Letters to the editor: Big spenders in Hollywood nightclubs; Sheriff Baca’s defense on jail problems; a dollar coin instead of a bill

The good times roll

Re “Nightclubs having a whale of a time,” Oct. 15

My soon-to-be-former bank grudgingly shells out less than 1% interest on my savings account but would gleefully charge me 15% if I couldn’t pay the full balance on my credit card. Meanwhile, banker and serial partyer An Pham Jr. throws away thousands of dollars in a single evening entertaining some kick boxer so he won’t have to stand in line to buy a drink.

And people are questioning the motivation behind the Occupy Wall Street movement?

Kathleen Masser

Los Angeles

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry reading about the rich, the famous and the wannabes, including “injured” athletes, who routinely spend thousands of dollars in Hollywood nightclubs to be seen spraying expensive champagne on each other.

With the global economy teetering on the brink, I couldn’t help but recall the title song on an album by the late singer Harry Chapin, “Dance Band on the Titanic.”

Frank Furino

Rancho Mirage

Not buying Baca’s defense

Re “U.S. widens inquiry into abuse at jails,” Oct. 15, and “Baca admits he was out of touch with jail troubles,” Oct. 16

Why is L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca “flabbergasted” by the scope of the feds’ investigation of his jails but not by the scope of his guards’ abuses? Shouldn’t he respond with gratitude? Whose side is he on?

Baca sounds like a defense lawyer — hostile to every government move, uninterested in the truth. That’s OK if you really are a defense lawyer; it’s your role. But Baca is supposed to be interested in the truth.

The feds request tons of records because sheriff’s deputies, following Baca’s lead, try harder to protect each other than to protect the unarmed citizens who pay their salaries. No wonder nobody trusts them.

Daniel R. White

Los Angeles

Baca finally gets halfway there, taking responsibility for not implementing jail reforms and not personally monitoring the jails. But his attempt to shift some of the blame to his command staff is feeble and defies common sense.

It’s been common knowledge for years that our county jails have abuse issues, but Baca was apparently more comfortable ignoring the problem. His subordinates certainly knew this and were more than happy to shield him from the truth.

Had Baca simply chosen to lift the veil years ago, he wouldn’t be looking down the barrel of a federal probe.

David Marsh

Los Angeles

Baca is just like former L.A. Archbishop Roger Mahony. He “didn’t know.”

Jon Hartmann

Los Angeles

$1 coin just makes sense

Re “A dollar, just not a bill,” Editorial, Oct. 14

While eliminating the dollar bill would certainly be prudent, there are more currency issues that Congress should address.

- Why not make a $5 coin as well?

- What will be the cost to businesses of replacing or modifying thousands of soft drink and snack dispensers which accept dollar bills but not dollar coins?

Why not modify all coins? The U.S. requires all foreign visitors to be able to read English while using coins, which do not have the currency’s numerical value.

Foreigners must puzzle over what terms such as “one cent,” “five cents,” “one dime” and “one quarter” mean.

Bill Fawcett

Tujunga

I haven’t heard anyone say “a penny for your thoughts” in years, but it is time to cash in the coin and save a few bucks. As the saying goes, a million here, a million there, and soon we are talking about real money.

Maybe the money saved from eliminating the penny would feel like “pennies from heaven.”

Bob Calvert

Oxnard

Questions about the ‘9-9-9’ plan

Re “How not to fix the tax code,” Editorial, Oct. 16

Maybe I missed something among the criticism of Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s plan to have a 9% federal income tax on individuals and on corporations and a 9% national sales tax.

Oh, I heard about how this would fall heaviest on the poor and actually increase their taxes. I’ve heard how we can’t trust Congress not to raise the sales tax in the future.

But I’ve missed hearing about how a 9% national sales tax would affect all those local governments and agencies that already depend on sales taxes.

A 9% sales tax would just about double many local sales taxes; how would that affect sales of new cars and major appliances? How would that affect employment in manufacturing and sales? Would someone at one of these GOP debates please ask Cain?

I might not be the only person interested.

Fredric G. Dunn

San Diego

Your editorial about the problems with Cain’s “9-9-9” plan was excellent. However, any discussion of the pros and cons of the proposal is completely moot.

In the extremely unlikely event Cain is elected president, what do you think the chances are of him actually persuading Congress to replace the entire tax code with his simplistic plan?

I don’t know if he thinks voters are so naive as to believe he can do it, or if he is so naive as to think he can do it.

Joe Davis

Long Beach

Love of learning

Re “Too much testing?,” Editorial, Oct. 13

You’re right that the state needs a realistic vision for public schools, but Gov. Jerry Brown’s discussion of the love of learning is a good start.

Do higher scores on standardized tests correlate with students who are better prepared for college or the workplace? The answer appears to be no.

You are right in saying that “researching, analyzing, experimenting and writing” are going by the wayside while we concentrate on testing. Often the best place to begin those critical thinking tasks is in the library. As Times columnist Hector Tobar revealed in May, the Los Angeles Unified School District went to great lengths to cut teacher librarians, whose job it is to teach these skills.

A realistic vision doesn’t call for making the easiest cuts in an economic downturn but to analyze the value of the program.

Victoria Waddle

Claremont

For Warren

Re “A new hope on the horizon?,” Opinion, Oct. 13

Meghan Daum falls flat in her assessment of Elizabeth Warren and her candidacy for public office.

Warren is not some left-wing demagogue. She is someone who makes people uneasy, especially those who have power and money. Why else were the Republicans so adamant about denying her the opportunity to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

And what was Daum’s purpose in denigrating Warren’s appearance?

What Daum fails to grasp is that if elected to the Senate, Warren will handle her responsibilities with the tenacity, fairness and intelligence for which she is already known.

Rodney K. Boswell

Thousand Oaks

Prayer, plus

Re “Praying nonstop to save society,” Column One, Oct. 14

Saving society is a laudable goal; however, because prayer has never been empirically proved to solve any problems, why not pray while doing volunteer work at schools or homeless shelters? Why not pray while planting a garden or donating blood? Why not pray and, at the same time, help people find jobs?

Instead of traveling across oceans or state lines to pray in Missouri, why not multi-task? Ask God to intervene against evil forces while actually doing something for humankind.

Betty Goldberg

Los Angeles