Letters to the editor: Readers discuss Ocasio-Cortez, civil discussions

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is an upcoming star of the Democratic Party. She is attractive, glib, energetic … but she has zero understanding of history or economics. She espouses socialism, but has no idea what it means. With socialism, the government owns and operates the means of production and regulates the distribution of goods and services in society. As Karl Marx explained many years ago, socialism cannot exist without a violent overthrow of the ruling class. Where it does exist, like the former Soviet Union, Communist China, Cuba and Venezuela, it has led to widespread poverty and lack of productivity. Being glib and attractive does not guarantee intelligence.

Her suggestion that we have free health care for all is equally ludicrous. When you tax the wealthy to pay for anything, they just pass it on to the middle class through increased prices of goods and services. Let us say you tax the rich man $10 to pay for a new health care program. The rich man then charges $10 more for the shirt he produces. The middle-class worker pays $10 more for his work shirt. So, who do you think is paying for the new health program?

Columnists should not be ‘bogged down’ by labels

I was glad to read Ed Bogusch’s column in The Tribune. It bodes well for more civil conversations on important issues.

He identifies himself as being on the right, but I would just as soon see opinions not identified as right or left, liberal or conservative.

Why not just present opinions on what you think would work to solve a problem, without any stigma of political source? For instance, Ed points to the national debt as an important issue. He is not suggesting an approach to solving it in his opening column, but one knows he is going to suggest cutting back on spending, and of course that means spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — a solution associated with the political right, the mention of which can poison the discussion. Others will suggest the need to change the marginal tax rate — a position of the political left — which makes it difficult for some people to discuss.

To be able to look at various solutions to a problem without characterizing them by some “ism” would go a long way toward a more civil discussion.

Ed cites the need to understand “the significant differences between capitalism and socialism, between freedom and tyranny,” which seems to equate socialism with tyranny. Maybe he hasn’t seen the National Index of Happiness that ranks the U.S. 18th, behind many northern European countries and others, including Australia, Costa Rica and Bhutan. I hope Ed won’t get bogged down in characterizing various opinions as left or right, but on how they might serve to make life better for his fellow citizens.

Watch out, Cambria

As Kathe Tanner has reported, Cambria is increasingly found on lists of most desirable vacation destinations. It reminds me of the small, charming restaurant that is suddenly “discovered” by big-city reviewers, leading to overwhelming demand and the ironic result that the restaurant ceases to be small and charming.

The Chamber of Commerce and others have done a fine job of promoting Cambria to the world. Large, well-publicized events are now almost a year-round phenomenon. But soon only the merchants and tourists will be celebrating. Shouldn’t the residents and their quality of life be the town’s primary concerns?

Silence from Democratic leaders

A couple of weeks ago I wrote the president and Rep. Salud Carbajal and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris about the pressing need to work together to resolve the government shutdown. My daughter's husband is in the Coast Guard and is deployed to Bahrain, just across from Iran.

She and her three little girls live in Washington State. Finances for military members are always tight, and here there is another pay period about to be missed! Within a day or two I heard back from the White House, but I have not received even a courtesy “thank you for your letter” response from the rest.

This is frustrating and disappointing. That these people would, for the sake of a symbolic political gesture (really, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the multi-trillion federal budget) bring financial and emotional jeopardy to tens of thousands of struggling citizens is unconscionable. We should remember this next election.