McCain flip-flopping on MLK holiday

I watched with shame the unmitigated nerve of Sen. John McCain (whose military service and sacrifice for this country I admire) stand on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel (Museum) in Memphis, the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King 40 years ago, and say “I’m sorry I voted against it (a national MLK holiday) before I voted for it.”

Wow, did that sound familiar. Is that called a “flip-flop” by Republicans, or is it just the Dems who do that?

Sure did sound like the hardball Karl Rove threw at John Kerry in 2004.

Sen. McSame (sic) seems able to say just about anything to us “dumbed-down, 30 second commercial voters” to get elected.

No thanks. John. “I liked you before I didn’t like you.”

Barbara Boudreaux, Corvallis

SSI more than retirement fund

When I read John Brenan’s March 31 assertion that he could have invested his Social Security taxes to accumulate $1.3 million, it was clear that he had made a math error.

Thirty minutes with a spreadsheet shows that if he paid the maximum tax for 40 years he could have gotten to $800,000.

However, his $20,000 per year also indicates that he paid less than the maximum and would have accumulated closer to $500,000, which would give him the same $20,000 at the

4 percent withdrawal rate he suggested.

Of course, if return on investment is all there is to Social Security, then (as it turned out) Mr. Brenan would probably prefer the control from investing in the stock market.

But Social Security is not a retirement investment vehicle. It is a retirement insurance plan.

Above and beyond the monthly benefit he receives now, Mr. Brenan was insured that he would still have an adequate safety net even if he lost his job.

He is insured that he will have that safety net even if medical expenses eat up the rest of his savings. He will have that safety net whether he lives to 75 or to 105.

A staunch individualist might prefer everyone buy their own insurance, but Social Security provides cost-effective coverage for everyone. As a result, we no longer have county poor farms.

Arnold Larson, Corvallis

Government bailout just fuels inflation

We in the United States are supposed to live in a free enterprise system, where competition makes for efficiency.

But Bear Stearns is not allowed to fail. So money is created for the bailout. This is inflationary.

Consumers have since the year 2000 been encouraged to go ever further into debt to keep the U.S. economy moving forward. Many chose to go this route, many did not.

It’s the ones who took on more debt/mortgage than they could service who will get helped, not the prudent ones. More money will be created.

Housing prices can go up and up, but the market is not allowed to determine how far down. One scheme after another is promoted to slow the decrease.

How does the government pay for this? By creating new money. More money in the system means more inflation down the road.

Oil production is not increasing, demand is. So inevitably we get increased fuel costs.

Agriculture land is finite. We devote more of it to fuel production, so we get increased food costs.

And with all the proposed giveaways, the money supply increases, which means more inflation.

So how do the renters handle this with costs of all necessities increasing rapidly, their wages stagnant? How about the retirees on fixed income? Does anyone in power think of them?

We can benefit all Americans by radically cutting defense expenditures. We can then help deserving citizens in need without punishing the majority with inflation.

Diana Carsten, Corvallis

Former Aussie leader was a master of spin

Kevin Ferris’s column on ousted Australian Prime Minister John Howard (“Advice from ‘down under’ to U.S.: Don’t go changin’,” March 18) is a joke.

His column evidences he has not talked with a regular Australian.; I’ve visited Australia yearly for months each year since 1988 and have chatted with diverse Australians. Howard’s not the saint adoringly pictured by Ferris.

In 2007 Australian voters overwhelmingly voted against the right-wing Howard government, and Howard even lost his seat in Parliament.

Australians, generally pro-American, are among the world’s more open-minded people. But few in recent years supported the Iraq War.

Howard was considered a toady to George W. Bush. When Howard visited Washington, D.C., Bush called him “a man of steel.” Many Aussies hooted at this, because Howard subserviently backed Bush’s enthusiasm for war and other right-wing ideologies.

The Canberra Times ran a cartoon showing Bush dressed in a natty suit. His breast pocket held a little John Howard, waving an American flag.

Howard left the Australian economy in a shambles, just as Bush is about to do here. Interest rates soar, farmers lose their farms, federal basic research is redirected to support corporation profits, climate change ignored, income redistributed from middle classes to the wealthy, education under-funded, Aboriginal needs neglected, scandals and influence peddling aplenty.

The new government is working to get Australia back on track.

Ferris lauds Howard for holding fast to “values.” The Aussies indeed cherish many wonderful values, but the Howard government’s deeds belied its verbal support of those values. Ferris is exposed as just another right-wing spin master.

Jim Trappe, Corvallis