Letters to the editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

War on terrorism not attacking the true cause

I write this as a combat veteran, a paratrooper, who served several tours in Vietnam as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

Many Americans have lost their souls, as their God has become the almighty dollar. In our war against terrorism, we have failed to attack the true cause of our enemies, and instead are fighting to kill the humans who fight it, we are squandering our nation’s wealth on the machinery of war, instead of remedying the reasons our enemies hate us. It would be far less expensive to build schools, clean water facilities, and the infrastructure of the poor nations that every day birth humans who hate us. Envy has become their God, and they will do anything possible to crush us.

The majority of these people are illiterate, and are easy prey for the evil, educated, rich, and powerful persons who lead them. “Look at what America has, and all that we have not,” is what goes through their minds. “Americans don’t care about us,” thus Americans are evil, and we should kill them. None of them have an easy American-like day to look forward to, nor do any members of their families, ever.

Is this America’s fault? Not entirely, but we have the power to change this. Unfortunately, a U.S. congressman’s warnings more than thirty years ago went unheeded, and now, in order to remedy the situation he warned against, we have allowed a new generation of poor souls to grow up without an education, and are reaping the horror he foresaw. Now we are forced to go to war, and crush these human beings who know absolutely nothing about the true meaning of life, and the ease with which Americans live it.

We could increase meaningful government aid sixty billion dollars a year, approximately a tenth of our National Defense Budget instead of killing these human beings. In the final analysis, the defense budget could eventually be cut more, so we all save money in the end, and the entire world would be better off. We Americans hold ourselves to a higher standard, so let’s start acting that way in our foreign policy. Thousands of years ago, a wise man said, “Turn weapons into plowshares,” and that’s what will turn this world around.

Mike Straub

Local businesswoman doesn’t take Hof seriously

How can anyone in this business community take brothel owner Dennis Hof seriously as a candidate? His business ventures within Nye County may be legal, but should a candidate who views his constitutional right to publicly display signs that include a sexually suggestive pose of a man and a woman trump the appropriateness of this type of advertising in a community of families with children?

Mr. Hof states he chose to advertise using the controversial yellow and black diamond-shaped sign “Instead of carving penises into rocks and public roads,” does his line of thinking and speaking represent your business ethics and values.

It appears to me that he is proud of his ability to generate publicity of this kind, but how will this persona be accepted by other legislative representatives in Carson City? Will he be taken seriously as a representative of the people? How will this persona accomplish the work that our business community needs accomplished?

I am not an attorney or a judge, I cannot speak to the facts of his First Amendment lawsuit or his claims against Nye County, the board of commissioners, or the sheriff, but do we want this kind of business-minded individual to be speaking for our business community?

I do not. He does not, in any way conceivable, represent what I feel is the business professionalism of Nye County or our community.

Dina Williamson-Erdag

JDE Management

A Pahrump business owner since 2009

Family thanks hospice and church family for care

The family of Jean Hiller would like to express our sincere appreciation to Pro Care Hospice, especially Jason and Debbie, and to all the wonderful people from Encompass Home Health for the amazing care of the past few years of Jean. They are the best.

Also, a huge thank you to our wonderful church family at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, who made her feel so happy and loved.

Thanks again,

The family of Jean Hiller

Our state is proof that low taxes can work

According to the overarching narrative from the political left, tax cuts benefit large corporations at the expense of the American middle class. I’ll give them credit for getting half the story right: businesses will benefit from the new tax law, but not to the exclusion of working America.

Wells Fargo and US Bancorp are two of many institutions raising their starting pay to $15 an hour - $7.75 more than Nevada’s minimum wage for employers who offer health care, and $6.75 more than those who don’t. Las Vegas’ own South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa doubled employee bonuses and canceled a scheduled increase in health insurance costs as a result of the tax cut.

All told, Americans for Tax Reform report that more than three million American workers are receiving bonuses, wage increases, or better benefits thanks to the new tax law. But it’s not just the employees of major corporations who experience the tax cut windfall.

Regardless of where your paycheck comes from, workers will begin to see greater take-home pay as early as February, according to IRS estimates. The new tax system reduces the federal tax rate for every person earning less than $200,000 (or $400,000 for families), and doubles the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 to families. That means the low and middle-class Americans who need a tax break most are paying zero dollars on their first 12 or 24 thousand dollars of income.

Small business owners - and by extension, their employees - will benefit too. The new tax bill allows business owners to immediately expense the equipment they invest in, rather than spreading their tax savings according to a complicated depreciation schedule. It also allows business owners to fully deduct loan interest, which helps local job creators save money on the new trucks, ovens, or construction projects that will allow their small business to grow into a medium or large one.

The small business owners I’ve spoken with over the years echo a similar sentiment: Nevada’s fairly low-tax business environment makes it a welcome place to plant their roots and build the business they’ve always envisioned, but a lack of capital stops them from expanding.

It’s madness to think that our best-performing small businesses were previously shackled with an almost 40 percent federal income tax rate. Small businesses are responsible for creating more than 450,000 of Nevada’s private sector jobs - they shouldn’t be punished for it by having to hand over close to half their earnings to the federal government.

Removing such a large portion of business income out of a local economy to fund Washington priorities does little to improve the lives of working Nevadans. Our schools are funded and highways maintained with revenue generated from a healthy local economy. And as our state’s own tax structure has proven, there’s no better way to stimulate a local economy than putting money back into the hands of those who drive it forward.

Tax cuts aren’t just a rallying cry for congressional Republicans. They work.

Jim Marchant, Assemblyman

Nevada 37th Assembly District