Illinois Valley News

Illinois Valley News welcomes Letters to the Editor. Please e-mail them to dan@illinois-valley-news.com.

POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley News’ encourages letters to the editor provided they are legible and not libelous or scurrilous. All letters must be signed, including name, address and telephone number. The latter need not be published, but will be used to verify authenticity. The “News’ reserves the right to edit letters. Letters are used at the discretion of the publisher.

(Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including statements made as fact, are strictly those of the letter-writers.)

Compliance and taxation.
Paul Grad
Cave Junction, OR

Chrystal Griffin, in her facile and distorted letter of Nov. 24th, put out some real whoppers about capitalism and economics that cannot go unanswered. Griffin states that “Capitalism unchecked is the main reason we are in this financial mess.“ Well, that“s one of the most classic distortions I“ve heard in a long time, because, in point of fact, it is precisely because we do not have “unchecked“, that is free-market, capitalism that we are in the financial mess we are in. We have never had truly free-market capitalism here in America. Right from the start after the American Revolution there were huge mercantilist and corporate interests getting government to interfere in the free-market to limit upstart competition (the Hamiltonians).

We see this today in the new onerous bank and insurance regulations which are far more costly for small and startup companies than the major Wall Street firms. The reason we are in the financial mess we are in is not capitalism, but rather socialism of the kind we see in post- Hooverian America (it was President Hoover who started all these programs in the early depression, which were soon taken over with glee by Roosevelt).

The socialists always bankrupt the societies they take over, as we clearly see currently in Europe, and rather than implement Griffin“s absurd value-added-tax, which hurts the poor far more than an income tax, or blaming it all on NAFTA, which I agree should be opposed, Griffin needs to concentrate on cutting. Cutting our 700 military bases around the world. Why are we paying to defend the very wealthy Koreans and European socialists“

Cutting out farm subsidies, the space program, government-opinion radio, and all federal pensions. We should outlaw any requirement for a business license to operate a business in America from sea to shining sea, and abolish the individual income tax.

But, most outrageously, Griffin blames unemployment on this so-called “unchecked“ capitalism, instead of blaming the real culprit, the minimum wage laws, one of the cornerstones of socialist doctrine.

Minimum wage laws are unconstitutional, since they are a violation of the natural right of two persons to freely contract, one of the rights of man, and obviously a violation of any truly “free-market“ capitalism.

After all, if we have free-markets in copper wire and chewing gum, why don“t we have them in labor“ The minimum wage laws and the individual income tax are the real reason millions of people cannot go out with their pushcarts and make a living, or easily rent a small store and go into business, or find some paying work.

What we need is a Jeffersonian, radically free-market capitalism, with the fraud court and the jail the ultimate regulators, not a million regulations administered by a million bureaucrats, and the people“s energy dissipated by compliance and taxation. And we need a President who understands these economic truths.

Game and fish respond
Ken LeGaux
Selma, OR.

Attention all hunters“ The following is a reply of my letter to Fish and Wildlife.

Dear Mr. LeGaux,

We have received your letter expressing your frustration with the new mandatory reporting system. You have made your thoughts very clear on this subject. While I“m sure it will not make any difference in your thinking, you should know that during our last big round of public planning processes on our deer and elk plans, mandatory hunter reporting was overwhelmingly recommended by hunters. At the time the department wasn“t looking to make any changes, but when hunters overwhelmingly make and support this type of recommendation it was difficult to ignore.

The information we get on hunters is critical for management of big game populations.
Knowing success rates and hunter distribution is vital to our being able to predict population levels and being able to sustain maximum hunting opportunities.

Finally, Oregon is not alone in going to mandatory reporting. Many states in the west are moving to this type of system, usually at the urging of their hunters.

Sincerely,
Ron Anglin
Wildlife Division
Administrator.

If you would like to reply, I“d love to hear from hunters and trappers. Send your response to:

Ken LeGaux
PO Box 428
Selma, Or. 97538.

It“s very hard for me to believe the hunters want the Fish and Wildlife to track their hunting plans and results.

Did you hear of a public planning process“ Did you get the invitation, a letter or a questionnaire“ I didn“t. Nor have I heard of any one who has in our neck of the woods.

Correct me if I“m wrong and please reply constructively.

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