Readers share views on the power of consumers, business regulations and bullying
Real job creators
Previous writers have touched on the importance of consumer spending in the economy. Put simply, we, the consumers, are the real job creators.
If the Republicans parade out the tired excuse that taxing the wealthy is hurting the “job creators,” yell at the top of your voice, “No, they’re not the job creators. We are.”
No wealthy investor will build a plant and create jobs if there is no demand.
When we get fair wages and higher minimum wages, we buy houses, cars and other goods that fuel job creation to meet that demand.
Remind the Republicans: “Everybody does better when everybody does better.”
One percenters, share your good fortune, feel good and reap future rewards.
Les Slowik
Kansas City
Tough love time
I think I’m starting to see a pattern here (4-19, A1, “Present and the future collide in Startup Village”).
First, a City Council member gets the city health department to bend the rules to allow a pop-up bread baker to sell bakery goods in vacant storefronts.
Uber wants to run a taxi service completely unfettered by Kansas City regulations.
Now we have tech businesses turning a once-quiet residential area into a high-tech, 24-hour industrial area, renting homes, violating occupancy codes and turning yards into gravel parking lots.
In every one of these cases, the young entrepreneurs have tried to circumvent city regulations, and in every case they have found sympathetic city officials to help them.
I believe in attracting innovative businesses to the metropolitan area, but not at the expense of licensing, non-taxable undeclared income, public safety and above all public health.
The new norm is non-compliance, refusal to comply to laws, regulations and city ordinances.
Perhaps it’s time for a little leadership, or tough love.
Just tell them no.
David Zagalik
Kansas City
Labeling the poor
A little girl in the Netherlands in the 1940s saw several people with a big yellow “J” inside a yellow star on their outerwear. I was very young, but I still remember.
This was to indicate they were Jewish. At that time, they had yet not been sent to the concentration camps.
In the south of the proud United States of America during the Jim Crow era, black people had to sit in the back of the bus and drink from designated water fountains. They also were not served at restaurants and the like.
It happened to Irish people not being hired.
Now in the great state of Kansas, poor people on public assistance are restricted in many public avenues, such as going to swimming pools.
So I am asking Gov. Sam Brownback and friends, will we design a pretty “P” for people to wear on their T-shirts to indicate they are poor?
Otherwise, how does one indicate that one is poor and on welfare.
This in a country that calls itself exceptional as a free democracy with equality for all. These are bad times for the people of Kansas.
Maria Baldwin
Kansas City
School bullying
More than 60 percent of Missouri’s youths have reported making fun of other people. As grim as that sounds, it doesn’t convey how damaging bullying can be to a child’s education.
Although I’m glad legislators care about this issue, sometimes preventative measures aren’t enough. This is especially true when bullying occurs off campus.
In such cases, administrators often can’t act. When parents have exhausted their options — deleting social network accounts, calling campus police, calling regular police, reporting incidents to the school — they need a safety net. That safety net is school choice.
Naomi Goodloe returned to the Normandy School District after using the transfer program for one year. She felt bullied and was even attacked while at Normandy. Luckily for her, she again was able to use the transfer program to escape an educational environment where she felt threatened.
Although it’s positive that students such as Naomi have access to school choice, bullying can take many forms and can occur anywhere, not just in unaccredited schools. All children should have the opportunity to enjoy learning in a physically and emotionally safe environment.
If public schools can’t offer that, children should have access to other educational options.
Brittany Wagner
Policy
Research Assistant
Show-Me Institute
St. Louis
Obamacare robbery
To focus in on this Obamacare state/federal subsidy matter, an analogy is helpful. What if you came home from work and found that someone had stolen your pickup? Next morning you saw your neighbor driving your pickup.
When you confronted him, he said his father had given it to him the night before because he did not have such nice things.
Would you take steps to recover your property or just keep making the loan payments on the pickup?
Democrats have stolen your money and paid it to people who have no legal right to it under the law as written. Only those who signed up with state exchanges are entitled to the money to be able to afford the high costs of Obamacare. But the Democrats are giving your money to everyone.
Democrats will villainize the Republicans for wanting to return your money. Never mind that the Democrats stole the money in the first place.
President Barack Obama wants you to just get over it. But it is your money.
Do you want to keep paying so your neighbor can continue to drive your pickup? A thief cannot acquire legitimate ownership of stolen goods. You have been robbed.
Mike Hellige
Olathe
Caring for children
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and in our city children are victims of crime at increasingly alarming rates. Sadly, in more cases than not, someone knows of the neglect or abuse long before it is reported.
As a community, we must wrap our arms around children and families. We must ensure families have the emotional, social, physical and financial support they need to succeed. We must also show the utmost love and support to children. It is our responsibility to protect them and ensure they have lives free of violence.
One way we can open this door of support is to know our neighbors and their children — really know them by faces, names and interests. We must form healthy relationships, where we can depend on each other to help raise the village we have all been entrusted to raise.
When we truly realize that we are interdependent, we will realize it’s OK to seek help from each other. We will realize it’s OK to give our help.
Don’t let another silent voice crying out for help go unnoticed. Help save a child. Help save a family. Help save our community.
Rochelle Parker
Independence
Unfeeling legislators
Have you ever seen a more self-serving, narcissistic, shortsighted and mean-spirited legislature than here in Missouri?
It’s a good thing these Missouri legislators are good Christian men and women and not hurting children and families intentionally.
That might be viewed as hypocritical. Upstanding church-goers wouldn’t do that.
When Jesus said to let the children come to me and don’t get in their way or be damned, that just doesn’t apply to the legislators in our state. No, they have tough decisions to make like protecting their own hard-earned benefits even if it hurts people.
We are the Show Me State, and boy are they showing us how to serve their own self-interest and their re-election-money bosses.
Meanwhile, thousands of children, the working poor, the sick and anyone else who fits the label, “the least of these,” are just out of luck.
I’m sure Missouri lawmakers think Jesus is smiling on them for standing up to the “lazy” 47 percent and cleverly protecting their own benefits by dumping the cost on the backs of powerless. What a clear Christian message.
We are witnessing a legislative group-think of people who give themselves self-importance and the license to do whatever they please. How pathetic.
James L. Wrolstad
Liberty
This story was originally published April 25, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Readers share views on the power of consumers, business regulations and bullying."