Readers react to mass shootings, immigration and Kris Kobach
Mass shootings
Here we go again: “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
“We are praying for the victims.”
This country is drowning in guns, and we have a daily mass murder. People with guns kill people, and spineless politicians are “preying” on the victims to get campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association.
I would say people should be ashamed, but after Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., it has been established that too many people have no shame.
Linda Christian
Greenwood
Immigration, wages
Recent labor studies show that low-income workers’ share of the overall economic pie has declined since 1980. These studies conveniently leave out one important factor — the effect of immigration on low-income wages.
Studies and reports that are agenda-driven apparently don’t want readers to equate high immigration levels with lower wages for native-born American workers.
Since 1980, the nation’s immigrant population has increased dramatically. Professor George Borjas of the Harvard Kennedy School of Economics and Social Policy has documented the negative effect that legal and illegal immigration has had on low-income wage earners, especially those without a high school education (“Immigration and the American Worker,” 2013).
Even socialist Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders stated at a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce event in July that lower wages were tethered to an influx of immigrants.
As long as the effect of immigration is left out of economic equations, policymakers will never truly understand and solve our wage-disparity crisis.
Michael Kalny
Shawnee
Kobach failures
How is the Kansas secretary of state doing in his job? Let’s look at his results. That’s what any employer does with his or her staff, isn’t it?
Secretary of State Kris Kobach is responsible for voter registration and elections, among other things. How is he doing in that role?
When Kansans come of age, turning 18 years old, how many register to vote? According to the census, about 50 percent. What is that grade for the person who runs the voter-registration system? Failing, right?
When Kansas has elections, how many voters vote? Last midterm election, 40.9 percent. Last presidential election year, 67 percent voted, the lowest rate in a century. Both are failing grades.
The Kansas secretary of state is failing to get new voters registered and failing to get registered voters to vote. That’s after five years in the job.
Apparently, he’s either incompetent or lazy. What does one do with an employee who produces failing results?
Fire him, right?
Chris Roesel
Roeland Park
Food happiness
Not only is Big Brother watching you, but he is also telling you what you can and cannot eat. Government “experts” tell us to beware of red meat, avoid bacon, hot dogs are poison and soda pop is a no-no. There’s a never-ending litany of things we must no longer eat.
Yet, studies indicate Americans are living longer. Granted, obesity is a major health issue. But most government studies are not designed to address obesity.
If Big Brother persists and is successful with this crusade, we will one day be taking our nourishment through a straw or by a pill.
Steve Katz
Leawood
This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to mass shootings, immigration and Kris Kobach."