defining wealth

EDITOR: Bob Hesse wrote that only the rich pay taxes Social Security (“Tax cut for Trump” Letters, 25 October). Really? According to the IRSA married couple with adjusted gross income of $44,000 pays taxes on 85% of their Social Security. Accordingly Sonoma County Community Action Partnershipthe same couple are “very low income.” So what is it? Is this couple rich or in poverty? Every time I hear a politician say they’re going to make the rich pay their fair share, it scares me. Am I $44,000 rich or $400,000 rich? It seems it’s in the eye of the beholder. The only way the math works out for a significant additional tax on the rich is if the rich are actually middle class. Be afraid, be very afraid.

RICK MORE

Santa Rosa

Losing traffic lanes

EDITOR: The Press Democrat published two stories about downtown Santa Rosa business closures; both cited slowness or lack of foot traffic as reasons for the closure. We know of other businesses downtown that have closed but are not covered by the same insurance. Don’t you think these should encourage the city to rethink its policy of reducing lanes leading downtown (southbound and northbound Mendocino Boulevard and now westbound Third Avenue)? Did they really think reducing lanes would increase people going downtown to support businesses? Tip: Windsor, Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Rincon Valley, Sebastopol, etc. Most people from the regions do not cycle to buy furniture and eat dinner.

HRISTINE PRICE

Santa Rosa

a rejection

EDITOR: After the last four years of repudiation of clown politics, the Press Democrat may focus on something more important than Trump character assassination. The problem is not Donald Trump; The problem is political corruption. The things that result from 800-900 new laws every year get us $20 burgers and $50 pizzas. The thing that kills small businesses and brings in $2,500 a month in rent. What allows taxpayers to subsidize these rents and everything else to maintain the imported poverty and crime ring.

The Press Democrat might consider replacing the dozen commenting parrots they use every day to make corruption seem normal or good. This is not true, it’s a bad joke. Of course, it is unacceptable for a group of people to live under different rules and break the law. We shouldn’t have to deal with hundreds of unlicensed uninsured drivers and sneaking thieves out every night.

In four years, Democrats will remove Gavin Newsom from power, and he will be elected because he is cute, has great hair, and is married to his aunt Nancy Pelosi’s brother-in-law. Why not fix the things that are destroying the state and killing the middle class during this time?

DAVID HAYNES

Santa Rosa

Call it Armistice Day

EDITOR: When you find yourself about to say:Veterans DayPlease stop and think. It wasn’t planned to be military related. The day was a celebration of peace and the end of all wars and it was called “armistice day.” The US government changed it to honor veterans so you would forget the peace connection. Most of the time, when you honor the veteran, you also honor the war, because there’s no way a country would send people it honors to kill and die in an unnecessary war, right? But it can, and it routinely does. Please insist on calling it Armistice Day.

SUSAN COLLIER LAMONT

Santa Rosa

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