Share
In response to “CRVA outlines accounting strategy” (Jan. 8):
Take a stand against CRVA’s new accounting strategy
I hope those Charlotte City Council members were “silent” during the CRVA director’s report because they were stunned. The agency no longer will present financial details on the performance of tax-supported buildings it operates.
Only City Council member Michael Barnes raised spot-on questions about the new “numbers-under-the-rug” accounting.
Contact your City Council representative and ask if he/she approves of this new approach. After all, it’s your money.
John H. Clark
Charlotte
Want progress? Take extremists out of fiscal cliff negotiations
It’s certain that the upcoming debt ceiling cliff will trigger highly politicized discussions. While a full airing of these major issues is important, protracted and polarized negotiations are counterproductive.
I propose a committee of 10, with five Republicans appointed by the president and five Democrats appointed by the Speaker.
The group would almost certainly be moderate and their recommendations to the Senate and House would prove equally unsatisfactory to both the far right and far left. Good!
It is the extremists of both parties who are obstacles to progress. Let’s marginalize them and put moderates back in charge of our country.
Dan Laurent
Charlotte
In response to “Republicans who said no to Sandy aid not always so stingy” (Jan. 8 Forum):
In defense of those GOP ‘no’ votes on aid for Sandy victims
I wish everyone would forget about political party and care about country instead.
We are going bankrupt! Republican senators voting “no” on Sandy aid had nothing to do with being rich or poor; their votes were based on principle.
The Republicans’ 67 “no” votes were because of pork! We as a nation cannot continue “business as usual” or we will no longer be a great nation.
Larry Gregory
Mooresville
In response to “Republicans begin soul-searching after tax vote” (Jan. 6):
Frustrated by GOP compromise; my party needs to ‘man up’
When will Republicans stop compromising our core principles? Had the House Republicans manned up and said absolutely no tax increase on anybody, it would have rallied our base.
Quit being scared of your shadow. Get some lead in your britches and stop voting with the opposition.
Democrats keep playing the fiddle, and Republicans keep dancing to their tunes.
Jim Cherry
Charlotte
Apply NRA logic to U.S. Capitol, see how much sense it makes
Congress needs to exercise its Second Amendment rights and require all members to carry guns to work. Yes, to Congress. This includes assault rifles since they are treated the same as handguns.
Nor should Congress deny visitors and tourists to the U.S. Capitol their right to bear arms in the Capitol building and on the grounds.
According to the NRA, gun-free zones invite mass killings. By this reasoning the U.S. Capitol is a sitting duck.
Having given tacit approval to teachers carrying guns into schools, this is the logical move that must be taken.
John Purifoy
Belhaven, N.C.
In response to “County may fight Medicaid decision” (Jan. 7):
Jones keeps county board in
the dark on too many matters
Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones and the Board of County Commissioners have a set routine. Bad news dribbles out; commissioners yell that no one told them; Harry says I hired an attorney to look into the matter, and that’s the end.
That sounds a lot like how to grow mushrooms: Keep them in the dark and put horse manure on them.
Ed Garland
Charlotte
Fix needed to get rescue crews into gated communities faster
I live in a gated community and two times last week I saw ambulances with red lights flashing and sirens blaring that were unable to open the gate to come to the rescue because their codes were not up-to-date.
They each wasted five additional minutes by going around to an unsecured opening. In a matter of life and death, five minutes is an eternity.
Doesn’t anybody enforce the law for these supposedly life-saving vehicles? Seems that when a gate code changes, some agency should be responsible for making sure that all emergency vehicles are in compliance.
Elizabeth Schwirck
Matthews
In response to “Handicap Parking Patrol brings in $5 million” (Jan. 7):
Meck, too, should crack down on drivers to increase revenues
Richland County, S.C., is using three part-timers and 25 volunteers to identify vehicles with expired tags and those who park illegally in handicap spaces.
Identifying vehicles with expired tags generated $4.8 million in revenue; handicap parking violations generated $47,000.
Since Mecklenburg County has almost three times more residents, the same program here should bring in approximately $15 million. This would pay for many teaching positions that were eliminated.
Floyd Seitz
Charlotte
