TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Letters To The Editor

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2008

Bailouts Misdirected

If the U.S. government had truly considered a meaningful stimulus package with benefits for the American consumer, they could have taken the $750 billion dollars and divided it among every taxpaying citizen of the United States, requiring it to be used to reduce debt or purchase American-made products.

This would have created the most expansive stimulus package possible for those having difficulty meeting financial obligations, mortgage shortfalls, needing leverage to negotiate better loan terms or rates, stave off the inevitable due to bad decisions and build a better future or buy American-made automobiles. It would have given immediate cash flow to financial institutions through increased investment, savings, checking accounts, renegotiated (bad) loans and repayment of debt. It would have been an interesting scenario.

I know this is too simple, and the government must protect us from ourselves. This is not a realistic expectation, but neither is bailing out (only partially) a failing automotive industry that will require many times the $15 billion being offered from taxpayers now.

It's time to take a lesson from the auto plants in the U.S. not under union contracts. Many U.S. institutions have gone by the wayside due to changes in technology, consumer demand and changing times. This is being part of the world economy. If you can't be competitive you cannot survive.

Oh yeah, this simple proposal would have required the politicians not include an additional $150 billion of pork. But that's too much to expect.

ROBERT WEISMAN

Tampa

Brass Get off Easy

More than 20 years ago Chrysler received its first bailout by the U.S. government. At that time our secretary of transportation gave the motor industry some advice: "The shift in consumer preferences to smaller, more fuel-efficient passenger cars and light trucks appears to be permanent."

Chrysler and the rest of Detroit did not listen.

It reminds me of a story in an Indianapolis Sunday magazine that I read many years ago. A reporter was interviewing a man who made a fortune buying bankrupt businesses. He was asked if it was true that the first thing he did was fire the management of those companies. His answer was short: "Yes, who else put those companies in bankruptcy? Certainly not the hourly wage people."

Sure seems true today, yet the top management of most of the banking, investment, mortgage, credit and auto industries are still in their jobs, and hourly workers are being let go by the thousands.

STEPHEN KAYE

Lutz

The Conservative Wing

I want to urge Sen. Mel Martinez not to vote for the proposed auto bailout bill supported by the president and the Democrats. There is a list of reasons not to do it. They can declare bankruptcy, and there are too many governmental constraints such as COLA, as well as bad management, unions and many other issues.

Martinez is a Republican and more than that, a conservative. It is a conservative ideal to believe in capitalism, the free market, the invisible glove. The fact that this is even being considered by Republicans and the president seems like the Republican party is becoming the conservative wing of the Democratic party, and I want it to stop.

JOHN GIDDINGS

Tampa

Regressive Taxes Needed

Tom Friedman's column ("The Real Generation X," Other Views, Dec. 10) would have been better if he'd offered more new ideas - for instance, a regressive tax to stabilize imported oil at about $75 a barrel. That's low enough to not bankrupt Main Street but high enough to encourage investment in alternative sources. That way, the tax would increase if the market price drops and decrease if the market price rises.

Go a step further, and put a regressive tax on gasoline and diesel to stabilize their retail prices.

It is the kind of thing I'd expect Barrack Obama to propose, but why wait for Jan. 20?

JOHN CHASE

Palm Harbor

Fight For Florida's Health

I applaud the Tribune's opinion on increasing the cigarette tax by $1 per pack. The tax would add $1 billion to our state's budget and result in a dramatic decline in youth smoking. For every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes, youth smoking reduces by 7 percent and overall smoking by 4 percent. Ninety percent of today's smokers started when they were 18 or younger. Increasing the tax would have a significant affect on current smokers and the generations to come.

It's important to note that without the $1 increase, we won't see these public health benefits.

Smoking is called the most preventable cause of premature death in the U.S. I hope the next legislative session produces a true example of leadership on this issue and fight for the health of Florida.

CHARLIE SAND

Tampa

Be Wary, Shoppers

I would like to warn readers not to keep cruelty off their shopping lists this year. Puppy sales spike during the holidays, and consumers need to know that when they purchase puppies over the Internet, through newspaper ads or at pet stores, they can be unknowingly supporting a puppy mill.

Puppy mills are inhumane breeding facilities that produce puppies in large numbers. They are designed to maximize profits and commonly disregard the physical, social and emotional health of the dogs.

To stop puppy mills we must stop supporting them. To find a puppy from a reputable source, visit your local animal shelter or find a reputable breeder.

Be sure to visit the premises to observe how the mom and pups are living.

TRACI THEIS

Palm Harbor

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT