Wasting our tax dollars: Letters

Re “Ensure the Lottery funds education” (Opinion, March 15):

It was heartening to see that California voters are waking up to the fact that our state officials can’t manage our tax dollars effectively, and are rejecting the continual onslaught of state and local tax measures.

As long as our “progressive” leaders fund the bullet train, unsustainable pensions and other wasteful projects, we can’t continue to give our hard-earned income to them.

Similarly, the Lottery has become a joke as far as directing funds appropriately to the school system, and I heartily support state Sen. Ling Ling Chang’s commitment to rectify the misuse of Lottery revenue and direct it back to where it belongs — the schools.

Sen. Chang is a voice of reason in an increasingly dysfunctional Legislature and I hope SB891 passes. As long as money supposedly allocated to the schools is wasted elsewhere, we taxpayers should reject any future propositions to raise taxes for schools. I suspect those future tax funds will also be redirected elsewhere.

— Kathy Gonzalez, Redondo Beach

Limiting use of city parks

Re “Amid coronavirus concern, 6,000 beds for LA’s homeless coming to parks facilities” (News, March 18):

The mayor’s plan seems like it will limit the use of the city’s parks to the public by making the parks an unsavory place to visit.

I wonder if part of the city’s plan is to reduce city taxes to the extent we’re being inconvenienced. My guess is there are square miles of city-owned land in the hills surrounding Gorman and Castaic. The homeless who are veterans should be sent to the Veterans Administration.

Wayne Grantham, Sherman Oaks

Use idle cruise ships

How about using some of the idle cruise ships as temporary hospitals, or even short-term (hopefully) homeless housing? Capacity is greater than our largest hospitals, all in individual rooms with sanitary facilities. They could be commandeered, rented or leased for the duration of the pandemic, then quickly returned to cruise service.

James Perry Jaster, West Hills

Sick of paying taxes

Taxpayers are sick and tired of being asked for more funding for schools when we are paying the highest taxes in the nation in California, and, while there are literally billions of dollars sitting in Sacramento already.There is no end to the constant request for more taxes for whatever someone thinks is needed. My property tax on my modest home is over $6,000 a year. This is in addition to all the other taxes I pay each year ad nauseum.

The bureaucrats will never get over the original Proposition 13, and at every chance they get they are trying to do away with it. Just stop the madness in California, where a lot of people are moving to low or no tax states as we speak.

Just use the funds already voted in or do without. I’m closing in on age 77, retired after working 40-plus years and I can’t afford more taxes.

M. Welsh, Torrance

Drive-through testing

What is needed to get our arms around the COVID-19 issue? First, provide fast, efficient, plentiful, free testing at local pharmacies or drive-throughs outside of pharmacies.Interim reimbursement to drug companies and pharmacies providing these test kits and services should be part of any new legislation. Result will be reduced anxiety and produce real facts and data.

Don Black, Rancho Palos Verdes

Gas rationing?

The government has shut down restaurants, sports venues, schools, amusement parks, gyms, recreational gatherings in an effort to get people to stay in their homes. Yet there are still many people moving around and not sequestered.

It seems that perhaps the next logical step in controlling any social interaction would be to ration gas in order to force people to limit their travels. Perhaps we should be filling up our tanks on our way to purchase toilet paper and paper towels.

— Alice Thomas, Torrance

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