Lake Powell Is Good for Utah
I know that you are a left-leaning, liberal-biased "independent" newspaper, but your choice to highlight Deadbeat Dams in your Essentials entertainment picks [March 26, City Weekly] shows how far to the left you really lean.
Are you really going to jump on the "drain Lake Powell" bandwagon? Is there no one among your granola-munching, tree-hugging, Obama-loving editorial staff and contributors who has taken a houseboat trip on Lake Powell?
Your staff may conveniently forget that the Glen Canyon Dam is a completely renewable source of energy, generating millions upon millions of watts of electricity, with zero carbon emissions. Additionally, Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell have shown their true value in being a storage device in times of drought. Your liberal prophets in Hollywood and throughout California would not be able to fill their swimming pools without it right now.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance would love to close all of Southern Utah to everything but backpacking, but anyone with half a brain knows that without the recreation areas like Glen Canyon, the crowds would not come, the hotels and restaurants would close, and even the backpackers would lose a place to take their weekly showers.
Lastly, because of Lake Powell, millions of people have been able to view one of the true Seven Wonders of the Natural World: Rainbow Bridge. Without convenient boat access to this majestic creation, it would remain a place of legend told by those lucky ones whom the Navajo Nation allowed to cross their land.
I cannot say that I am against everything that Daniel Beard (author of Deadbeat Dams) stood for; his idea of smaller government and more local control is something that everyone needs to embrace.
Darin Birch
Price
The Cycle of Greed Repeats Itself
City Weekly is definitely pounding the pavement, working on taking back the House and stopping petroleum.
If you want to stop the Koch brothers, it is simple: Stop driving a car and flying. I began having all my goods shipped, and I bicycle to the grocery store. When it's too hot for dairy, the grocery store sells ice bags I can use. In America, the only people who have a valid need to drive are the poor, because they lack time.
I am a lifelong conservative, libertarian and Tea Party member since its founding. I agree on the importance of fighting discrimination and on health-care issues such as switching health carriers and mandating insurers cover existing conditions. At the same time, that is vastly different from mandatory coverage. Perhaps, instead of a simple "for or against" stance on the Affordable Care Act, various issues can be ironed out.
It is my understanding that the redistribution of wealth began under President Ronald Reagan, who decreased taxes on various investments such as capital gains. Although that made sense at the time, I see two issues: The first is that it has become incestuous—the profit from capital gains is reinvested, resulting in additional profit, which in turn is reinvested, repeating the cycle.
The second issue has to do with happiness. Money brings happiness to the needy and makes no difference to the middle class. However, with the wealthy, studies have shown they believe they can find happiness with more money. When the money is received, they're not happy; instead, they desire more money. Similar to tax cuts, this cycle repeats itself.
I propose some changes: Replace tax cuts on capital gains with tax cuts on spending—such as money spent on government handouts. This has several benefits, from a voluntary redistribution of wealth to the poor working instead of collecting alms. When people work, they feel better.
Daniel Barker
Lakeland, Fla.
