eagle's May 6 editorial "Is second-hand smoke price of Father Fred donations?" This amendment by Sen. Walker is not only irresponsible but could be a frightening first step by politicians to chip away at the smoking ban that is so necessary for our public health.

Margo Hodder

Petoskey

Men should know signs

I appreciated the May 5 article, "Breast cancer rare in men, but they tend to fare worst".

As a social worker with more than 20 years working in home health care I have worked with male patients with breast cancer.

It is often a terminal diagnoses for men. Please provide your male readers with the signs and symptoms of breast cancer in men and, as with women, the importance of early diagnoses and treatment.

Men most likely do not know, and may be embarrassed to ask, how to perform a self-examination, are surprised to learn of breast cancer in men, and to ask about any other signs that may be unique their gender.

James G. Howard

Traverse City

The writer holds a Master of Social Work degree and is a retired licensed master social worker

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