Tax cut a gift to Ducey’s pals
Most of us want to leave a workplace better than it was when we joined. That goal impacts our strategic thinking, especially as our departure approaches.
While our Gov. Doug Ducey claims attracting companies to Arizona is a top priority, the flat tax he has proposed guarantees that our public schools will remain among the very worst in the nation. Ducey is a smart enough guy; he must know that lousy schools do not attract vibrant companies.
So maybe leaving his job “better off” is not about us, but about himself. These tax cuts will help enhance his reputation with the country club set he is about to rejoin. The tax cuts do nothing to help the state of Arizona, but for the governor and his pals, what a farewell gift!
Leslie Kanberg
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Downtown
Insurrectionists were waved in
I participated in the Vietnam War insurrection. Hundreds of thousands of us marched on Washington, month after month. If the government had let us through there’s no question some would have crashed through the Capitol’s gates; perhaps the White House, too. Back then, the government turned the crowd back, preventing any real damage. This time around, during the “Trump was robbed insurrection” on Jan. 6, the government waved them in, it seems.
Two days earlier, the mayor of Washington said on CNN she had everything under control. Trouble was brewing. She claimed it wouldn’t amount to anything. Either she changed her mind or didn’t plan out her defenses very well. The scandal isn’t that the crowd came into the Capitol. It’s that they were allowed in.
Walter Ramsley
East side
RTA needs major changes
People talk about bikeways, pedestrian-friendly streets and public transit. Those things are not possible outside the urban core. Regional Transportation Association is funding sprawl and feeding exurbia. The urban voters are getting nothing in return — in 10 years. Grant Road started 30 years late and maybe they’re still working on it. Currently, no discernible movement of earth. Bus service stinks, and folks won’t ride it. I will not support RTA again without major changes. The status quo is not helping.
Stop funding sprawl or stop funding “regional” transportation.
John Yoakum
Downtown
Downtown living for older folks
I’d like to live in downtown Tucson. I’d like to walk to restaurants, events and shows. I’d like quick access to public transportation. I’d also like to live among my peers — 55 plus, active adults with no children around. So, why haven’t Tucson developers created housing for this demographic, beyond the affordable housing units, in the downtown area? You are overlooking a great market.
Who attends most of the shows? Who spends more at restaurants? Who would pay for safe and secure housing with a view, amenities, a community? We need downtown housing like condos or townhouses, that we can purchase. We’d like amenities like art studios, gyms, pools, gathering spaces, even a pub. Think about it, developers. I’ll be ready in a few years, so time to get started on “big city” housing options.
Andrea Edmundson
West side
Why fanatics are in the military
Re: the May 23 article “Airman’s travails were foreseeable.”
Tim Steller was definitely not off base in his reporting on the demise of Matt Lohmeier. In fact, I think he hit a home run. I commend him for very effectively laying out the psychosocial factors that contribute to the presence of fanatics within the military and the important controls in place to safeguard the chain of command from them.
I spent 20 years in the Navy witnessing the “silent” politics within the military and over 14 years teaching about the various theoretical perspectives concerning social and individual development. Critical race theory is just the latest straw man being trotted out by political leaders to rile up the under-educated.
I believe that, if I were still teaching sociology and psychology, I would have assigned my students to read his column in preparation for arguing the impact of individual, personal ego on the ongoing mutation of social structures and institutions.
Rick Scifres
Green Valley
Fann a 2nd-tier embarrassment
Re: the May 26 letter “Maricopa audit an embarrassment.”
The letter writer notes that Arizona Sen. Karen Fann and her colleagues have made a laughingstock of our state.
It’s not the first time. Longtime Arizonans may recall how former Gov. Evan Mecham’s cancellation of the Martin Luther King holiday proclaimed by his predecessor Bruce Babbitt, cost Arizona a Super Bowl and eventually cost Mecham his job.
As embarrassments go, Sen. Fann is a rank amateur compared to Mecham. At least we can be thankful that the embarrassing audit hasn’t had any serious economic consequences for our state, yet.
William Thornton
Midtown
Does science still count?
Does this seem perplexing to you? Remember those people who last year were shouting, “Follow the science, wear your mask!” Many do not seem to believe the same science that allows a lot of us to take off our masks. Maybe science doesn’t count when you are thoroughly intimidated.
Frank DeMayo
Northwest side
