The Bush-era tax cuts; the aftermath of Occupy L.A.; William F. Buckley and modern conservatives

Bush’s tax cuts

Re “Bush-era tax cuts still loom large,” Nov. 28

To Republicans who continue to protest the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts for the most affluent Americans, based on the theory that tax cuts for wealthy business owners stimulate job growth: The theory isn’t working.

The cuts have been in place for a decade, yet unemployment has increased since 2007, and forecasts indicate it will remain at the present 9% rate until next year, if not longer.

What is unclear about this? And why wouldn’t a different policy now be warranted given this history of poor results taking the Bush-era approach?

David Shannon

Cayucos

The Times looks at taxation from the wrong perspective.

As for revenue, the government starts with zero. Whatever taxation results in revenue is approved through our elected officials and is determined to be necessary for the government to perform its constitutional mandates.

There is no such thing as a “tax cut” or “tax break” costing the government anything. It only means that the people, through their representatives, have determined that the government is spending too much.

Hardy Pruuel

Torrance

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) has absolutely no way of knowing that “even if Republicans agreed to every tax increase desired by the president, our national debt would continue to grow uncontrollably.”

He is simply stating a Republican talking point. Repetition does not make it true.

But we do have evidence that giving the wealthy tax breaks does not contribute to job creation, and that lowering corporate taxes to 25% will not result in their repatriating funds they have “squirreled away” abroad.

I wish there were some way the American people could tell legislators such as Hensarling that they’re full of hot air.

Robert McEwen

Cypress

Occupy’s leftovers

Re “Occupy’s treasures become city’s trash,” Dec. 1

Thirty tons of trash and maybe $1 million to clean up the mess and repair damage to City Hall: I think the bill for that should go not to the taxpayers but to the mayor, City Council members and the labor unions that welcomed and coddled the Occupy L.A. protesters.

We all know why the campers were welcomed and praised. They are, for the most part, liberals, and those who do vote likely vote Democratic.

I am truly ashamed to admit that I live in this city.

Bob Rosenberg

Woodland Hills

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says it’ll cost about $1 million to clean up the protest site. No city needs added costs in this economy.

But how does that stack up against the billions in bailouts that taxpayers gave to banks, the loss of homes to those foreclosed on and the loss of income and jobs at the hands of the greedy? That $1 million for cleanup pales next to the suffering by the 99%.

I’m grateful to the protesters of the 1960s and ‘70s, and it’s sad we’re in that place again. Next time you feel apathy or anger toward the protesters, think about why they brave the cold and the abuse.

$1 million? Maybe the mayor could get the 1% to chip in.

L.J. Bousquet

Albany, Ore.

Conservatives, then and now

Re “God and man and William Buckley,” Opinion, Nov. 27

As Carl Bogus writes, the modern conservative movement does indeed have its origins in William F. Buckley’s seminal work, “God and Man at Yale.” However, it took several years for the book to reach a wide audience.

Meanwhile, another point of origin for the conservative movement came from two brothers who happened to be government insiders. CIA Director Allen Dulles and Eisenhower administration Secretary of State John Foster Dulles waged the Cold War as an economic, military and political contest.

Their other motivations neatly dovetailed with Buckley’s. John Foster Dulles frequently referred to the enemy as “Godless communism.”

One can only wonder what path the nation’s politics would have taken if Buckley had attended Georgetown or Boston College.

William King

Upland

Bogus makes a well-reasoned argument as to Buckley’s influence on modern conservatism, including the Buckley heirs’ black-and-white view of government’s role in economics and the “us-against-them” view of those who believe in God and those who don’t.

The only thing Bogus gets wrong is his theory that Buckley’s ideas “imbued the modern conservative movement with so much fervor,” citing Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. On the contrary, Limbaugh’s and Coulter’s fervor comes from their being pure entertainers and chasing the conservative dollar, not out of any philosophical bents — theirs or Buckley’s.

Ken Goldman

Beverly Hills

Santa Monica’s airport battle

Re “Airport fight in pivotal phase,” Nov. 26

So Joe Justice of Justice Aviation thinks that the non-piloting public just doesn’t understand the “joy, the sense of accomplishment and the experience of flying.”

And Mark Smith, a Santa Monica businessman and pilot, thinks that if residents don’t like pollution from leaded-gasoline aircraft engines, then Ocean Boulevard and the 10 Freeway should be closed down — never mind that cars use unleaded fuel.

What hope do residents of Los Angeles have in dealing with such egos? Oh, let the 99 percenters eat cake.

Strange how so many things change and yet the same sense of entitlement continues.

Rita Burton

Pacific Palisades

It’s especially fitting that the Nov. 26 Times had an article on efforts to close Santa Monica’s airport next to the one about plans to shut down the Occupy L.A. movement.

The airport battle is a classic demonstration of the 1% (the handful of adjacent property owners) trying to deny the 99% the economic benefits (about $275 million a year in economic activity to Santa Monica and Los Angeles residents, according to a 2011 study) just so they can have quiet backyards.

At least wealth and privilege can still have their way in Santa Monica.

Don Gray

Santa Monica

Healthcare help

Re “Rosenfield goes after health insurers,” Business, Nov. 26

Consumer Watchdog’s ballot measure is devoid of real solutions. Regulating insurance rates does not address the underlying forces that drive healthcare costs.

One of the biggest drivers of healthcare costs stems from the chronic underfunding of the Medicare and Medi-Cal programs. There’s a significant gap between what the government pays providers and what it actually costs to provide care. In 2010, this gap left hospitals underpaid by $8.4 billion.

When programs fail to pay the actual cost of caring for their beneficiaries, hospitals and other providers must shift these unreimbursed costs to private insurers, which drives up premiums. The problem is worsening as government payments continue to be cut in the wake of state and federal budget deficits.

Rate regulation will not solve this core problem. It will, however, create ineffective regulation and bureaucracy.

We need real solutions to address rising healthcare costs. Rate regulation isn’t part of that equation.

C. Duane Dauner

Sacramento

The writer is chief executive and president of the California Hospital Assn.

In debt to him

Re “To some, the U.S. debt is personal,” Nov. 27

The attempt by Atanacio Garcia to help lower our national debt is absurd, ridiculous, futile and totally endearing on every level. He is a true American hero. He is my hero.

Garcia is doing more for his country in his own small way than Bill Gates ever could. He deserves our respect and our profound thanks.

Jaycie Ingersoll

Beverly Hills