Re: “Debt-limit friction bad for future” (TNT, 7-29).

James Rosen’s article on “two kinds of debt” reveals the scam around the debt ceiling and “entitlement” crisis.

The hedge fund manager’s U.S. treasury bonds are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. Treasury because he is an “outsider.” A minimum wage worker ‘s Social Security payment borrowed by the government creates no obligation to pay it back since it is not a “real debt”; she is one of us. The full faith and credit of the U.S. government does not back money borrowed from American workers.

Suppose …

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Re: “Many feline friends still in need” (TNT, 7-29).

We lost “Emmabean” a few years ago (possibly to coyotes). I still went to the Tacoma shelter daily to see if she had been found. Resigned that she was gone for good, I began looking at other cats at “the pound.” One in particular caught my eye.

“Odie” was 9 years old. For whatever reason, someone had dropped her off earlier that day. She was lying down quietly, but when I approached the cage, she got up, walked over, bumped my hand and purred loudly. We took her home.

Odie …

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So why is the richest and most powerful country in the history of the world teetering on the brink of possible financial disaster?

As with all complicated problems there is no one simple solution. But if the current financial impasse tells us anything, it is that far too many politicians can no more control their urge to try to please voters by approving uncontrolled spending than final-stage drug addicts can control themselves.

A balanced budget amendment might not be a perfect solution, but may well be the only way we can avoid the disaster that will almost certainly occur if …

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Some time ago, the federal government mandated updates of the 911 system in Pierce County. Puyallup citizens paid to update while Pierce County, Tacoma and Lakewood declined. Puyallup provides service to other cities and is in compliance.

Time has expired, and jurisdictions have to comply. Those agencies need updates and should for various reasons.

The citizens of Puyallup and their customers should not have to be taxed for upgrading the county, Tacoma and Lakewood’s 911 systems. Problems within their systems are real, but problems with cross communications are exaggerated.

I was on the Tacoma Police Department before LESA. It was …

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Re: “911 tax to go to voters” (TNT, 7-27).

Does the Pierce Count Council really think we need to spend $300 million on a 911 tax? As I read the article on the proposed new tax, I thought I misread it. So I had to read it again and really could not believe what I was reading.

The council voted 5-2 to put the sales tax increase on the November ballot after limiting the tax to 25 years. They said the tax should raise $12 million a year.

Let’s do the math: 25 x $12 million = $300 million. …

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Re: “Raising debt ceiling just the first step on road to fiscal health” (Viewpoint, 7-28).

As is typical for him, Rep. Adam Smith mixed both Republican and Democratic talking points in his near-constant aim to appear centrist. Unfortunately, many of those right-wing points are plainly absurd.

You cannot find an economist not funded by the Heritage Foundation who will state, as he did, “that getting our deficit under control is critical . . . to helping our economy right now.”

The problem facing our economy right now is demand. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of our economy, and large …

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We are in our periodic election season. I suggest that all of us take the opportunity to ask candidates for every elected office, regardless of political affiliation, “If elected, how will you increase accountability in government?”

We should expect direct, well-thought-out responses. If the response includes “you just don’t understand,” or something to that effect, without excellent clarification, that candidate should lose our vote.

Let us remind elected officials that “We, the people” do understand, and we expect an efficient and an accountable government. We may differ in our goals, but we should insist that government agencies and officials listen …

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In recent days, The News Tribune has published several letters advocating raising taxes on upper-income earners. They all contain the demand that the top income earners need to pay their “fair share” or pay taxes “commensurate with the rest of us.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the top 20 percent make 59.1 percent of total income and pay almost 70 percent of all federal taxes. This share is 4 percent higher than in 2000.

When only looking at income taxes, the share of the top 20 percent increases even further. The top 20 percent paid 86.3 percent of all …

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