Letters for August 9, 2018

Candidate query

A number of issues myself and others would like to address but don’t want to write a book if it’s a waste of time.

FYI: I came in number one in the primary and my opponent has not been seen at any school meeting, debate, discussion, etc., and has no website, etc. So, absent a last-minute full court press, it is quite possible that I’ll be on the school board.

Many issues—but how are we going to fund three new schools in 2019 and eight to 11 not long after that? That’s the 2000 pound elephant in the room. Even if we had adequate funding where are the warm bodies coming from?

As a police recruiter, I can tell you that it is impossible to staff each school with a peace officer. It would bankrupt the state or school district and current agencies can’t hire enough qualified officers now.

Thoughts?

Jeff Church

Reno

It’s for you, Bruce

Re “Slow roast” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, July 26):

You’re an idiot. Babble on. A mother bleepin’, bleepin’ idiot. Your party stands for nothing, and even better is the embarrassing talking heads that lead it blindly through the night, crushing the glimmer of hope for getting any of the people that are on the fence, but not built to believe all that hate-spitting shit that vomits out of your tired holes. Trump was elected to shake up things, and that, along with so much more, leaves only one thing to say for sure—politics will never be same, and that, bud, is what “We, the people” voted for.

Barack, yet another joke that almost buckled America. Fuckin’ idiots. Keep up the great work, y’all.

Larry Moody

Sparks

Sparks homeless ‘cleanup’

I’m just curious as to why, with a reportedly exceptionally low unemployment rate these folks don’t have jobs and at least a shared room to live in. The government can espouse our economic prosperity all they want, but the truth lies—pun intended—in the growing number of lower and middle class people who are disenfranchised by the system. I’m no bleeding heart, as I’m sure some of these people deserve their lot in life. I also don’t think the ratios of good to bad human nature changes all that much over time.

That said, you can’t deny the elephant in the room represented by homeless people. Fifteen years ago, seeing homeless camps was a rare sight. Thirty years ago, they were almost non-existent.

The unemployment figures are grossly biased by the Bureau of Labor Statistics with hedonistic adjustments that in no way reflect reality. They don’t count the folks down by the river because they have given up looking. They don’t account properly for the new “gig” economy that is populated with entirely temporary and part-time jobs and the biggest overlooked statistic is real wage growth. This is exacerbated and justified by the equally erroneous CPI figures handed to us each month. Hmm. According to the government, cost of living doesn’t include housing prices as well as many other costs necessary to live.

We are being lied to—OK, technically misled—by our government and its corporate masters. The purported strong economy is for the rich and, as we all know, most of that money doesn’t trickle down. Funny how they keep renaming trickle-down theory every few years like a new coat of paint on that car that never ran well.

That’s my take on it. Top to bottom.

John Bogle

Fernley

Correction

Re “Light touch” (Art of the State, Aug. 2):

A photograph of artist Jeff Johnson was incorrectly attributed to Matt Bieker. Eric Marks shot the photo. We apologize.