Letters: Readers discuss Trump’s campaign manager, Jackson County jail and rental inspections
We’re the boss
It seems our City Council members are mimicking our representatives in Jefferson City concerning the (non-) passage of ethics reform. (July 29, 20A, “Better ideas wanted for needed ethics reform at City Hall”)
I find their actions both pathetic and disgusting. They seem to forget for whom they work. I hope all of us remember this on Election Day.
Joseph Saviano
Kansas City
A poor choice
I was disappointed to see that The Star published such an inflammatory piece filled with misinformation and half truths as the one Monday by Brad Parscale, manager of President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. (7A, “Whose side is McCaskill on with Kavanaugh?”)
The author’s leadership with the Trump 2016 digital campaign might prove to be of interest to the special counsel.
Contrasting opinions are healthy, but this read like a political smear article.
Fran Rice
Leawood
Jail remedy
Why is the Jackson County jail so full all the time? It is incredibly expensive to house prisoners. It turns out that most prisoners are in the jail only because they cannot post bail. Our unequal bail system sets up one path for those who can post bail and therefore can keep their lives on track while preparing for trial.
Others lack the resources to post bail, so they sit in jail while they lose their jobs, homes and kids. Most of these people are not a significant risk to others and should not be in jail awaiting trial.
Only those with a demonstrable risk of violence or flight if released should be kept in the jail pending trial.
By lowering the jail population this way, the cost savings could be used to increase the pay of jail staff, increasing morale and professionalism.
Private consultants will never recommend this. What we need are good public servants in elected office who don’t pass the buck and then take bucks for passing it.
Nathan Kline
Green Party candidate
for Jackson County
Executive
Kansas City
Won’t fix housing
Question 1 on the Aug. 7 ballot is one more attempt by Kansas City to extract money from residential rental-property owners, and ultimately their renters, to fund a new regulatory program destined to worsen an already significant affordable-housing crisis.
The city already possesses substantial housing-code standards and police powers it chooses not to enforce because the ultimate resolution of unresponsive egregious violations would require property closures and resident displacement with no affordable relocation options.
Question 1 would result in higher rents, more stringent tenant screening, more derelict properties as owners divest their Kansas City holdings, declining reinvestment in older housing stock and surrounding neighborhood infrastructure, years of taxpayer-funded litigation over fundamental individual privacy and property rights and the displacement of countless families who will have few if any affordable housing options within the city.
Another unintended consequence would be to remove millions of dollars of market-value residential real estate from the tax rolls, which would hurt the tax base and associated revenues for schools, police, fire, health and other basic services.
Question 1 should be soundly rejected by voters as just another excuse for the city to ineffectively enforce existing housing laws.
Sam Alpert
Executive vice president
Heartland Apartment
Association
Kansas City
Red scare?
I was disappointed to see The Star led last Friday’s edition with the news of Sen. Claire McCaskill’s campaign being the target of Russian hackers. (1A, “Report says Russia tried to hack McCaskill’s office”)
McCaskill’s team was the target of a phishing campaign. This is by far the most common and successful cyberattack method. It happens millions of times every day. It is carried out by nation states, individuals with grudges and entities somewhere between. The motive is fast, easy money. These attacks are nearly impossible to trace because of the decentralized nature of the internet.
It’s likely McCaskill was the target of Russian hackers the same way you and I are the target of princes offering millions of dollars in exchange for a few thousand up front. Accurate? Yes. Lacking in context? Absolutely.
Put another way, it’s like saying someone struck by a lightning bolt was targeted by God.
It’s a crime that Russia meddles in elections. It’s also true that 99 percent of citizens do not understand nearly enough about hacking — how widespread, easy and cost-effective it is — to discuss it accurately.
All of us are targets of hacking every day. Don’t let politicians score easy points or fearmonger because they don’t understand something.
Jay Cook
Kansas City