Being elected to City Council is not an entitlement

Didn’t elect you to feed at public trough

Well, that didn’t take long. The new younger Democrat City Council members take control and immediately want a pay raise and longer terms.

No one asked these people to run for Council; they knew the pay before they filed.

Charlotte has a full-time government and part-time, civic-minded council system, which seems to have worked very well over the years.

Did the five new “progressive” members run so that they could quit their jobs to enjoy feeding at the public trough? Being elected to Council is not an entitlement.

Include term limits with that pay raise

We all want a pay raise and more job security.

Watch out – higher taxes coming.

How about including term limits!

Elusive peace process frustrating

When President Trump declared he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a chorus of voices was heard from around the world. The peace process would be in danger, echoed the nay-sayers.

I have to ask, what peace process?

Every attempt at serious negotiations has failed. The Palestinians refuse to recognize Israel as a legitimate Jewish state. That would be true wherever the capital was located.

It’s been in Tel Aviv, but that didn’t start any peace negotiations, nor will the proposed move. The question for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is, what will it take to start sincere negations with Israel about peace? Is there something other than the total destruction of a Jewish state that will satisfy you?

Dems have track record on poverty

It is apparent that Forum writer D. Ben Fletcher and his party know little about the poor or how to assist them in escaping poverty.

I would suggest that Democrats have a much better track record than Republicans in this regard. After all, the GOP thinks the poor will benefit from elimination of student loan deductions, eliminating child care assistance for the working poor, and most importantly, cutting taxes on the wealthy.

I suppose that will make them uncomfortable enough to escape poverty.

Congress ignoring public on tax bill

What I don’t understand about the tax cut bill is if 53 to 59 percent of the public is against it, why are 50 Republicans going to vote “yea”?

Aren’t you voting for your constituency, the public? Or, are you voting to get an election win? It’s not your vote. It’s ours.

I’ll get a modest tax break under this plan, but I honestly would rather not have that at the expense of adding to the deficit and having that debt around the necks of the youth of this country.

Obama, Moore comparison absurd

Forum writer Ed Mesko compares a man of flawless background and public service (President Obama) to a jurist who was removed from the bench and has been accused of pedophilia (Roy Moore).

The comparison is absurd.

He might not have agreed with Obama’s agenda, but a significant majority of the American people did and attempts by Mesko and the rest of the right-wing propaganda machine to re-write history regarding Obama, Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton is pathetic.

I’m angry about Park Terrace closing

With the 53-year-old Park Terrace theater closing, I just don’t know where to direct my anger.

Is it at Edens, the company that now owns the shopping center? Or is it towards Regal Cinema for closing the independent movie house?

I suspect it’s Edens because when they took over, several longstanding tenants moved out due to increased leasing rates. So Edens, whatever you put in the theater’s place, be assured I will not support it with my dollars. Greed has its consequences.

If it’s Regal closing the theater, I hope you open it somewhere else in center city. What a loss for my hometown.

This story was originally published December 17, 2017 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Being elected to City Council is not an entitlement."