Monday’s Letters to the Editor

Tax enforcement

EDITOR: Anisa Thomson wrote that we would be naive to trust politicians and that the Internal Revenue Service will be coming for you (“In the crosshairs,” Letters, Aug. 21). Wow. A rational thought process wouldn’t conclude that allowing status quo in the ranks of IRS enforcement will somehow benefit average Americans. How do infrastructure and national defense get funded?

Many wealthy people and companies have avoided taxes for decades, costing our country revenue and contributing to deficit spending.

Yes, government needs better controls, but one of those controls is more effective, better-funded law enforcement.

How is it that I, someone hardly wealthy, paid 40 times more taxes than our billionaire ex-president? How is it that phony charitable organizations are used for personal benefit without accountability?

Concerned about being a target? Then don’t cheat. Whose fault is it if you get nailed cheating on taxes? The politicians who funded enforcement of the law, or the cheater who broke the law in the first place? A criminal mind may blame politicians for getting caught, but the reality is blame falls squarely on the one committing the crime. My question is, do those opposed to better-funded enforcement have criminal minds with something to hide?

JOHN GRAY

Santa Rosa

Climate coverage

EDITOR: I want to acknowledge The Press Democrat for the numerous recent articles addressing climate change and its effects. I was especially impressed by Staff Writer Mary Callahan’s Aug. 21 article on the coming mega-flood (“Threat of mega-flood resonates in county”). The Aug. 21 articles from the New York Times on the Alaskan fires (” ‘Felt like a war zone’ ”) and the Associated Press on Colorado River cuts (“Crisis brewing over Colorado River cuts”) are other examples. We are in a climate crisis and the more people are aware of what’s going on, the more they will be inspired to take action, whether it’s individual behavior, political action or informed voting. It’s great to have a local news source publishing important factual information about issues that matter.

PAUL LARKIN

Sebastopol

Teen self-esteem

EDITOR: Louis Ganzler and Amie Carter highlighted the mental health issues facing teens (“Social media drives mental health crisis for teenagers,” Close to Home, Aug. 21). They probably understated the deleterious effects of social media, currently the most powerful influence on adolescent development. A wise man said miserable and unhappy people have a way of spreading their misery around. Social media amplifies that power. Unhappy parents produce unhappy children, who in turn influence their peers.

Unfortunately, our culture promotes values — rampant consumerism, for example — that work against self-esteem, inner peace and calm. And the education system is structured so students buy into mainstream values. Schools aren’t equipped to counter the misery so many children experience in their upbringing and peer interaction. And how many teachers share that unhappiness, making them unfit to help young people’s mental health?

Yet, as The Press Democrat shows in its Youth Leadership Awards, many teens buck this trend and work for the good of others. If we made the measure and value of a person not their accomplishments or skills, but the inner power to do good, they would have a stronger sense of self and be able to resist the lure of social media.

Many schools elsewhere have instituted mindfulness meditation in their curricula, and this can be a powerful tool for teen self-esteem.

GENE McCREARY

Penngrove

Needless suffering

EDITOR: I am outraged at so much unnecessary suffering in our world. How long will the boots of the powerful remain on the necks of innocents? News from Palestine is especially grim. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Israeli organization B’Tselem have reported that Israel is an apartheid state. Six civil society organizations, such as Al Haq (Arabic for the truth) and Defense for Children International-Palestine, which records and reports abuses committed by Israel on Palestinian children, have been officially declared by Israel as terrorist organizations. Their offices were raided, records taken and doors welded shut by Israeli soldiers. Our government, Israel’s biggest supporter with $3.8 billion in tax dollars yearly, is allowing this to continue, making us complicit.

Are we friends of Israel when we support its moral self-destruction or the slow genocide it is committing? The claim is always security, but annihilation of indigenous Palestinians and blatant territorial expansion are the reality.

Please contact your representatives and insist that they work for security and equality for all living in Palestine/Israel.

THERESE MUGHANNAM-WALRATH

Santa Rosa

No more growth

EDITOR: I don’t understand why it’s necessary to have unbridled growth of population and thus housing. There is a limited supply of water. There are roads that are in bad need of repair. Continued growth does nothing to alleviate the effects of climate chaos. Why can’t we just be content with what we have now and do nothing more than maintain our beautiful community?

STEVIE LAZO

Santa Rosa

You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.