Letters to the editor - Friday (1-27-2012)

Senator Burr, others saw through bad legislation

I want to thank Sen. Richard Burr for doing the right thing and standing up for a free and open Internet by opposing the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). On Jan. 18, everyday Americans spoke out and Capitol Hill listened. Over 10 million people signed a petition against both SOPA and PIPA — making it the most signed petition ever to be sent into Congress — and Congressional offices were inundated with calls and emails from constituents opposing the bills.

The legislation’s stated goal was to eliminate online piracy and copyright infringement, but this is a classic case of the proposed, Washington, D.C., solution being worse than the problem.

No one should be allowed to steal American ideas or products, but these bills would ultimately impose onerous regulations on Internet search engines, service providers and pretty much any website that hosts user-generated content. This means social media sites would face such liability for their users’ actions that it would be almost impossible for a company like Twitter, Facebook or YouTube to get off the ground.

Please thank Senator Burr for joining the millions of Americans who believe the Internet is too important — to our economy, free speech and America’s history of innovation — to cripple it with unnecessary and harmful regulations.

— Steve DeMaura

DeMaura is president of Americans for Job Security, an advocacy organization based in Alexandria, Va.

About the 1 and 99 percent

It was so exciting to see Warren Buffett’s secretary seated with the first lady at the State of the Union address. It was suggested, I believe, by Mark Stein that Buffett’s secretary was there to take dictation from the dictator; I so wish I had said that, but I didn’t. Anyway, the speech is over, with nothing particularly new being said. We are, however, witnessing how the president intends to campaign, with emphasis on class envy of the rich and no slowing in spending. He did make one reference about paying down the debt, not by spending less but taxing more. I don’t think Obama is in touch with reality.

Today government spending is still out of control, with having to borrow or print 40 cents of every dollar spent on public debt. In 2008, when Obama began to occupy the White House, the national debt was $454.8 billion. Two years later, ending Sept. 30, 2010, the public debt had soared to $1.294 trillion. As of March 25, 2011, the debt was $14.255 trillion and today more than $15 trillion. This figure represents nearly 98 percent of the 2010 gross domestic product (GDP). This public debt is expected to nearly double by 2015 to $20 trillion, even when estimating true growth in GDP to be 2.6 to 4.6 percent. What you haven’t been told is that these figures do not include Social Security and Medicare liabilities. If you include these obligations, we are looking at $55.324 trillion, almost four times the public debt being reported.

Some politicians don’t see this debt as the nightmare it is or the great possibility that hyperinflation could be around the corner. Our greatest nightmare is that the 1 percent ruling class has lost touch with the 99 percent citizen class or responsible monetary policy.

We have the power to vote them out, but it takes time and the will to remember just what they have done and are doing to the 99 percent. Pray, brother, pray that we find the will to change things.

— Richard Roberts

Kannapolis

Population not the problem

Regarding the Jan. 13 article “What are our top 10 environmental problems?”:

The following are excerpts from “Population Research Institute Preview,” special edition, 2000 (www.pop.org):

“According to United Nations’ (UN) statistics, the world’s population will never double again. The entire population of the world today could fit into the state of Texas, leaving the rest of the world completely empty.”

“At a special meeting of the UN in 1997, a group of world population experts expressed concerns of worldwide under-population. Demographers from Russia, Europe and the U.S. confirmed that they, together with many other countries, are on the verge of absolute population decline.”

“The annual growth rate of world population is only 1.29 percent, and the population of many countries is in decline.”

The debate continues: Are people the problem or the solution?

Should we continue to suppress life, or let life flourish? Have abortion and contraception affected our economy?

I’ll conclude with a message to young married couples: Get busy, our existence depends on it.

— Eric Lawlor

Salisbury