Letters to the Editor
AskDong
Published Letters: 38 Editor's Choice: 9
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Reap what you sow
[Read the article: No debate on bankruptcy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The corporate right is against any type of bailout or regulation when it helps consumers, but are for any bailout or regulation that that lines up with their interests.
People often confuse regulation and government aid as helpful to consumers and harmful to corporate interests. This is not a case. Regulation and bailouts are merely tools. They hurt consumers as much as they help them. Companies to reap what they sow as do many consumers.
I work in the energy industry, and there's constant cry to reregulate by people who've forgotten part of the reason deregulation occurred was to prevent utilities from getting fat by building oak paneled cafeterias and the like.
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We could just vote for Ron Paul
[Read the article: Bernanke presses the panic button]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Not. I'm no fan of the current rate cut. It clearly seems like overreaction to the current market, but at the same I will acknowledge the market matters. The great depression may have been softened and quickened had the Fed reacted quickly. Bernanke is a student of the great depression, and I'm willing to give him some room to prove that he's not beholden the wall street masters.
Also for the housing mess, I hardly think we can just blame the trader's and their derivatives. There is plenty of blame to go around. Everyone is suffering from their own greed. Traders with the securities they can't sell. Consumers with too much house. Banks holding onto mortgages that won't get paid back.
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Debt is Symptom of Many Things
[Read the article: My big, fat, unpaid credit card bill]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Some letter writers feel that this piece gives too much voice to those who think struggling Americans are struggling because of bad personal choices. The articles a fluff piece on what is serious topic for many Americans, but it's not an article or intended as an article on trials tribulations of the working poor. Sarah is not htat.
I think we shouldn't confuse issues. Sarah's debt as bad as it might be is not catastrophic. It is a hole she can climb out. debt brought on my medical emergencies and extended job loss are not. To be a critic of overspending does not lead to being unsympathetic to those who struggle with debt because of circumstances out of normal control. To ask for adequate health care, and an economy that provides real wages to to more than just the top 40% does not mean giving a pass on over indulgent behavior.
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Google is the Monopoly
[Read the article: Why Microsoft's bid for Yahoo is an act of surrender]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've no great love for Microsoft, and agree with Andrew this is an act of desperation. However, I would hardly oppose this deal on regulatory grounds. Google is the real monopoly at this point, and I have great respect for many of their tenants. No matter how good a dictator is, a dictator is still a dictator. I'll applaud Microsoft and Yahoo if the merger works and we have some real competition in the world of search and advertising.
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Obama Gets Asian Americans
[Read the article: Hillary Clinton: The Asian-American choice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As an Asian-American who voted for Obama, I find the it absurd to label all Asian-Americans as bunch of racist who will not vote for "n*" candidate. That's bullshit. At the same time I'm not as naive to believe that many Asian-Americans are more racist than I would like, as are many whites, hispanics, and blacks. Are Asian-American in California more racist than whites? Probably. I certainly don't mind a healthy discussion of different attitudes amongst different groups. It's healthy, but the broad brushes taken by some in the comments here is more reflective of people seeing only what they want to see.
I voted for Obama because I believe he's charismatic and has I think the better chance in the general election. But as Asian-American I also appreciate his deeply personal connection to diversity. His sister is "half" Indonesian and married to a Chinese-American man in Hawaii. On the topic of diversity regardless or race, I firmly believe Obama gets it.
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responding to anonymous
[Read the article: Hillary Clinton: The Asian-American choice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Anonymous, did you even read my comment? I'm opposed to broad labeling of any group. I wasn't trying to call Asian Americans racist or not racist for that matter. When I made the conjecture Asian-Americans were probably more racist than whites, I was trying to make a point that it doesn't really matter if 10 out of 100 Asians are racist versus 8 out of 100 whites (completely made up statistics there). Even if I cite actual statistics it's rather meaningless. The point is to have a healthy discussion, and you know what we can have healthy discussion of race that is both critcal, biting and free of broad brush strokes.
There's no need to have such a knee jerk reactions.