Save pugs; inflation, Taiwan, DeSantis right, police, McCarthy Dark Age | Letters, Feb. 15

Lack of legal immigration drives up costs to all of us

I have been surprised there is not more discussion of the role immigration plays in inflation.

The U.S. birthrate is quite low. Each woman is now having 1.7 children. It takes 2.1 to sustain a population. Low birthrates predominate the developed world ― Japan being a prime example, where the population is actually going down fairly rapidly.

The United States has managed to grow its population via immigration (unlike Japan, which doesn't support immigration). However, politicians like Gov. Ron DeSantis are choosing to demonize people who want to live in the United States but are blocked by antiquated immigration laws and resources keeping the people we need from moving here.

The result: We now have 1.6 jobs for every person looking. This leads companies to compete for those people and usually drive up salaries. Unlike things like natural resources, such as oil and gas, which may swing wildly, but balance out relatively rapidly, there is no way this source of inflation can be stopped without increasing the number of workers or removing the job openings by staggering the economy.

The Federal Reserve’s only tool is to stagger the economy with increasing interest rates to make the open jobs go away. The U.S. economy is going like blockbusters, but we do not have enough people to support that economy. The only solution is to improve and increase immigration or we will badly limit the country, destroying our main competitive advantage against much of the rest of the world.

David Hunter, Vero Beach

Amending Constitution would help police, public

We expect our police to enter dangerous situations on a daily basis. How often have you entered a home and confronted the parents of an abused child? Tell me about the time when you intervened with a stranger’s mental health crisis?

We expect police to maintain law and order and engage with citizens daily. However, few realize how recent the modern police force is or how poorly our federal laws address police conduct.

Our modern system of local police forces was established around the 1900s. This is more than 100 years after the Bill of Rights was added to our Constitution in 1791. Because police forces evolved later, issues of police deployment and possible misconduct are often judged and adjudicated using laws established for ordinary members of society. We are shackled to a system of laws that do not reflect our current reality. This is not fair to either the police or society.

When U.S. forces are deployed abroad, our soldiers’ conduct is governed by the rule of engagement established for that campaign. For example, in Somalia, U.S. soldiers were reminded: 1) We are not at war. 2) Treat all people with dignity and respect. 3) Use minimum force to carry out mission. 4) Always be prepared to act in self-defense.

Our Founding Fathers placed a high value on personal liberty. How could they have foreseen an intrusive armed force of more than 800,000 law enforcement officers whose control is subject to the whims of more than 170,000 local fiefdoms?

The current turmoil in our country attests to the need for explicit protections for our all citizens and clear rules for our police forces. Americans deserve the same protections as the good people of Somalia and Iraq. Established military law on rules of engagement could provide the framework for drafting needed amendments our Constitution.

Ric Stange, Fort Pierce

Martin County Commission has wrong Pal Mar strategy

I own a piece of land in Pal Mar, also known as Palm Beach Heights, off Pratt Whitney Road.

Since the 1970s, it has been set up to be run as a board with three landowner seats and two for representatives from Martin and Palm Beach Counties. Last year during the June landowners' meeting and election of board members, Martin County developed a scheme to take the majority from landowners. It transferred, conditionally, 25% interest in one of the parcels it owned to George Stokus, assistant county administrator.

Legal or not, it sure is beyond unbecoming of a government to purposefully subvert the will of the landowners and take the majority from us by using this temporary property interest transfer to Mr. Stokus.

My goal here is to bring further light to the abhorrent behavior of the Martin County Commission regarding this move. It seems the county has no problem allowing wetlands to be developed to its financial benefit, but then tries to use those same wetland protections to limit the rights of private property owners who don't fit the bill of someone they would like to see walking around downtown. Whether we are rich or not should not affect our property rights. There seems to be clear favor to those with large pockets, evidenced by the destruction of wetlands for new homes in the $500,000-plus range.

The property owners of Pal Mar just want a place to go and get away from the hustle and bustle of the rat race. We aren't destroying our land; we are using it as a place to get away and go back to nature. We just want to be left alone.

Cameron Mahini, Stuart

More: Pal Mar natural area facing Martin County crackdown on illegal structures, disturbed wetlands

Comparing Taiwan, Vietnam like comparing apples, oranges

James W. Pfister in a recent commentary argues the United States risks reprising its Vietnam misadventure if it defends Taiwan from mainland Chinese aggression. I'd argue he draws a comparison with the wrong small Asian nation.

Vietnam was a backward pawn in the Cold War chess game at the time of U.S. involvement in the 1960s and 1970s, lacking democratic traditions, economic might or even real geopolitical significance. Taiwan, on the other hand, has displayed those strengths for decades. It is the world's leading producer of microchips that power advanced economies, and losing it to communist China would be a disaster for the West.

Let's look instead to South Korea as a model for U.S. policy regarding Taiwan.

