Taxing the wealthy
Re “The ‘Buffett rule,’ and more,” Editorial, Sept. 20
What has been lost in the debate over taxing millionaires and higher tax rates is the fairly recent change in the tax code that allows Warren Buffett to pay relatively little.
Both parties thought it was a good idea to lower the tax rates on dividends and capital gains in the 1990s. Before then, capital gains, dividends and interest were taxed similar to ordinary income. The motives for lowering the rates were twofold: First, people could sell assets that had large capital gains instead of leaving them in their estates; and second, Wall Street would get more business from people buying and selling assets more frequently.
Instead of the new “Buffett rule,” just tax all sources of income as ordinary income.
John Black
Murrieta
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A 21st century Postal Service
Re “Sorting out the Postal Service,” Editorial, Sept. 18
Under a 2006 law, the U.S. Postal Service is required each year to prepay, until 2016, about $5.5 billion to cover the benefits of retired employees. In effect, the Postal Service is, over the 10 years from 2006 to 2016, paying for the benefits of retirees for the next 75 years. In other words, it is paying people who are not even born yet. This is insane.
The Postal Service should be allowed to return to a pay-as-you-go system. Then it wouldn’t be facing bankruptcy. Congress should pass HR 1351, which would eliminate this rule.
The Postal Service provides an outstanding service at a reasonable cost, especially when you compare U.S. postal charges to those of other countries. Have you tried mailing a package to Malaysia lately? Or even a letter to Spain?
Scott W. Kirby
Chatsworth
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I agree that Congress must loosen restrictions on the Postal Service. For example, Singapore’s postal service offers a range of financial services, online shopping opportunities and a host of delivery options.
Freed up to be creative, there is no reason the Postal Service should be a money pit. I doubt this will happen, though, because banks, online retailers and private delivery services would lobby to stop such action.
Ronald Lapp
Los Angeles
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So you think you’re insured?
Re “Plastic won’t cover this bill,” Column, Sept. 20
If there ever was a reason for the government having a healthcare plan, the action by Anthem Blue Cross to drop Andrea Kreuzhage because it no longer accepts automatic credit card payments certainly makes the case.
That an insurance company can discontinue one’s life support after such a long time without any justification is unbelievable. A backup government insurance plan that would be available to those who no longer have health insurance must be created.
Albert V. Weaver
Newbury Park
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I am circling the mat with Anthem right now. My husband fell on his face while playing basketball with our son in June. Because he was taking an anti-clotting prescription drug, the advice nurse told him to go to the emergency room.
We eventually got a bill from the hospital because Anthem wasn’t paying. The hospital resubmitted the claim. This week Anthem said it still hasn’t paid because my husband didn’t return a questionnaire about the accident. All the information was in his medical records, but they needed my husband to answer some questions.
This gives Anthem more time to hold on to its money.
We’ve had good coverage from Anthem in the past, but I’m realizing that it’s just like the others.
Susan St. Laurent
Bakersfield
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When an iPad is your server
Re “iPads taking over from waiters? Some diners eat it up,” Sept. 16
As if having to use the “convenient” self-checkout feature at my local grocery store wasn’t already a tedious, blood-pressure-through-the-roof experience, now I have to place my order at a restaurant through an iPad? In what world is this a good thing?
The article giddily claims that this new development makes people “feel more involved in the process.” So, naturally, taking the human element out of the equation is going to make the customer feel more involved in the restaurant experience.
I’ll take a waiter any day.
David B. Caspole
Pasadena
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In this hurting economy, you’re not going to see me patronizing any of these job-killing restaurants.
Susan Papalia
La Crescenta
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Some ‘help’
Re “Cheating by teachers voids scores,” Sept. 18
Students know that the state tests do not affect their transcripts. Some kids have made a joke of the tests, making interesting patterns of A’s, B’s, C’s and D’s on their answer sheets.
However, with pressure from The Times -- which posted teachers’ test-based “value-added” rankings -- and noisy politicians arguing to get rid of tenure and evaluate teachers largely on those test scores, it is amazing that only a tiny percentage of teachers skewed the process by helping students.
If my career and the welfare of my family were threatened, I imagine I would be tempted to “help” students on those tests.
Joel Pressman
Los Angeles
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Give love a try
Re “Leno can’t budge Bachmann from stance on gays, vaccine,” Sept. 17
Would-be world leader Michele Bachmann denies marriage equality because marriage between a man and a woman is “what the law has been for years and years.” Does Bachmann pine for a time, pre-1967, when it was illegal in many states for interracial couples to wed?
Does she think same-sex couples threaten the existence of humans? The argument that humans aren’t reproducing enough is laughable. On the contrary, an argument that same-sex couples are better parents than heterosexual couples has some objective support.
As more people realize that their lives are intertwined with gay people, they conclude that we are all the same. In my years (and I’ve been here a couple more than Bachmann), if there is one thing I have learned, it is that love is better than hate.
David Reid
Hollywood
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Power source
Re “Dam gives way for the fish to flow,” Sept. 18
We should all be happy for the salmon, bears and other wildlife along the Elwha River, where a hydropower dam is being removed. I just hope we will be equally as happy 10, 20 or more years from now.
The article said, “Other sources of power have now been identified for the mill and Port Angeles.” What, pray tell, are they? Hydrocarbon powered? Do the folks celebrating the removal of these dams not think global warming is going to adversely impact these creatures?
If you want the benefits of electricity, someone or something has to pay the toll. There are no “free lunches,” only ones that minimize impact. Hydropower electricity impacts the overall environment much less than almost any other source.
Chris Daly
Yucaipa
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Food for thought
Re “Supermarket chains, union avert strike,”
Sept. 20
In describing the negotiations that led to the deal to avert a strike that would have been costly to both sides, United Food and Commercial Workers official Greg Conger said, “And then we all sat down and looked at each other and said, ‘We better figure this thing out.’ ”
Wouldn’t it be nice if Republicans and Democrats in Congress could likewise reach a compromise on deficit reduction?
Jim Zeiner
Los Angeles
