Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 01.10.16

Right a wrong, end the toll contract

Now, at the request of the governor, the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization has been given an opportunity to follow the will of the people and cancel the contract.

How many times do politicians get the opportunity to listen to citizens and right a wrong?

Please, Charlotte City Council members, direct that the Charlotte vote at the Jan. 20 CRTPO meeting be “no.”

You must have too many reservations to vote otherwise.

Toll lanes will cripple intermodal plan

The City Council committee’s vote to endorse the I-77 toll project was a horrible decision for many reasons.

One reason I have not seen discussed much is the impact toll lanes will have on the new intermodal facility being built near the airport.

Tractor trailers won’t be allowed in the toll lanes. Truck traffic jams on I-77 will worsen, slowing movement of shipments to and from the new terminal, which will cripple the intermodal plan.

Before Charlotte casts its CRTPO vote, Council members should think about the many ways this project will negatively affect the entire region.

Obama takes aim at wrong group on guns

President Obama’s call for greater gun control totally misses the mark and speaks to the wrong audience.

Instead of calling for greater gun control, he should venture outside his protective bubble into the rough neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., and his hometown of Chicago.

He should tell gang members who think nothing of killing and hurting others to get their act together and end their destructive behavior.

To put it another way: He needs to quit preaching to the choir and go after the sinners.

So where’s the GOP health care plan?

For the 62nd time the House has taken valuable time it should be spending on true priorities to propose the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

And yet, for the 62nd time the GOP continues to refuse to unveil its health care plan.

Iran’s ideals a better match than Saudi’s

The recent execution of 47 dissidents in Saudi Arabia was simply political and provocative.

Saudi Arabia is a replica of ISIS on a grand scale.

It is high time our country should pick Iran over Saudi Arabia. The Iran nuclear deal is a head start in this direction.

After all, Iran, though theocratic, has an electoral system and is not a dictatorship.

CEO pay will be on my mind when I vote

We read that wages are low, purchasing power down, and that the health-care gap includes a half-million uninsured.

Conservatives ask if raising the minimum wage is deserved, but never question whether CEO millions are deserved.

CEOs used to get 30 times the average worker pay. Now, they get over 300 times the average worker pay.

I know which party contributed to those conditions and which party aims to rebalance it.

The voter registration deadline is mid-February.

Rethink spending on Confederate flag

While I believe in preserving and displaying historical relics, the cost seems excessive when balanced with the other needs in South Carolina, including those of flood victims.

The S.C. legislature should look long and hard at this proposal before approving the funds.

This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Observer Forum: Letters to the editor 01.10.16."