Letters to the Editor for May 11

Greed, hate ruining the America that made the middle class

In defense of unions, after WWII, jobs were hard to find. Under the GI bill, my husband became an apprentice plumber. He worked six days a week for about a $1 an hour, plus a small amount from the government.

When there was not a ditch to be dug or a house to crawl under, he was the boy who mowed the boss' lawn or washed his car.

Whether you are a union member or not, you enjoy the benefits they have fought for - 40-hour work weeks, minimum wage, safe working conditions, health insurance, pension plans, vacations, to name a few. Unions made the middle class.

The reason jobs are going out of the country? Greed.

I know a fellow whose company went abroad, he laughed and said, "Here we pay $10 an hour, there we pay 65 cents, and they are afraid to take a break."

How arrogant. This breeds hate. Isn't it strange, a teacher or state worker, plumber or a trade that earns $ 30,000 to $80,000 is not worthy, yet the average CEO makes millions? Nobody complains when a sitcom star makes a million dollars for a 30-minute episode or a football star signs a $6 million contract, or we have a Congress that only looks out for the rich.

It makes me very sad that the children of today, will never know the America my children knew.

Velda Kennedy

Carson City

Balloon releases dangerous to our wildlife

When releasing balloons into the air, keep in mind these balloons have to come down somewhere, and it is on private property where they do. There are thousands of acres of forest and sagebrush land. Balloons can take months/years to decompose.

I live in the forest and flat land. I walk my dogs every day. It is not unusual for me to find balloons hanging on sagebrush, trees or on the ground. Very ugly. Animals can swallow these because of the scents they pick up or for other reasons, especially in the winter when food is scarce. Deer eat sagebrush and tree foliage and can eat them without knowing it. Once in the stomach they can stretch and eventually cause death. Birds, both land and water, can get the rubber around their necks and/or swallow it resulting in possible death.

Please consider our wildlife, the beauty of our forests and the private property of others before the release of balloons.

Tom Watts

Gardnerville