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Our nation is too ready to pass its burdens on to the future

Re: For too many of us, war means no real sacrifices, May 22.

Thanks to columnist Mark Shields for reminding us that George Bush's message to most Americans during his war on terror remains: "You will pay no price, you will bear no burden."

Were there any embarrassed faces among the pandering politicians who gathered around Bush when he recently signed the extension of tax cuts on investments? Sure, they and I will pay a smaller percentage in taxes on our dividends than we do on our regular salaries, but, hey, this is the American approach to government spending in the 21st century.

The message is clear: We may not have the revenue to cover the nearly $2-billion a week that we spend in Iraq and Afghanistan, but our soldiers and their families are the only ones who really must sacrifice.

What kind of country have we become when we accept the voodoo economics from smarmy political peddlers who say that tax cuts for the wealthy will pay for themselves, that trillions of dollars in national debt don't matter and that billion-dollar loans from the government of China merely tie the communist autocrats more closely to our market economy?

Oh, I forgot. We'll happily pass on our patriotic costs to the next president and Congress or - better yet - to our children and grandchildren.

William McGrath, Bradenton

Government involvement is necessary

Re: Erudite, elegant and wrong, May 21.

Clive Crook implies that the economist John Kenneth Galbraith was against capitalism and may have supported communism as an economic system On the contrary, Galbraith simply believed that government was (and is) a necessary tool to adjust the cycles of economic swings that are inherent in a free market. Unlike the modern free-market zealots of today, Galbraith promoted government intervention in the economy when needed. Corporations, if left unchecked, may get detached from the people they serve, hence the government imposes safeguards such as antimonopoly laws.

Can the government go too far and become a burden? Was Galbraith an idealist at times? Absolutely. Yet his one recurring theme is frighteningly prophetic. He warned that corporations can get so large and powerful that they will control the government and society.

Rand Moorhead St. Petersburg

Free markets are best

Re: Erudite, elegant and wrong.

Thanks to the Times for offering a balanced view of the economic landscape by printing Clive Crook's outstanding analysis of the socialist economist John Kenneth Galbraith. Galbraith's vision of a select few directing large centralized systems to run economies (and lives) was - and is - dangerous in its requirement to ignore the value of individual liberty. Lovers of big government and Galbraith claim price controls, extensive regulation and central planning will solve all of our problems.

History repeatedly shows us that economists like Milton Friedman and F.A. Hayek have gotten it right. It is people - possessed of individual liberty and operating in free markets - that provide the most benefit to all. We should learn this from the fall of the Soviet Union, the failure of socialized medicine in many modern countries, the failure of the Great Society and welfare, and failing overly funded and overly regulated centralized education in our own county.

It may not be too late for our country if we can adopt free market reforms such as personal ownership of retirement funds, health savings accounts and school vouchers.

Surely the centralized system, which won't be able to fulfill its promises for health care, Social Security and education, will feel little remorse when it can't deliver. Those who had trusted the government to plan for them will be left in the cold.

David McKalip, St. Petersburg

Manipulated markets

Re: Erudite, elegant and wrong.

Clive Crook may feel good trying to cut John Kenneth Galbraith down to his stature; but that would take some doing. Crook could start by answering one question:

Crook refers to Milton Friedman as the champion of free markets. Would the real champion of the free market, Adam Smith in Wealth of Nations, allow the chairman of the Federal Reserve to arbitrarily manipulate interest rates to force millions into unemployment - to deliberately cause even more millions into underemployment?

It appears Friedman does not believe in the free market when he sanctions managing the "free" market economy by manipulating interest rates.

Daniel J. Roque, Tampa

Bush: a leader for these trying times

Re: President grabs power while Congress sleeps, May 21.

Isn't it ironic that Robyn Blumner would say that our "intellectually limited president" has been intellectual enough to be "handed the game board" by both Democrats and Republican leaders?

Maybe Blumner hasn't noticed that we are at war. Maybe the information that the press has released has helped our enemies - the same enemy that has caused our GIs to be killed or injured.

Blumner apparently can't get over the fact that George Bush is our president. God knows he's not perfect. But thank God we have a leader who is not afraid of leading our nation in a time of crisis.

Robert Lehman, Palm Harbor

An indelible stain

Re: Whatever happened to redemption? May 21.

As a white woman who was 12 when the riots broke out in Miami, I was shocked by the article about William Hanlon. The article spoke of an "incident," but here is what I remember: In 1980, I could count the fires from the front porch of my home, less than a mile from the northern boundary set up by the National Guard. At that time I was old enough to understand that white police officers had beaten another human to death, lied about it and walked away from a white jury with no penalty. I was ashamed to be white.

At that young age, I decided that to be a police officer was certainly not a "profession," but rather a position in which people could profess to uphold the law as they bent or broke it. With maturity, I have learned that there are many great people in law enforcement.

I want to thank the Florida Bar for turning Hanlon away. There would be no issue if he had gone to prison as he should have. If he were truly sorry, he would be content to keep a low profile while continuing to help others. Only God offers redemption, but Hanlon has to push it by asking people to not only forgive but to forget. The stain he and his buddies left on the community they were supposed to be serving is indelible.

When I think of Arthur McDuffie, I am still ashamed to be white.

E. Peterson, Clearwater

Eye candy gets a 'no' vote

Re: Interns who turn heads, May 21.

Ah, what a comfort to know that our hardworking male legislators in Tallahassee are treating attractive young lobbyist assistants as eye candy! Obviously, these politically savvy men are truly interested only in serving us, their constituents.

I also find the assumption that a beautiful woman must be brainless to be completely offensive. Unfortunately, even some of the young women involved haven't yet understood that their really important assets are under their flowing tresses!

No wonder our fine representatives accomplish so little while spending so much of our money.

Martha Brinsko, St. Pete Beach

[Last modified May 28, 2006, 06:01:51]