Letters on wealth concentration, Women’s March, Old Town trolley
Too much wealth in too few hands
As recently reported in the New York Times and USA Today, the eight richest men in the world possess as much wealth as the poorest half of the population – 3.75 billion people. There is something sick about such a concentration of wealth – more than the Roman emperors could have even begun to imagine.
Also, the average CEO pay has gone from about 20 times that of their workers in the 1960s to more than 240 times today.
Don’t tell me these guys aren’t well off – better off than ever – or that they can’t pay more in taxes. A lot more.
Redistribution of wealth? I’m all in favor of it – no matter what Koch Industries and Gov. Sam Brownback think. There probably ought to be a law that any personal accumulation of wealth of more than about $20 million must be given to charity or seized by the government and plowed into the war effort – so you’d be given the choice of feeding hungry children or dropping bombs on pregnant women.
One other thing: If you’re poor, it’s not your fault, as a cursory examination of the aftermath of 2008 should make abundantly clear.
Stuart Boehmer, Wichita
Intolerant march
As a woman, I am dismayed at the intolerant attitude toward those who value life from conception on by organizers of the Women’s March on Washington.
It is important that we consider what “pro-choice” really means. It is a degrading term, very much against women. It implies that we are too stupid to know what causes pregnancy and too out of control to prevent it; and that any children we conceive are literally trash. Thinking women reject these ideas and embrace self control and self respect instead.
Truth always wins, doesn’t it? So if the Women’s March organizers are completely convinced that their beliefs are right, there is no harm in allowing dissenting viewpoints. If they are not convinced that they are right, then maybe they need to figure out not only what they believe but why they believe it – and if their convictions are based on truth or on lies.
Susanne Haynes, Wichita
Terrible trolley
I was extremely disappointed with the trolley service – particularly from Old Town to Intrust Bank Arena – for the Shocker basketball game on Dec. 17. What should have been a 10-minute ride, at most, turned into a 50-minute nightmare for myself and three friends.
Instead of dropping us two blocks from the arena, the trolley went all the way out to Botanica, because that was “their route for Saturdays until 6 p.m.” The weather was frigid that day. Nobody boarded at Botanica, two boarded at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview, and it completely filled at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.
Although completely filled, the bus continued its “route” south of Kellogg. Why?
After the game, there were no trolleys in sight, so we walked. However, we did observe one empty trolley heading back to Old Town again. Why?
Though the shuttle service to Lawrence-Dumont appears sufficient, the Old Town trolley service was ridiculous.
Gary Lowe, Wichita
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This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 5:04 AM with the headline "Letters on wealth concentration, Women’s March, Old Town trolley."