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In response to “Council still split on budget” (June 15) and related articles:
Foxx, Walton budget plan would make strong economy a reality
The second most important function of government after safety and security is to help balance the economic cycle.
When times are good the government should stay out of the way, let the bulls of capitalism run.
When times are bad, as in a long recession, government must step in to increase demand because the private sector will not.
After you subtract the county property decrease from the city increase, the net result would’ve been very small. The positive economic impact of investing over $900 million in city infrastructure would have been a huge increase demand now when it is desperately needed.
It is exactly what the city should be doing to help end this recession. The leadership and vision of the Foxx-Walton plan has been derailed by those with no real macro-economic understanding.
Lawrence Raymer
Huntersville
It’s Foxx who’s wrong, not majority on City Council
On a day when the Observer reported that median family income has fallen by 7.7 percent, Mayor Anthony Foxx calls the City Council’s decision to reject a proposed 8 percent property tax increase “irresponsible.”
And he is dead wrong to compare Charlotte to a dysfunctional Washington, where the politicians rarely buck leadership.
It’s time for the mayor to get off the high horse and back on the pony.
Tom Alley
Charlotte
Message to whoever trashed Obama sticker on my car
On June 14 while parked at the Leatherman Golf Center someone wrote a slur across the “Obama 2012” magnet on my car.
What kind of fear would cause you to do this? Are you afraid of open political debate? Or is your true fear the re-election of an African American president?
Fear, and the inevitable mindless hatred that derives from it, benefits neither you nor me. It benefits only those who see all of us as incapable of self-government and who would prefer oligarchy over a democratic republic.
Anthony F. Bucci
Charlotte
Obama accepts money from celebs, but harps on CEO pay
Obama for the average person? What a joke! Thursday night’s celebrity fundraiser cost $40,000 per guest.
Obama talks about limiting the income of business executives, and salaries for many executives cannot be justified. But can you really justify the incomes of many actors, entertainers, sports figures and even TV anchors?
One has to wonder why these groups support Obama. Could it be they all live in a make-believe world and he supports their ominous lifestyles?
Richard Potts
Charlotte
Fed up with narrow-visioned experts who drive the agenda
In this era of specialization, we find all sorts of experts with narrowed vision and expertise preaching to our lawmakers.
Their basic tenant is that if a little is good, then a lot must be much better – for their “cause,” that is. And, that to not adopt their objective in the form of a government program is a moral outrage.
Little effort is spent on finding the balance among the many emotionally charged “musts” that we have embraced.
As a consequence, we are ever more dependent upon the latest narrow expert assessment of what “should be.”
The irony is that five years from now they will find a whole new set of “musts” to afford to correct the new imbalances created by them in the first place.
Dick Brolin
Cornelius
In response to “Brad Krantz back in, Coakley out at WBT” (June 9):
Local radio lacks conservative voices; sad to see Coakley go
I am so sad and so angry that Vince Coakley is being forced out. I believe WBT is bowing to pressure to get rid of a black conservative before the Democratic National Convention.
I quit listening to WBT when they got rid of Tara Servatius. Then I heard Vince and have listened ever since. Tara and Vince are the only conservative voices in this terribly liberal market.
I hope Vince lands somewhere in the area so we can be informed on the issues.
Vince, you’ll be missed.
Jack Gaines
Indian Land, S.C.
Fracking will create jobs, just not the ones we need in N.C.
Fracking will create many great jobs in North Carolina. First, the lobbyists will make a good living and so will the fancy restaurants where they entertain the politicians.
There will be high-paid drilling and pipeline workers, though most will be experienced and come from other states.
Then, we’ll need doctors, nurses, etc. to treat the illnesses caused by fracking. We’ll need state environmental specialists to test the air and water suspected of causing the illness.
Of course, we’ll need attorneys to bring the inevitable lawsuits.
However, as usual, the taxpayers will foot the bill.
The good news: The landowners who reap the profits will be able to move to another state that doesn’t allow fracking.
Jeffrey Beck
Charlotte
