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RETIREMENT AGE
Recently, U.S. Rep John Boehner, House minority leader, said that he thought we should raise the retirement age to 70 in order to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This raising of the retirement age (when you would be eligible for full Social Security benefits) is essentially a 19 percent benefit cut. This from the same man who doesn’t believe we’re in a financial crisis.
My question: Does Aaron Schock agree with him?
Tedd W. Ward, Jr. Petersburg
UGLY TIMES
This country is infected with fear. Selfishness and self-centeredness are also rooted in fear, and are often characterized by addictive behaviors.
The other day when I went into the convenience store to ask for my fuel receipt there were three people in front of me in line. The first was only purchasing lottery tickets, the second only cigarettes and the third only a case of beer. I thought about that later while flipping through the cable channels featuring celebrities with dysfunctional lives, sex tapes and endless advertising of pharmaceuticals and alcohol. I grieve for America and our society.
I have three children, ages 10 through 14, and I’m concerned by what they seem to be up against. I’ve asked those of generations older than me if it’s just my age, or is it that the times have really become ugly. They express more doubt than I that any kind of return to sanity is on the near horizon.
Parents, please spend time with your children, ask them what’s going on in their lives, what they’re thinking, and how they’re feeling. Share your life story with them and don’t hold anything back. Go for a walk, talk with your neighbors, play catch, go for a swim, look at the stars. There is a way back to happy days, I believe!
Rose Garman Spiritual director, American Holistic Health Association Springfield
401K RISKS
Those 401K plans that are touted as investments are really speculation, which is defined as “assumption of unusual business risk in hopes of obtaining commensurate gain.” If the market crashes – and it does so frequently – the 401Ks crash too.
There are better schemes for retirement funds. After the last crash, my daughter said her new plan was to work until she dies. I hope some sanity comes to our society before then.
Fred J. Dietz, Sr. Springfield
CHICAGO’S KING RICHARD
The mayor of Chicago has determined that he is bigger than the Supreme Court in regulating the control of firearms.
His recent proposals are a direct contradiction to most of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution is a document outlining the grievances of the people and certainly addresses the power of the mayor to regulate firearm ownership. The mayor has usurped the power of the people. His previous oppressive law had no effect on the crime rate (except to raise it) in Chicago. The mayor in his closed mind is blind to the realities of his now-defunct law and what his new restrictions will bring forth. Criminals do not and will not obey any regulations on firearms; thus only the law-abiding citizens will be affected by these new regulations. King Richard and King George have a lot in common.
Michael Abrams Springfield
TOMORROW’S INVENTOR
S Thank you for the informative article on Springfield’s tradition of industrial invention and in particular, my grandfather’s part in that tradition [see “Reinventing the past,” by James Krohe Jr., June 24]. Ira A. Weaver [of Weaver Manufacturing, Springfield, which opened in 1910] was a unique man. An Iowa farm boy with only an eighth-grade education, he went on to have 110 patent inventions. However, I.A. Weaver knew the value of a good education and helped put his brother through college at the University of Illinois. Together they formed, at the time, the largest automotive service company in the United States.
Hopefully, tomorrow’s inventors can develop alternative fuels which will lessen our need for imported gasoline, and make this country truly energy independent.
Richard Weaver Carroll Houston, Texas
