Letters to the Editor - December 29, 2011
Published on Mon, Dec 27, 2010Read More Letters to the Editor
Leave it to the Legislature....again
Dear Editor,
Why can’t the legislature actually review the activities of the state and begin holding state agencies accountable and reducing the enormous amounts of money “to study and manage” every minute action the state can think of to employ yet another FTE (full time equivalent)? Why does the legislature continue to prop up a foolish government at the expense of its current and future citizen tax payers ?
For example, once again the children in state custody and foster care are being punished for the state’s continuous overspending on growing bureaucratic programs. While services for children were already at a premium, now they are becoming almost nonexistent as the money in DSHS dwindles, and who has already suffered? The children! Instead of getting counseling, intensive and specific interventions to correct the damage they were born into, DSHS has cut those services while continuing to offer a drug using parent, two, three or maybe even 5 tries at intensive inpatient drug treatment because everyone knows, relapse is common and seldom do users make it after only one try. I believe we need to unionize the children since that is the only thing the state actually listens to.
However, that doesn’t explain the State’s follies throughout its agencies. The Office of Financial Management will spend over one million to “make preparations for implementation of the working families tax exemption.” So, we spend money to give it away! Brilliant! And, how about the four million to “enhance revenue?” Or over three million for sales tax compliance? That’s just one department, so how about over 1.5 million for freshwater aquatic weeds account, part of which is used to “manage and study” excessive saltwater algae. Wasn’t this supposed to be used only on freshwater weeds?
There are over 900 different sections in the state’s most recently passed budget bill, and yet the biggest “losers” are Education and Social Services—everything which affects people, but much less that affect government bureaucracies managing weeds, soil, air or anything else inanimate! Ask your legislator if he/she even read this bill.
“It’s important to realize that whenever you give power to politicians or bureaucrats, it will be used for what they want, not for what you want.”-- Harry Browne
Catherine Paxton
Arlington
Nuclear power plants could be the answer to green energy
Dear Editor,
When our state legislature meets later next month an idea they should consider is petitioning for the construction of one-to-two nuclear power plants in Washington State.
The Governor and Legislature have for years preached a “greener” energy solution and nuclear is a great solution that exists today.
Currently the U.S. receives 20 percent of it’s electricity from nuclear plants while Europe has embraced the technology: Belgium gets 56 percent, Sweden 45 percent, and France 79 percent just to mention a few.
Critics mention safety, yet we already operate 124 for electricity in the U.S. and not to mention the nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines that operate with no incidents worldwide.
Current ideas mention wind and solar, but they are not cost effective with coal costing $0.04 per kilowatt/hr and wind costing $0.12 per kilowatt/hr. Also where do you put these wind-farms and solar panels?
We would need a solar facility spanning 684.5 square kilometers to produce the same electricity of a three-square kilometer nuclear power plant.
The construction of nuclear plants would create jobs and also in it’s operation.
Todd Welch
Lake Stevens
Dear Editor,
Why can’t the legislature actually review the activities of the state and begin holding state agencies accountable and reducing the enormous amounts of money “to study and manage” every minute action the state can think of to employ yet another FTE (full time equivalent)? Why does the legislature continue to prop up a foolish government at the expense of its current and future citizen tax payers ?
For example, once again the children in state custody and foster care are being punished for the state’s continuous overspending on growing bureaucratic programs. While services for children were already at a premium, now they are becoming almost nonexistent as the money in DSHS dwindles, and who has already suffered? The children! Instead of getting counseling, intensive and specific interventions to correct the damage they were born into, DSHS has cut those services while continuing to offer a drug using parent, two, three or maybe even 5 tries at intensive inpatient drug treatment because everyone knows, relapse is common and seldom do users make it after only one try. I believe we need to unionize the children since that is the only thing the state actually listens to.
However, that doesn’t explain the State’s follies throughout its agencies. The Office of Financial Management will spend over one million to “make preparations for implementation of the working families tax exemption.” So, we spend money to give it away! Brilliant! And, how about the four million to “enhance revenue?” Or over three million for sales tax compliance? That’s just one department, so how about over 1.5 million for freshwater aquatic weeds account, part of which is used to “manage and study” excessive saltwater algae. Wasn’t this supposed to be used only on freshwater weeds?
There are over 900 different sections in the state’s most recently passed budget bill, and yet the biggest “losers” are Education and Social Services—everything which affects people, but much less that affect government bureaucracies managing weeds, soil, air or anything else inanimate! Ask your legislator if he/she even read this bill.
“It’s important to realize that whenever you give power to politicians or bureaucrats, it will be used for what they want, not for what you want.”-- Harry Browne
Catherine Paxton
Arlington
Nuclear power plants could be the answer to green energy
Dear Editor,
When our state legislature meets later next month an idea they should consider is petitioning for the construction of one-to-two nuclear power plants in Washington State.
The Governor and Legislature have for years preached a “greener” energy solution and nuclear is a great solution that exists today.
Currently the U.S. receives 20 percent of it’s electricity from nuclear plants while Europe has embraced the technology: Belgium gets 56 percent, Sweden 45 percent, and France 79 percent just to mention a few.
Critics mention safety, yet we already operate 124 for electricity in the U.S. and not to mention the nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines that operate with no incidents worldwide.
Current ideas mention wind and solar, but they are not cost effective with coal costing $0.04 per kilowatt/hr and wind costing $0.12 per kilowatt/hr. Also where do you put these wind-farms and solar panels?
We would need a solar facility spanning 684.5 square kilometers to produce the same electricity of a three-square kilometer nuclear power plant.
The construction of nuclear plants would create jobs and also in it’s operation.
Todd Welch
Lake Stevens
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