Rebutting Ron
(Nov. 5, 2009) Editor:
Ron Ross misread “The Broken State” in his reply last week (“Don’t Blame Reagan,” Oct. 29). The lead article did not admit that “cutting taxes and slashing government regulation will spur private sector economic growth,” nor did it call for complete economic equality, as he asserts.
In fact, the illuminating article Ross attacks simply reports the growth of economic inequality over the past 40 years. It stresses the increasing concentration of wealth and power in the hands of highly organized business interests with enormous influence over public opinion and policy. They fight environmental and consumer movements as well as organized labor and advocates for the poor.
Apparently, all Ross can see is a “growth” whose only measure is profit, not human fulfillment in a healthy environment. He ignores the reality that government is the means by which society defines the rules of economic activity and serves a wide spectrum of essential human needs beyond markets, not the least being national security.
Free market ideology is really a cover for control of government by powerful business interests that make massive use of tax money for their own purposes. That’s what “The Broken State” is all about — showing how California came to its present disgraceful budget crisis.
Chuck Harvey, Fieldbrook
Editor:
Well, Ron Ross, who did get us in this mess? You have not given us any hope on this front. My family were all teachers, and Reagan, you see, was bad news to education. That equated to bad news for children in school. Somehow you must have missed this part of the story.
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Inked Hearts Valentine’s Tattoo Expo
STAFF PICK / events / 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Blue Lake Casino. Get a tattoo from local and/or guest artists. www.bluelakecasino.com. 668-9770.
Trinidad School Valentines Ball
events / 6 p.m. Trinidad Town Hall, 409 Trinity St. Roaring ‘20s theme dinner and dance featuring blues master Earl Thomas. $60. 677-3631.
Artists Valentines Exhibition/HeART Auction
holiday events, art / 6-8 p.m. Morris Graves Museum of Art, 636 F St., Eureka. Bid on original art for your sweetheart while enjoying wine, hors d'oeuvres and live music. Proceeds benefit Humboldt Arts Council programs. $20/$15 HAC Members. www.humboldtarts.org. 442-0278.
Valentine's Dance
events, music, dance / 8-11 p.m. Arcata Community Center, 321 Community Parkway. Arcata Volunteer Fire Department sponsored dance includes music by Dr. Squid no-host bar, late evening buffet, raffle and silent auction. $10. ArcataFire.org. 825-1562.
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ONE Comments
Comment / By Thirdeye / Nov. 6, 2009, 5:12 p.m.
The corporate personhood issue is a pet peeve that is a nonsequiteur to this discussion and confuses the issues. Early corporations were literally government creations for the purpose of providing capital at a greater scale than the contemporary private mechanisms were able to provide. Examples were Hudson’s Bay Company and British East India Tea Company. Resistance to the notion of corporate personhood in the early days of this country stemmed from the idea that corporations were extensions of foreign governments. Acceptance of corporate personhood is a recognition that a corporation is essentially a contractual relationship between financiers and business operators, and that rights to due process are not surrendered as a result of such agreements. It’s the same principle that protects the rights of unions and nonprofit organizations. And, yes, corporate charters can still be revoked for cause using legal processes.
Otherwise, the letters are a good refutation of the ideological drivel spewed by Ron Ross.