Stop stoking racial divide

Re "Young, attractive, white – and missing" (Viewpoints, Dec. 4): It looks as if no one is challenging columnist Leonard Pitts for stoking the fires and keeping racism alive in bemoaning the fact that missing, pretty, young, white women make the headlines whereas blacks and males do not. It would be more helpful if Pitts used his writing talents to mend the divide between races or even mention the successes. Or would that not be controversial enough to write about?

– Mark Roberts, Loomis

No need to fan class warfare

Re "Obama's campaign strategy banks on class resentment" (Viewpoints, Dec. 9): Barack Obama is beatable if voters want to throw all the bums out. Unfortunately, new bums get in line, like Republicans who don't want to govern but rather are tied to Grover Norquist's no-tax pledge.

Charles Krauthammer believes that the only option left for Obama is to generate class resentment.

The fact is that the middle class doesn't need President Obama to whip up that idea.

– Randy Wilhelm, El Dorado Hills

Spending limit propaganda

Re "Spending limit act would put state on road to fiscal health" (Viewpoints, Dec. 7): Authors of this guest editorial supporting a state spending limit ask if voters want to spend wastefully and rack up debt. Of course not.

Then they ask if instead voters want to limit taxes and prioritize spending. They offer a false choice between a straw man and government nihilism. There is unexplored space in between.

The relevant questions are: What things do we want government to do? Yes, government does do some things much better than private business. How much of those things do we want? How much should it cost? How do we bring actual costs into line?

And finally, what taxes do we want to raise so we can have the government services that we want?

We need commentary that informs discussion, not lobbying pieces from vested interests.

– Peter Hathaway, Fair Oaks

In Davis, water is for fighting

Re "Is Davis set to scuttle Woodland water deal?" (Editorials, Dec. 9): The Davis City Council did originally vote a 14 percent water-rate increase for the next five years. However, the ordinance published contained increases ranging from 26 percent to 50 percent, depending on the tier changes experienced.

Davis is not growing. It has a de facto no-growth measure in place. We have a structural deficit with large unfunded public employee costs and commitments. We are funding a $100 million wastewater plant upgrade. Adding another $200 million project would take close to $20 million a year out of our economy. We have to slow down and consider.

– F. Paul Brady, Davis

Mom is no sack of flour

Re "Children should help elders" (Letters, Dec. 8): In many families children do look out for their parents. But children scatter far from their parents, and, understandably, parents don't want to relocate. I asked my mother to live with me, but she didn't want to live 100 miles from her friends, neighbors and church.

My mother was not a sack of flour that I could just put wherever I pleased. My mother was mentally quite sharp. Eventually, she realized she couldn't live on her own, and requested we help her move to an assisted-living facility in her hometown.

Sometimes children have no choice and must take a parent into their homes, or place them in a safe environment. But there is no one size fits all. The feelings of parents must be considered. I for one have no interest in living with my children.

– Margaret A. MacDonald, Yuba City

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