Page 4 — THE LACONIA DAILY SUN, Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Froma Harrop
Left Wing needs an update Though I deem myself a sortof liberal, I don’t closely read the left-wing magazine The Nation. Its views don’t budge for decades at a time, so one can get by just checking in now and then. Case in point is a recent analysis of the gap between rich and poor in that glittering souk of luxury, New York City. The unsurprising title: “A Tale of Two New Yorks.” Why should this bother me, since some of the things said are true, and I would agree with many of the remedies? It bothers me because cartoon portrayals of the poor hurt efforts to help them in constructive ways, such as ensuring universal health coverage. Sympathetic Middle Americans may turn away when the advocates skate by matters of self-defeating behavior and open borders in worsening the poor’s plight. And unless carefully nuanced, the race argument comes off as phony. Anyhow, Nation writer Lizzy Ratner lifts the curtain with a predictable set piece. Sotheby’s auctions a Tiffany diamond necklace for $3.6-million. Meanwhile, up in Harlem, an unemployed 51-yearold mother lives on food stamps and sweeps streets in return for her welfare check. Who bought the diamonds? The buyer could have been an heiress in Cleveland. But even if it was a bailedout Citicorp baron — whose reckless behavior added to the mother’s woes — the fault ultimately lies in a political culture that let him do what he did. The unemployed mother, we are told, is well put together and lost a good bank job in 2008. Then the author lets slip that the woman’s “youngest son has left his private school.” What? Okay, what’s the story? And is it unreasonable to ask her whether the father or fathers of her three children are helping out — and if not, why not? Alas, such questions offend Nation sensitivities. Between 2009 and 2010, “while the number of New Yorkers visiting food pantries ballooned by 200,000,” we read, the city’s 57 billionaires upped their collective net
worth by $19-billion. No one’s passing the hat for billionaires, but honesty demands including the end of 2008, when the economic meltdown shaved hundreds of millions off their fortunes. Ratner starts counting at the dawn of a bull market. Back among the poor, we hear about “Nancy, a 56-year-old domestic worker from Colombia whose age, lack of English and limited education have conspired to keep her jobless for more than two years.” These burdens have nothing to do with diamond buyers. Nancy is the only interviewee not identified with a last name. Could she possibly be in the country illegally? That would be an important piece of information. And what about the reality that a huge illegal workforce has helped pauperized unskilled Americans? If Ratner doesn’t believe it, she should delve into the work of the two economists she cites in drawing her contrasts. Andrew Sum and Ishwar Khatiwada have long studied how mass immigration, particularly the illegal kind, has hurt low-skilled Americans. The evidence mounts, they’ve written, that “some employers have begun to reorganize work in ways that systematically exclude certain native-born workers, especially those under the age of 35, from employment and that create work that does not meet the basic labor standards that have been developed over the years ...” Yes, the unemployment rate in west Brooklyn is very high for blacks relative to whites (though Ratner oddly leaves out Hispanics and Asians). But this simplistic case for racism would further falter if she included this disparity: The median income for black households in the borough of Queens now exceeds that of white households. Or hasn’t The Nation heard? It has so much catching up to do. (A member of the Providence Journal editorial board, Froma Harrop writes a nationally syndicated column from that city. She has written for such diverse publications as The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar and Institutional Investor.)
Thanks to BHS Student Council for hosting candidates’ night To the editor, I want to congratulate the Belmont High School Student Council for a wonderful job in presenting candidate night for the citizens of Belmont. The table set up was very patriotic with the red, white and blue theme with bottles of water for each candidate not to mention the chocolate availability. The food and drink table set up in the back of the room was also presented very well. Thank you for putting on a program
in order to informed the town of Belmont citizens, it is a shame that so few citizens seem to care about who is running their town. I think all the candidates gave a brief idea about themselves and what they hope to accomplished. Again I thank you for all your hard work in presenting a well organized program, and to all the candidates which showed up. Glenda J. Hill Belmont Budget Committee Candidate
Write: news@laconiadailysun.com
LETTERS We in Meredith refuse to be denied our right to vote & be heard To the editor, Join the revolution and vote yes for SB-2 for Meredith. The advantages of SB-2 are many, but the biggest is that the registered voter can vote in the privacy of the voting booth and the ballot box is open for a continuous 12 hours. You cast your secret vote as time permits. Another advantage is the absentee ballot provision. The sick, those away on business or vacation and the many serving in the military have the opportunity to vote. The voices of all the people should be heard on matters of taxation. Without SB-2 not all of us are represented at annual town and school board meetings. The many uprisings in the Middle East are a reminder of the power of the people. The Philippines just celebrated their 25 anniversary of people power after throwing out dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged and looted the treasury. Meredith’s present restricted method of voting is old fashioned and drowns out opposing views. Tea Partiers are not “un-American” as millionairess Nancy Pelosi said and we certainly have to celebrate the downfall of Husni Mubarak and the great battles of this generation that are being fought in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan and Iran; and efforts that are taking place with the Jasmine Revolution in China, least we forget the street protesters in Tiananmen Square in front of the Forbidden City in 1989. The Chinese do not tolerate dissent. As did not Mubarak, and el-Gadhafi SB-2 is not street pressure to break government. It is about the need for democratic voting rights and greater participation in government and the
secret ballot. Voters seek to peel back governments that prohibit the vote and provide enormous, pay, perks and bow to public employee unions. People want to avoid bankruptcy and the orchestrated methods used by teachers and public employee unions to increase their privileges and raise property taxes. We are raising taxes ad infinitum to feed an insatiable appetite of government. Our schools have declining enrollments and test scores and yet the school board cries for more money and do not tighten their belts by asking teachers to increase what they pay for their health care insurance costs of their plans and pay a larger contribution of their salaries into pension costs.. The people should be heard. SB-2 is part of this great battle that this generation is engaged in. Listen to the cries of the people demanding to be heard and represented. We want all of Meredith’s registered voters to enjoy the right to vote. The people are rising up and making a comeback. The public wants us to live within our means. SB-2 is a message that we want a say in government, to improve government and create meaningful dialogue with the full spectrum of the town. We don’t have a King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, a Pearl Square or a Cairo Tahrir Square but we have a Husky Park ‘Square’. We are a small town and do things peacefully, not like Madison, Wisconsin where people are protesting public union rights and the generous benefits teacher and public employees enjoy. We in Meredith refuse to be denied the right to vote and be heard. Join in people power and vote YES for SB-2 Richard G. Juve Meredith
Money is simply thrown at the schools because ‘it’s for the kids’ To the editor, My wife and I moved back to N.H. five years ago to start a family. Without question we want the best possible education for our child. Too often I think money is simply thrown at the schools because “Its for the Kids” and no thought is given as to the effectiveness of that spending. I want someone who will fight to make sure that we
every dollar we spend. I want someone who realizes that the status quo is no longer good enough. I am voting for Mark Billings because he will work to make sure that we have the highest quality education that money can buy. Justin Van Etten Stewart’s Ambulance Service, Inc. Meredith