West Newsmagazine 9-9-20

4 I OPINION I
September 9, 2020
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
A critical disaster
In 1950, Venezuela was the fourth
wealthiest nation in the world per capita.
From about 1958 to the 1980s, Venezuela
had the fourth strongest currency in the
world and was the richest country in South
America primarily because of their vast oil
reserves. Unfortunately, they also had massive
debt due to mismanagement of funds
which ultimately allowed Socialism to get
a foothold into their country.
About 12 years ago, Socialism came to
power and Venezuela’s currency continued
to depreciate further. They have altered
and renamed their currency a few times
to no avail. The Bolivar VEF, their current
currency, is now worth about 10 cents
of our American dollar and is yet another
transitional currency.
People had fled the country in mass
having experienced the empty hand of
Socialism and the bounty of Capitalism.
Is it any wonder then that they have fled
Socialism to embrace Capitalism, albeit
illegally?
Their leaders, who preach Socialism as a
means of achieving prosperity for all, find
themselves in an untenable position of yet
again holding an empty bag of discredited
illusions and bankrupt economic theories.
Any viable society or any society need not
ever go down that road again. A false path
that inevitably ends in ruin and devastation.
The law of economics essentially states
that those who produce at a rational price
get rewarded and those who don’t, don’t
get rewarded.
People do not generally walk hundreds
or thousands of miles to escape one economic
theory only to embrace another economic
theory without very strong reasons
based on their own personal experiences.
Socialism is a critical disaster we don’t
have to make.
William E. Quinn
Replying to ‘Now What’
I couldn’t agree more with Walter Williams
and applaud him. I agree something
needs to be done to correct the racial injustices.
I also believe there have only been
two maybe three people that never sinned.
The statues represent many good men and
women who have done a lot for our country
to make it the greatest country in the
world. Yes, there’s been mistakes but that’s
part of our history and to be learned not
destroyed. Stop all this looting, burning,
rioting and shootings. Let our leaders and
enforcement officers do there work. And if
we need to remind them, then continue the
marches but peacefully. If so, I’m with you
till things change.
Carol DeGhelder
Where’s my sign
Someone favors President Donald J.
Trump so much that they stole my Trump
yard sign for themselves.
How proud your family must be of your
actions. Free speech to some groups is only
one way.
Mike Scott
Taking issue with
Walter Williams
I have to take issue with West Newsmagazine’s
use of Walter E. Williams as your
featured columnist.
The fact is, I appreciate a valid conservative
perspective as much as the next
guy, but I expect it to be fair, honest and
credible. While a little “spin” in an opinion
piece is to be expected, there are at least
two instances where he went beyond spin
and made it all the way to being outright
dishonest.
The first instance was his May 20
column, “Let’s Not Waste a Crisis,” about
the wealth tax. He uses an example of a
taxpayer having a net worth of $500,000
and facing a wealth tax of 32%. Other than
purposely trying to distort the facts, why
would he use an example which uses completely
nonsensical numbers? Nobody has
talked about imposing a wealth tax on any
but the most wealthy, and then they’re only
talking about taxing their wealth at a 1% or
2% rate, which is nowhere near the 32%
rate used in his column.
I’m also opposed to a wealth tax, but I
expect a columnist to be a lot more honest
in opposing it.
The second instance of his outright
dishonesty was in his Aug. 5 column, “Is
Racism Responsible for Today’s Black
Problems.” In the very first paragraph, he
states that “many Americans … support
rioting, looting, wanton property destruction,
assaults on police and other kinds of
mayhem” in response to George Floyd’s
death.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
It’s highly doubtful Mr. Williams would
ever make the claim that “many police
officers are rotten to the core” based on
the actions of just a few, so why make
the implication he did about the few bad
apples protesting George Floyd’s death?
I hope West Newsmagazine will attempt
to find a suitable replacement for Mr. Williams,
because while he’s certainly entitled
to his own opinions, he shouldn’t be entitled
to making up his own set of “alternative
facts” to support them!
Kenneth P. Katt
• • •
When reading the articles authored by
Walter Williams, I often find myself wondering,
“Where is he going with this narrative?”
For example, in his recent entry entitled,
“Is racism responsible for today’s Black
problems?,” he begins by making a statement
that the violence involved in the
protests related to the killing of George
Floyd’s death are based on “the pretense
that police conduct stands as the root of
Black problems.” Really? I doubt that
many people believe that and it is a strange
way to begin his thought.
He continues with a lengthy discussion
of statistics regarding Black-on-Black
deaths compared to white-on-Black deaths,
the legacy of slavery, the evolution of
weak family structure in the Black community,
ending that thought with a statement
that, “If a weak family structure is a
legacy of slavery then people who make
such a claim must tell us how it has managed
to skip nearly five generations to have
an effect.”
By now I really am wondering, “Where
is he going with this?” Ah, it leads him
now into destruction of statues, where he
inserts, “The destruction of symbols of
American history might help relieve the
frustrations of all those white college students
and their professors frustrated by the
2016 election of President Donald Trump”.
BINGO! You finally got where you
wanted to go, Mr. Williams. You point your
finger of accusation at white professors
and students who are frustrated by Trump.
It was a long wandering road but you got
where you wanted to be. Then, you closed
with the clincher statement, “Problems that
Black people face give white leftists cover
for their anti-American agenda.”
Trump, Limbaugh, Hannity and their
comrades are proud of you. But I think our
citizens would be better served with less
inflammatory, negative partisan views.
John F. Doolittle
CORRECTION: In the article “Proposed
craft beer business meets with solitary
opposition” published in the Aug. 5 issue
of West Newsmagazine, quoted statements
from Alderman Jim Leahy were incorrectly
attributed to Alderman Mark Stallman.
West Newsmagazine regrets this error.
Founder
Publisher Emeritus
Publisher
Managing Editor
Associate Editor
Features Editor
Proofreader
Business Manager
Graphic Designer
Graphic Designer
Graphic Layout
Admin. Assistant
Writers
Doug Huber
Sharon Huber
Tim Weber
Kate Uptergrove
Jessica Meszaros
Lisa Russell
Jan Nothum
Erica Myers
Ryan Moore
Donna Deck
Emily Rothermich
Melissa Balcer
Vice President - Direct Sales
Vicky Czapla
Advertising Account Executives
Nancy Anderson
Ellen Hartbeck
Linda Joyce
Jeffrey Bricker
Suzanne Corbett
Jeffry Greenberg
Bonnie Krueger
754 Spirit 40 Park Dr.
Chesterfield, MO 63005
(636) 591-0010 ■ (636) 778-9785 Fax
westnewsmagazine.com
Please send
Comments, Letters and Press Releases to:
editor@newsmagazinenetwork.com
West Newsmagazine is published 24 times per year by
West Media Inc. It is direct-mailed to more than 65,775
households in West St. Louis County. Products and
services advertised are not necessarily endorsed by West
Newsmagazine and views expressed in editorial copy are
not necessarily those of West Newsmagazine. No part of
West Newsmagazine may be reproduced in any form without
prior written consent from West Newsmagazine. All letters
addressed to West Newsmagazine or its editor are assumed
to be intended for publication and are subject to editing
for content and length. West Newsmagazine reserves the
right to refuse any advertisement or editorial submission.
© Copyright 2020.
A PUBLICATION OF
Joe Ritter
Sheila Roberts
DeAnne LeBlanc
Cathy Lenny
Warren Mayes
Rachael Narsh
Submit your letter to: editor@newsmagazinenetwork.com