Cheney would win
Re: the Aug. 16 article “Watch out for irony, karma and hypocrisy.”
I was amused and entertained by Paul McCreary’s local opinion piece. Here’s another bit of irony. If the Republican Party, instead of censuring and vilifying her, were to get behind Liz Cheney as the next Republican presidential nominee, they would be absolutely assured of a presidential win in 2024. All those who care about the Republican agenda and conservative policies would vote for her, and all those who care about truth and integrity in politics would vote for her. She couldn’t lose! (Unless, of course, there was widespread election fraud.)
Sally Lee
Foothills
Water conservation now
Re: the Aug. 23 article “It’s time to act on water conservation.”
People are also reading…
I am a retired Professor of Environmental Science (University of Illinois Springfield). The recent Oro Valley opinion piece is the clearest and most succinct article I have seen with respect to water conservation on the opinion page in the Star since I moved to Tucson in 2005. I have watched the city, state and federal government talk about potential water shortages on the Colorado. But little is done to deal with the impending water crisis. None of the water agreements between the states have been binding; population immigration is not regulated and developers continue to get approval for new subdivisions guaranteeing 100 years of water. The allocations of Colorado River water have exceeded what could be expected to be available given normal weather and we are in an indeterminant drought cycle. I too think it is time to be serious about water conservation. Conventional patterns of economics and growth will no longer work. I urge those who can effectively create planned limits to growth to do so.
Malcolm Levin
Northeast side
Protect democracy in Arizona
We each have a role to play to protect our democracy.
In Arizona, that means not voting for Trump-endorsed election deniers Kari Lake for governor, Mark Finchem for secretary of state or Abraham Hamadeh for attorney general.
Should any of those candidates win, it is essential for Kris Mayes to win as attorney general. As AG, she will legally intervene to stop their anti-democratic initiatives, be it their efforts to suppress the vote or decertify election results.
Protect our democracy by supporting and voting for Kris Mayes.
Phineas Anderson
Catalina
Has she gone crazy?
Can you believe the latest from Kari Lake? The Arizona Republican candidate for governor has once again embarrassed herself (and the great state of Arizona) by suggesting that we should choose our elected officials by their BDE (Big D- — Energy). This from the woman who accuses our schools of “sexualizing” our students? Her crazy (and disgusting) comments have been splashed all over the internet and on numerous national news outlets. Perhaps we should consider electing our officials for what they have in their brains ... not what they have in their pants. Here’s a candidate who should not be elected due to the fact she has nothing in either department.
Renee Montrachet
Oro Valley
Letters stoke fear of IRS
Having read several letters about the $80 billion in new funding for the IRS which express fear of IRS audits of small businesses and middle-class Americans, I ask, “What are you afraid of?” Properly filed and paid tax returns rarely provoke audits. Only cheaters should be worried.
Let’s consider several facts about the funding. First, the IRS staff is the same size as it was in 1970. Population has grown significantly since then. Only a portion of the money will pay for new tax auditors. Also, the 87,000 new employees include tax processors, help-desk workers and workers to replace those retiring, among others. In addition, and amazingly, the IRS is currently using computers with outdated Windows XP, and the 1970s computer language COBOL. It relies heavily on manual data entry and paper. When agencies do not receive reliable and adequate funding, they have to rely on really old systems. No wonder the U.S. is losing billions in owed but unpaid taxes every year.
Nancy Smith
Midtown
Regrets?
In the 1970s I worked at Illinois Wesleyan University with quite a few students and staff to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed. I still believe in the passing of this now more than ever. Equal rights for those who wanted an abortion and for those who didn’t. Equal rights for those who wanted same sex marriage and those who didn’t. Equal rights for those who wanted a biracial marriage and those who didn’t. Equal pay for those who worked, equal treatment in the eyes of the law. Is it too late to start campaigning for the passing of this?
Diana Carolan
Northwest side
School vouchers
Re: the Aug. 24 letter “Vouchers explained.”
To respond to the letter writer, it does take money away from public schools because fixed expenses (maintenance, utilities, taxes, etc.) remain the same, but taxpayer dollars from one or many students is far less. As far as rich students, the private schools can accept or not any student. Therefore, a private school accepts those students whose parents can donate and enrich the school. The students not accepted have to attend a poorly underfunded public school. Yes, this results in poor test results from our public schools, which do not have the resources of the private schools. That discourages companies from locating here which in turn damages our economy.
Jim Barnes
South side
GOP’s $11M on governor race
Re: the Aug. 8 article “GOP group will spend to criticize Democrats.”
I should think spending that much money to put down an opponent in the Arizona governor’s race is telling to the lack of substance of that candidate. Putting someone down to feel superior is just pathetic.
Nancy Reid
North side
Dobbs ruling, health care savings
The recent Dobbs ruling by the Supreme Court sets a new standard for critical health care that could help solve our country’s problem with skyrocketing health-care costs. In many states, doctors have refused inexpensive, life-saving medical care to women whose life was threatened, but not threatened enough to justify the removal of a living part of the woman’s body. Imagine how much we could save if the same standard were applied to all life-saving surgeries that remove living tissues such as organ transplants and cancer surgeries! What would be the appropriate rule of thumb? Dead in 10 days? Dead in one day?
Oh wait, maybe this will not save as much money as I thought. Undoubtedly, many Republican state legislatures would apply this rule to women only.
Bruce Hilpert
North side
IRS concerns; pay your taxes
Recent letters demonizing the IRS and fearmongering regarding more agents and auditors are curious. Why would anyone who pays their taxes worry about this?
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently released her top priorities for the agency: focusing on rich tax dodgers and cracking down on corporate tax evasion. People may remember articles about the backlog of tax returns at the IRS. Many of the new employees will be tasked with clearing the backlog. We want the IRS to function effectively, and they need more staff to do this. The number of enforcement agents is expected to increase by only 6,500 over the next decade.
Former IRS commissioner under both Obama and Trump, John Koskinen, said “Honest taxpayers, who are the vast majority, aren’t going to be bothered at all.”
Mary Keerins
Foothills
