LETTERS

LITTLE ROCK — Politics in perspective

When the accusations started over the 2009 budget deficit of $1.3 trillion, with the Democrats claiming that it was inherited from George W. Bush, despite their controlling both houses of Congress since 2007, I did some long-term calculations.

I started with 1961 and catalogued which party controlled the White House and each house of Congress. I assigned one point for the presidency and the Senate and two points for the House, where the Constitution says all tax, budget and appropriation bills must be initiated. Then I printed out the total tax receipts and outlays for the same years to calculate the percentage change for each year compared to the average of the previous two years.

I then assigned these percentages to the two parties based on which one had majority rating based on the points that I assigned. The Democratic Party had majority control in 31 of the 50 years, the Republicans in 12, and they were tied in six years.

Under the Democrats, the receipts (mostly taxes) increased 402.2 percent, or 13 percent per year. In the same years, the deficit increased 442 percent, or 14.3 percent per year, despite the increase in taxes. In the 12 years under Republican control, the increase in taxes totaled 103.6 percent, or 8.6 percent per year, and the deficit increased 91.1 percent, or 7.6 percent per year.

Who is responsible for raising taxes the most and still contributing the most to deficits and total debt?

DON R. KLINE Yellville

Blanche will be OK

Letter writer Mike Ward’s reasoning for keeping Blanche Lincoln in office is absolutely ludicrous.

There are thousands of people out of work across this country, including myself. I think it would be safe to say that among those unemployed thousands there are a lot of parents wondering if their children will get to go to college. So please explain to me why I would care about how much less in pension Blanche will receive should she be voted out of office. Furthermore, why should I care whether shecan afford to live in Washington, D.C.?

Blanche has a husband who is a fertility doctor. I’m pretty sure that he can afford to send their children to college. We as taxpayers do not need to be concerned about extending her time in Washington just to extend her pension.

As far as I am concerned, every incumbent along with his overinflated entitlements in Washington should be voted out.

ANGELA THOMPSON Bentonville

Fiscal sanity needed

Giving a Nobel Prize in economics diminishes the awards for real sciences like physics. Former winner Paul Krugman thinks the stimulus failed because it wasn’t big enough. The world is already facing a sovereign debt crisis, and if nations keep kicking the deficits can down the road, it will end up like the one in the Cormac McCarthy novel.

Democrats are probably a lost cause where spending is concerned. If Republicans embrace the call for fiscal sanity of the tea party and can get enough people elected with the courage to stop the spending madness, there might be some hope left. Otherwise, everyone should secure a sturdy wheelbarrow for the money they’ll need to buy a loaf of bread; that is, if they can find one.

MIKE WERKMAN Hot Springs Village

More like a lap dog

Mike Ross has been going around the state saying he opposed Obamacare. What he fails to tell everyone is that he was the yes vote that got the bill out of committee onto the floor of the House. There, seeing it had enough votes to pass, he was able to vote against the bill.

Ross says he is a Blue Dog Democrat. A better description would be a Nancy Pelosi lap dog. Check his record out before you go to the polls. Can we continue to support his liberal agenda for another two years?

JACK BOARD Hot Springs Village

Act like the governor

Well, don’t that beat all! The Game and Fish Commission wants to have its own Freedom of Information Act.

What are they claiming to be independent of? Certainly not our taxes, which help pay for them.

It is time for Mike Beebe to act like a governor. He can’t always be Mr. Nice Guy. You might also say it is time that Arkansas became a two-party state, so get out there and vote, folks.

JUDITH JONES Hot Springs Village

Rules have to change

Using children in time of war is an age-old phenomenon. I’m a Vietnam combat veteran. The Viet Cong used children in war.

American soldiers, on many occasions reached out to children by giving them candy from the back of a 2 1/2-ton truck as they rode through a village. In return, a child would throw grenades and other explosives into the rear of the truck, causing death and critical wounds.

A journalist and photographer for some newspaper back in the States saw a child running toward the rear of a truck with a bag in his hand. He saw soldiers open fire upon this child before the device could be activated and thrown into the rear of the truck. Because of that scene, the journalist, not knowing the cause and effect, wrote a story and sent harmful photos to his newspaper labeling U.S. soldiers as baby killers, dope addicts, murderers.

In Afghanistan, the role is the same, only played on a different stage. Too many American soldiers are being killed and maimed by the hands of children.

In time of war, the rules of engagement must change. If fired upon by anybody, engage with deadly, vehement force. American soldiers don’t want to be labeled baby killers. However, they do not want to be killed by the hand of anybody. Nevertheless, war causes three elements: destruction, casualties and death. I will call it DCD, with death being the ultimate price to pay.

SIDNEY HARVEY Grady

Still no state lottery

If the town selling the most lottery tickets is in South Arkansas, then why are the majority of grand prizes being won in the Northwest part of the state?

Who on the Lottery Commission decides what part of the state to send the majority of grand prize tickets to?

I voted for a state lottery, yet we still do not have a state lottery. We have Powerball, Mega Millions and scratch-off tickets, yet we do not have an actual state lottery with tickets strictly in Arkansas for Arkansas players (not tied into other states). Other states have an actual state lottery for their players. Where is ours?

I voted for the lottery for scholarships for the poor and disadvantaged, not as a replacement for regularly funded scholarships for the richest and brightest students. Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and the voters had the right idea, yet it took the politicians to screw it up for everybody.

PAUL HITE Pleasant Plains

What will Elliott do?

During the Democratic primary, Joyce Elliott said she supports the Second Amendment but that we need regulation. Would she answer how many volumes of federal laws and regulations it would take to satisfy her?

If she is elected, would we find her in lockstep with the gun-ban crowd? Would she try to disarm the honest citizen and protect the criminal element more than they already are?

CHARLES A. PHELPS Mabelvale