Letters to the editor: April 25, 2020

ELECTION LETTERS

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Reopening businesses could overcome fear

What if?

This is one of those simple questions that is asked so frequently about many things. I want to apply it to the current public conversation regarding reopening the economy, and the hypothetical potential for decreased risk from doing it in an expedited fashion.

Let's look back to the beginnings of this whole COVID-19 pandemic event. There was no social distancing. People were advised by the “experts” that face masks were of little or no use to the public, and there were no solid guidelines regarding transmission risks. One can easily hypothesize, because of the highly infectious nature of this virus, that transmission levels among our population were higher than suspected during the early period, leaving a disproportionate percentage of survivors and asymptomatic persons completely unaccounted for. “What if” this is indeed the factual case?

I know that we need to get this country's economic engine back up and running again as quickly as possible, albeit on a slightly limited basis. Not starting the engine is akin to having a leak in a boat. If you don't start repairing it very soon, it will continue to worsen until the boat no longer floats. This is the direction our economy is heading, and for small businesses, can become catastrophic fairly soon. Some boats have already sunk and will not resurface again. How long can we let these entities languish in economic pain? Let's give reopening a try and see what transpires. “What if” fear itself has become the greater enemy?

Bill Belcher

Dayton

More dialogue needed to open economy

When watching Gov. Sisolak’s news conference on April 22, the hope was that there would be some words of encouragement regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Statistics are showing that there has been a reduction in the spread of the virus. The public has been compliant with social distancing, wearing face masks, gloves, hand washing, and staying at home.

It is time to start looking at ways to open certain businesses (many on the brink of closing permanently) with sensible precautions. We heard instead that there would be no changes at this time.

Has Gov. Sisolak considered meeting with business owners to discuss ways that we could start up the economy again with sensible precautions? This is being done in other states.

Lets talk and save our businesses and economy!

Joann Mathis

Carson City

Questions for AOC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has stated, “Americans should protest economic insecurity by refusing to work after coronavirus-related restrictions are lifted.”

One question is, where does she think her $174,00 annual salary comes from? Another question is, where do the funds for all the programs she approves come from?

I have always understood that all the government's funds come from the taxes they impose on the workers and the companies and corporations that employ them. The workers make the products and services that are sold by the businesses to generate the funds to pay their employees, so they can pay their taxes, and the businesses can also pay their taxes.

If people are not working no taxes can be generated to pay our elected officals and their programs.

A final question is what kind of economics is taught at Boston University when she attended?

Sanford Deyo

Minden

Traditional politics under act
Thanks to Guy Farmer for his objective and accurate April 18 column characterizing President Trump’s long political rants during the COVID-19 “briefings.” Over 60 percent of these two hours or longer TV sessions are, as Mr. Farmer points out, Trump political “reality shows” demonstrating how “perfect” he is while attacking reporters asking legitimate questions and misleading the American public on the risks of the pandemic. Sometimes actual reality slips in, as when he admitted that he believes that his Presidential “total authority” places him above the Constitution and laws. Oops!
What I find continually bemusing is the common theme from Trump supporters that any criticism of his policies is only because the critic is a “Trump Hater.” Is this a reflection of Trump's own narcissism that he is “perfect” in every respect, and so, naturally, everyone should love him?

Given that delusion, then the logical corollary is that if you offer a criticism you no longer “love” him, so you must “hate” him, and that can be the only basis for the criticism.
That distortion perhaps can be excused for Trump given the personality disorder exhibited in his political rants, but his supporters using the same love-hate test of reality reminds one more of the North Korean 'Dear Leader' cultism than traditional Republican politics. I do not ‘hate’ Trump as an individual. If anything I feel sorry for his personality disorder. However I do despise how the resultant Trumpism has distorted our traditional politics and is threatening our American democracy.

Jon Nowlin

Carson City

Power over humanity

In future eons when aliens land on our poor planet and dig through the rubble they shall find traces of a great nation which collapsed from failure of its leaders. They will see decline start with them stubbornly clinging to voodoo economies which claimed trade deficits could be sustained forever, and that goods should always be brought to market at the lowest possible prices.
Citizens whose lives were trashed by these “economies” rebelled, and in the heat of their rebellion went too far. They chose a powerholic moral cripple to lead the nation. A man who “knew” that America, and America alone was great, and heaped scorn and insult on all its allies. A man whose every act was both “perfect” and deniable. One who would take credit for anything which went right, and deny the blame for everything which went wrong.
Having first made this leader great, the gods unleashed a challenge. They sent a disease to infect the whole nation. It threatened to ruin the economy or kill off mainly its unproductive elders and those with “underlying conditions.” It presented this moral cripple with a dilemma. Save lives or act to restore the economy. He couldn’t figure out how do both, so after listening carefully to his toadies tell him how great he was, he took those steps he thought would give him the best chance to stay in power, and ended up both ruining the economy, and killing millions.

Michael Goldeen
Carson City