A U.S.-led United Nations coalition successfully defended it from Chinese aggression in the 1950s and it has blossomed into everything Taiwan is and more. This despite Korea's history of domination by Chinese, Manchurian and Japanese invaders.

Taiwan deserves no less U.S. support.

On another topic, a recent letter writer points out that every one of the 67 court cases challenging Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election was dismissed without an evidentiary hearing. But it's hard to imagine what difference such hearings would have made. As Rudy Giuliani said of the effort to overturn the election: "We've got lots of theories, we just don't have the evidence."

Conrad deFiebre, Stuart

Ban pugs? How about helping them out?

Having had the pleasure of owning two amazing black pugs, being an avid dog lover and owner for my entire life, I can tell you that these companion dogs, with their squished-in faces, are some of the best dogs you could ever own. Unfortunately, they were bred for royalty, not for breathing.

If you haven't seen the latest news out of The Netherlands, they have banned breeding brachiocephalic dogs. This causes permanent suffering, the ban says. Brachiocephalic dogs have faces that are pushed in. All that extra tissue had to go somewhere and it makes it difficult for them to breathe. They can easily overheat, sometimes fatally.

You probably know if you have one, but what you may not know is there is something that you might be able to do about it.

I got my first black pug two years before I met my wonderful husband, local veterinarian, Dr. Matthew Klein.

Bogie was 5 at the time and he was very uncomfortable. His snoring was unbelievable and he tired so easily. Most walks, I'd carry him home.

So, my husband suggested surgery to remove the extra tissue from the back of the throat. We did the surgery; it wasn’t traumatic and he had a very fulfilling six years added to his life. It was glorious. It changed everyone’s life.

Fourteen years later, we have our second black pug, Odie. He had surgery and now, he can keep up with the other dogs at the dog park, I don't worry about him sleeping on a flat surface anymore, and he doesn't snore! He’s so much happier.

This surgery is dog/breed specific so make sure and talk to your veterinarian about this procedure to see if it’s an option.

Mendy Klein, Vero Beach

DeSantis right to question AP course curriculum

Several letters lately condemned our governor for asking for a re-write on an AP course in African American studies.

Letter writers are somehow convinced he does not like Black history, although they point out he seems to have no issue with AP European history. These letters are misleading.

The College Board recently released a rewrite for this particular AP course. This course was not strictly about important African-American leaders or Black history, but included subjects such as “Black queer studies,” “postracial" racism, and a section on reparations, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Ron DeSantis was concerned this course was more about indoctrination and ideology, rather than giving children the facts. Apparently, the College Board felt the same way.

Sadly, this was yet another attempt, like critical race theory, for the left to sneak its ideology into what is being taught to our kids. It was not coincidental. It had to be discussed and agreed upon before attempting to insert it into this class.

DeSantis should be commended for calling the course's proponents out rather than being, as he often is, vilified for demanding our children be taught the facts and how to think for themselves. If you’re still unconvinced, here is one section taken out of the original AP course: “This topic examines intersectionality as an analytical framework and its connection to Chicana and Asian American feminist thought.”

If anyone thinks this is appropriate for a course on African-American studies, then all I can say is, good for you.

Patricia A. Perrone, Stuart

Fix broken tax system that favors wealthy

We really need to do something about our nation's increasing national debt. A balanced budget is not enough if we are spending about $400 billion a year just in interest.

To balance the budget, some have suggested cutting back or eliminating Social Security and Medicare. Do politicians have brain tumors or is it that they do not care about senior citizens? An equally bonkers idea is to just replace the income tax with a 30% sales tax ― meaning that a car, house, television or even clothing would cost 30% more. How can any person accept that idea?

Let’s look at something that has worked in the past. Starting with the tax structure of President Ronald Reagan's administration, or even during President Bill Clinton’s time when there was a balanced budget, or perhaps during the Bush years when we were told that we were paying the debt down too fast: The wealthy had no problem with a tax cut, which they primarily benefited from and left little for the average American.

During Donald Trump's administration, the great tax cut gave 80% to the top 1%, with most of the rest going to the top 20%. Do we not matter to the politicians in either party?

Balancing our budget is a good thing, but first we should pay off our debt. Let’s fix our broken tax system that seems only to benefit the wealthy.

Charles Davis, Stuart

Dark days ahead with McCarthy in charge

What is happening to our country? Donald Trump was our president from 2016 to 2020. He will go down in history as one of our worst presidents.

He is even worse as a private citizen. Don't people realize how many bad decisions he has made? He doesn't know history, geography, government, etc. His "Trumpers" follow him blindly. They vote for people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, George Santos, Ron Johnson, etc.

I think the GOP has rigged our elections with its gerrymandering, crying wolf when it loses, and generally acting like crazies at rallies and in public places.

With Kevin McCarthy as speaker, we're entering a Dark Age. He has kicked off Democrats from key committees and replaced them with people who aren't qualified. Where are we headed?

Rita Wolper, Stuart

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Save dogs, Taiwan, DeSantis right; Dark Age with McCarthy | Letters