The real ‘Shrinking Middle:’ Miami-Dade residents are tired of paying more county taxes | Opinion

Squeezed

The July 28 editorial, “Shrinking Middle: Miami’s middle-class is hurting,” misses two very important issues affecting us all in Miami-Dade County. First, residents are being squeezed with a rising county budget loaded on top of ever rising property taxes.

Second, fixed income middle-class property owners must continue to finance increasing budgets full of projects on top of more projects and payrolls for a growing bureaucracy. Enough is enough.

Julio Stieffel,

Miami

Web of evil

The elections in Venezuela are over and Venezuelan citizens in Miami — and the overwhelming population in their home country — are shocked that Nicolas Maduro was reelected. Considering that Maduro controls the military and all of the public infrastructure, including the apparatus that runs all elections in the country, it is no surprise the dictator was victorious.

Maduro is an established autocratic leader with the same characteristics found in all dictators around the world. The first lesson of survival is to never relinquish power once it is obtained. There will never be a free and democratic Venezuela as long as Maduro is alive.

People do not realize that opposition movements in Venezuela, though large, vocal and inspired by dedicated citizens, are not only fighting one autocrat in Maduro, but many dictators around the globe, all in alliance with each other.

As author Anne Applebaum wrote in her new illuminating book, “Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want To Run The World,” “Nowadays, autocracies are run not by one bad guy but by sophisticated networks relying on…security services, military, paramilitary police” and more, all cooperating with services controlled by autocrats from other countries. Not an easy lesson to learn, but a reality being played throughout the world.

Edward Blanco,

Cutler Bay

Best incentive

Another drive-by shooting happened in a community and a 3-year-old girl is dead. The shooting is a common occurrence, often to settle disagreements. Certain members of the community know who the guilty parties are, but are afraid to say so due to the mantra, “stitches for snitches.”

A way to get the killers is to provide a decent reward, say of at least $50,000. Plenty of South Florida’s millionaires could fund that. The City of Miami could do it, too.

Isn’t anybody thinking, or is there going to be another march against violence that goes nowhere?

Mark Osman,

Kendall

Vote’s power

From the 1950s to the early 1980s, Venezuela’s economy, fueled by high oil prices, was one of the strongest and most prosperous in South America. Nicolás Maduro assumed office as president of Venezuela on April 19, 2013, following the death of Hugo Chávez.

In the permanent dictatorship of the proletariat, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are in a serious political crisis of human rights and economics. Defending democracy everywhere in the world is important. And the importance of the vote is incalculable. One of the greatest strengths of democracies is the peaceful transition of power.

True leaders must accept the results of the elections even when they lose. Those responsible for the assault on the U. S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 should not be called patriots just because they did not agree with the results of that election.

Let’s hope that Maduro accepts his defeat and does not follow the bad example of Donald Trump, who still says the 2020 elections were stolen from him because he lost. Our best wishes are for peace and prosperity for the Venezuelan people and that democracy is strengthened and reaches all parts of the world.

Felix Daniel Torres Quiles,

Kissimmee

Gaza plan

Did the United States have a “day after plan” when it declared war on Germany or Japan in 1941?

Of course not. The “plan” was to defeat a murderous enemy hellbent on destroying this country. After the defeat, we did help — with the Marshall Plan — and both countries joined the civilized world again and thrived.

To expect Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to have a “day after plan” is ludicrous. His job is to completely eliminate Hamas, the entity that murdered, raped, burned, tortured 1,200 of his citizens, still holds hostages (American and Israeli ) and has vowed to do it again and again..

It is not Netanyahu’s responsibility to plan “the day after.” When the people of Gaza are freed from the tyrannical, brutal rule of Hamas, it will then be their responsibility to plan “the day after.”

Connie Goldstein,

North Miami Beach

Heavenly voice

Seeing and hearing Celine Dion sing at the Paris Olympics opening was pure joy for us and for her. She was able to perform to her typical perfection.

Her courage, strength and perseverance in making a breathtaking comeback from battling a serious health condition, inspires us all. Wishing her more wonderful comebacks.

Enid Garber,

Palmetto Bay

Doing nothing

Recently, while I was scanning articles about the moon landing in a Washington Post newspaper dated July 21, 1969, a little blurb caught my eye on page 4 of that paper: ”Russian Warships Visit Cuba.”

Fifty-five years later, nothing has changed. Meanwhile, Cubans in South Florida scream and shake their fist at the regime while hiding behind Uncle Sam’s pant leg.

Republicans talk a good fight to get the Cuban vote, but nothing happens. Democrats want to make friends on the island but risk losing South Florida’s Cuban vote, so nothing happens.

I don’t understand how Cubans can risk their lives in rickety, leaky boats to come to America instead of staying to form an underground resistance to defeat the regime.

David Kupferman,

North Miami Beach

Watch this space

My friends and I are accepting wagers on how long GOP Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance will be on the ticket and what ploy will be used to get him off it. Odds are with a serious illness of his own (or that of his wife or one of his children) which requires his immediate personal and long-term attention (family over everything, after all).

A few are betting on some event that will occasion the use of the Witness Protection Program, but that seems far out even for MAGA politicians.

Judy Blum Blanchard,

Homestead

The fix is in?

Former President Donald Trump made clear his plan to destroy democracy in America when he spoke at the Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit in West Palm Beach last weekend.

Trump said, “Get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what: it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians…. Get out, you’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”

Trump has become a madman.

Philip K. Stoddard,

South Miami

Gusty hazard

In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, insurers have announced they are raising rates (and their estimated profits) in Texas. It is long past time for Congress to provide federal windstorm insurance comparable to flood insurance so that people can protect their homes. This would help not only Texans, but also Floridians and others across the nation.

The government is the insurer of last resort, regardless. Shouldn’t it do the job right and collect some premiums along the way? Is Congress too beholden to the insurance industry to let that happen?

R. Thomas Farrar,

Miami

Game plan?

Vice President Kamala Harris has as much chance of beating former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5 as Lady Gaga has of being starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins this upcoming season.

Michael Adler,

Miromar Lakes

Sins and sinners

The executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition is Desmond Meade. He works to restore the voting rights of convicted felons after they serve their sentences.

Meade said that Democrats should stop calling former President Donald Trump a felon in their campaign ads because it stigmatizes those who are trying to get their voting rights restored.

In other words, calling Trump a felon gives felons a bad name.

Stan Swiderski,

Hollywood