NWA LETTERS

Anti-smoking campaign

tries to control people

Here they go again. The Northwest Arkansas Tobacco and Drug Free Coalition has launched another Saul Alinsy-like attack on your personal freedoms with their proposal to make every last scrap of wilderness tobacco free.

They disguise their proposal with a completely different issue, littering. These people don’t much care about trails or litter. If they did they would also want to ban water bottles, candy wrappers, and health-food packaging.

Just because cars can go fast we don’t ban cars; we make traffic rules. We already have “laws” about littering. Enforce existing code and the job is done. That said, smokers should show a little respect, too, and stop throwing that stuff on the ground. Put it out and in your pocket and take it home with you.

The real objective of this group and others like it are to use democracy and government like a tool to control people and their personal behaviors. It is a transparent and disgusting bait-and-switch methodology designed to fool people.

Let’s be honest. The true mission of this delusional crowd is to use any excuse to achieve their primary objective. Their goal is to disparage and offend smokers and control their behavior. They seem to miss the point that the rights of others don’t end where their feelings start. The God-given rights and freedom enjoyed by others is none of their business.

JEFF COOK

Springdale

Want to boost economy?

Wiping out debt will do

My plan to fix America:

• Free up money — All politicians get average U.S. salary ($46k per year). No free meals or housing allowances. They can live dorm-style together. They cannot vote themselves raises. They must show up at work to be paid. No junkets. No gifts.

• No more money to welfare recipients — They can be housed bunkhouse style and fed cafeteria style, but no money. Use empty warehouses, big-box stores, etc. [with] in-house nurse, custodian and security. If they want money, they can work.

• Prison reform — Violent offenders get their individual cells and meals and only come out when their time is up. No TV. No exercise yard. Nothing. Sorry, but they are there for a reason. Lie detector tests become legal. Lawyers do not get a say in this.

• Foreign aid — Stop giving money to people who hate and don’t respect us, like the U.N., the Palestinians, etc. Invest this money in teachers, K-12, armed forces and police.

• Build a water pipeline — We will do it for oil, which is a luxury, but not for water, which is a necessity. There is money to be made. We just have to put a lot of it up out front. Other infrastructure: Bridges first, levees, roads, etc.

• Jobs incentive — Since banks and credit companies always have the money, they will be required to give every working individual who earns less than $50k per year a one-time payment of $5,000. They will get this money back immediately. People will spend it and it will end up back in the bank. This will create an immediate need for all types of products. If credit card companies give this same credit, it also will duplicate this effect. Even if people just deposit the money in their accounts, the banks have it back to lend again, which is their business. Even their business benefits.

Want to fix the world’s economy? Simply wipe out all existing debt: personal, professional and national. What will happen? Everybody, every business, every country will immediately start spending again, creating demand for all products and services.

Face it: No country on earth can ever pay off their debts, so give them a clean slate.

Thoughts?

DAVID M. HELLMAN

Rogers

[email protected]

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