Letters to the Editor, Wednesday March 4 - The Press Democrat

Getting your

Trinity Audioplayer ready...Homeowners of all ages should pay property taxes

Editor: A Feb. 23 article brings up the familiar idea that a certain group of people shouldn’t pay taxes (“No property tax for ages 60 and up?”). Goods and services are not free. People want ambulances, hospitals, libraries, schools and colleges, roads, bridges, police, firefighters, courts, jails, water and parks. Not every California county uses its property taxes in exactly the same way, but the collected funds stay in the county in which they are collected. The more people are exempted from paying taxes, the more everyone else’s taxes have to increase.

Eliminating property taxes based on age does not make sense. Many homeowning seniors are better off financially than younger people. Seniors who rent are technically paying the property taxes that their landlords incur and yet would have no relief. They do not have the benefit of holding the appreciating real estate asset, and still they are financially supporting their communities. Shouldn’t homeowners of all ages contribute?

As a homeowner over the age of 60, I agree that no one should have to move out of their home because of property taxes, but Propositions 13 and 19 have addressed this issue.

• — S.M. Donner, Santa Rosa*

Trump’s Board of Peace looks like a vanity project

Editor: Even before Donald Trump’s newly created Board of Peace has spent a single dollar to stabilize and rebuild war-torn Gaza, Trump seems to be drumming up future work for his fledgling organization by starting a new war in the Middle East. As chairman for life, with choice of membership, control of the purse strings and veto power over all aspects of the comprehensive plan to rebuild Gaza, Trump wields enormous power.

As U.S. military strikes on Iran continue and casualties begin to mount, you would be forgiven for thinking that Trump is bored of peace and not a serious peace commissioner with authority over the Board of Peace. Trump needs to be reminded that participating in a war of choice does not ingratiate him to the Norwegian Nobel Committee responsible for selecting the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Is Trump’s newly created Board of Peace just his latest vanity project or will it be a force for good in the world? I have my doubts, but I sincerely hope that it can bring peace, security and hope to the people of Gaza.

— Kurt Dunphy, Santa Rosa

A darker view of the State of the Union

Editor: We don’t need to listen to Donald Trump glorify himself to know the real state of the union. The ICE fiasco in Minneapolis employed 3,000 agents to arrest 4,000 immigrants at a cost of $50,000 per detainee. The real cost was the lying, coverups and loss of civil liberties, including two deaths. Detainees are being warehoused in horrible unsafe conditions. Administration of Homeland Security has been described as chaotic.

The government is turning back the clock on environmental protection by encouraging fossil fuels over renewable energy and scrapping emissions standards. Measles cases are resurging abetted by federal policies that discourage vaccination. Trump’s capricious tariff policies (a tax on consumers) have been declared unconstitutional. The Justice Department has been weaponized to persecute Trump’s perceived enemies while wealthy criminals can buy a presidential pardon.

We attacked Venezuela, threaten Greenland and are poised to start yet another war in the Middle East against Iran. The administration employs extortion tactics against universities, law firms and the media.

The list goes on; the union is in trouble.

— Leland Davis, Santa Rosa

Calling foul on men’s hockey team for appearing with Trump

Editor: The U.S women’s hockey team and the U.S. men’s hockey team won gold at the Winter Olympics. I am proud that the women’s team refused Donald Trump’s invitation to visit the White House to celebrate their victory. And I am disappointed that the men’s hockey team accepted his invitation to appear at the State of the Union address. Trump is trying to align himself with a winning team. The men’s team belongs in the penalty box for supporting a president who doesn’t give a damn about the welfare of our nation.

— Larry Haenel, Santa Rosa

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