Letters to the Editor for Jan. 16, 2019

Human rights

According to our founding fathers, you have the right to the pursuit of happiness. That means you have the right to pursue your happiness to the best of your abilities under the laws of our country.

The government does not guarantee your happiness; you have to make your bed and you have to take the consequences for all your actions. Sometimes we make poor decisions and it’s nobody’s fault but our own.

We have no right to get free stuff from the government or from anyone else for that matter. If the touchy-feely politicians want to give you free stuff, well, that’s what elections are for. It’s easy to give money away when it’s not your money. Politicians forget that there is no free lunch. Somebody has to pay for our free lunches. So get off your fat A ... and earn your way.

We have no build-in rights for free health care, free college, free food, free housing, free ?? ... free ?? ... free??

If our school districts would start teaching our kids history, they would see some similarities from the past. The Romans ruled the world, but their demise came from within, and the U.S. is following the same stupid philosophy the Romans followed. Learn from other people’s mistakes as well as from our mistakes.

Feryl Fitzgerald

Carson City

How is this economy strong?

If this economy is so strong, then why do so many people have little to zero in their emergency savings accounts? I feel bad for the federal employees going without pay, but if many are living paycheck to paycheck, then how is this a strong economy? Rents and mortgages used to be granted if they were 25 percent of gross income, but today rents or mortgages may be as much as a whopping 47 percent of gross income or more. And this would explain the no cash-flow syndrome. It’s beginning to sound like the housing crunch of 2008.

Honestly, low interest rates for so long have driven property values so high, they have become untouchable for many of us. Because of speculators buying up properties, not all can buy a house thereby creating an unfair playing field for many. A home is an American dream, but not everyone can afford a home. It’s heartbreaking being in this tight and expensive housing crisis.

Ann Burke

Carson City