Wrongdoing is still wrongdoing, regardless of race Re: “Harry Thomas must go,” July 24
I don’t disagree with the premise of Ms. Barras’ column that D.C. Council member Harry Thomas must go, but as usual she gets some of her facts wrong. She claims that Thomas falsely accused some Fenty friends of criminal behavior. But in at least one case, the question of whether the behavior was criminal or not is still under investigation.
Ms. Barras also decries concerns about racism with regard to calls for Mr. Thomas’ resignation, but then goes on to talk about the race of some people against whom other allegations are made and for good measure brings up the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Whether you’re black, white, Asian or Latino, if you are involved in proven criminal wrongdoing, you shouldn’t be serving as an elected official.
I hope the U.S. Attorney’s Office quickly comes to a determination in the Thomas case, but even if his wrongdoing wasn’t criminal, his constituents should carefully consider that what he did was unacceptable for a public official.
Barras then does what she likes to do best and attacks Mayor Gray following the release of a list of his administration’s accomplishments, the timing of which Ms. Barras apparently didn’t like.
Maybe she could devote her next column to writing about some of the good things this administration is doing, but I won’t hold my breath.
Peter D. Rosenstein
Washington
Even popular government subsidies damage free market
Re: “The GOP’s 2010 Pledge to America imperiled — again,” July 24
Conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt mounted a strong defense of government subsidies in his column Monday. In his warning to Republicans, Hewitt implored them to continue bailing out homeowners with the home mortgage interest deduction.
Anywhere we read “deduction” and “credit” in the tax code, we must think “subsidy” and “bailout.” Hewitt rightly argues that eliminating the home mortgage interest bailout will likely cause home values to drop. Unfortunately, for a market that’s been artificially stimulated for decades, that comes with the territory.
Propping up home values not only hurts homeowners, but it also hurts the market as a whole. Make no mistake, the interest subsidy isn’t the only thing that hurts the housing market. Zoning restrictions, building codes, and a whole host of other regulations have also done damage to property rights and values.
The only way to fix the problem is to begin eliminating the artificial government-sponsored life support, which damages the free market. Simplify the tax code and cut out taxpayer-funded bailouts and subsidies.
Matthew Hurtt
Arlington
Voting blocs have too much power
Re: “Mosque debate is all about straw men,” Aug. 31
Since Ford vs. Carter, the first presidential election I was old enough to vote in, there has always been a special group of Americans that has decided the outcome. For most of the time since the 1976 elections, it was blacks.
However, in the last couple of elections, that group has been Hispanics. Experts say that white men aren’t a voting bloc because we don’t all vote the same way, so as a white male, my vote was never the deciding factor in a presidential election.
Does this mean that all a candidate has to do to win the Hispanic vote is support open borders with Mexico, amnesty for all illegal immigrants and making them U.S. citizens because this is what all Hispanics want?
Craig Truskey
Midland, Va.
