Traverse City Record-Eagle

Archive: Thursday

April 5, 2012

Letters to the Editor: 04/05/2012

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We need peace

In my opinion, there is a sense of greed in the Porterhouse Productions proposals. The good this organization has done is to be commended; however, enough already. We do not need another festival eating up our community.

We need space for living. We need peace. We need a place where we can breathe easily and think clearly. Festivals invade on our most precious of assets, which is time to enjoy the simple and natural beauty that surrounds us.

We do not need, nor do we desire, more action, more noise, more festivities. We need space to make our own festival of the mind, and of the heart.

We need time alone to enjoy our community by ourselves for a change. In my opinion, Porterhouse Productions needs to be reined in from overloading us with more, more, more. Stop it, please.

Nancy Griesinger

Traverse City

Quit, find another job

On March 30 the Record-Eagle published a letter from a member of the Traverse City Education Association about the teacher's retirement and how bad it was getting for them. I was thinking about this, and this is my outlook on it.

Dividing a salary of $35,000 by 180 days of work is $194 a day; $40,000 by 180 is $222; $50,000 by 180 is $277; that's if someone works 180 days. This is also paid on snow days and sick days — not a bad deal in northern Michigan. I suppose if one wanted to serve the public and not worry about a school pension they could join law enforcement, hospital work, firefighting or retail work.

Remember, those workers work about 250 days a year; they work nights and Saturday and Sunday. They work Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July. There's no spring vacation. This is America, and it's a free country. I and many others have served to make it that way. You can quit and find another job any time you want.

Bob Walters

Cadillac

Why we don't trust

In the April 2 Record-Eagle the Cherryland Mall story was published.

It tells of politicians writing sweetheart deals for other politicians' families (and other developers).

Involved is the head of the state Republican party, and one of the authors of the bill is a lawyer for the developer who stands to gain, or not lose, a lot of money.

So, why did we have a financial system meltdown, does anyone remember?

The rest of us are asked to start paying taxes on our pensions, pay an additional $100 for our license plates, schools must cut back, and now teachers will have to start paying for a pension already promised to them.

It's no wonder a recent study says that "we the people" do not trust politicians.

Todd Seguin

Traverse City

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