Letters to the Editor
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‘City Council in Veto Override’
One problem with the legislation is like most bills it will create a precedent that will open the doors for unions to reach beyond supermarkets [“City Council, in Veto Override, to Block Wal-Mart,” Jill Gardiner, Page 1, October 11, 2005].
I can see the movement now as unions try to mobilize to start forcing drug stores, toy stores, and clothing stores, all of which sell the same products big box retailers do, to start also paying these forced benefits.
The unfortunate result will be either higher prices for New Yorkers in an already expensive city as these stores look to pass on the added cost, fewer options as large companies decide it’s not worth opening in New York City leaving us to buy our food, drugs and clothes from small stores who are always looking for a chance to rip-off the local consumer that only big box retailers protect us from or both.
Should the council continue in its inept ways, only Long Island and New Jersey will stand to continue to benefit, as more people will take that trip over the borders to the land of free markets and cheaper prices.
NICHOLAS J. VERTUCCI Treasurer New York Young Republican Club Manhattan
‘What’s Next for Bush?’
Kudos to Cal Thomas for his call for energy independence [“What’s Next for Bush?” Opinion, October 11, 2005].
After a promising start in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the U.S. essentially lost interest in reducing our dangerous dependence on imported oil. Once again awash in relatively cheap and plentiful oil, and having conveniently forgotten the earlier oil shocks, we assumed it was our natural right to drive ever bigger and more powerful vehicles, to freeze our homes and offices in summer and boil them in winter, oblivious to what was going on elsewhere in the world.
Even the September 11 terrorist attacks didn’t immediately wake up our nation or, for that matter, a majority of our elected officials to the dangers posed by our growing addiction to oil and the massive transfer of petrodollars to countries like Saudi Arabia. Only now, with higher oil prices resulting in part from Hurricane Katrina and a growing sense of vulnerability to limited supplies, there is emerging recognition of a problem.
For the sake of our national security, it’s high time to tackle this issue head on, and, as Mr. Thomas notes, no one is better positioned to lead the effort than President Bush.
Just as Prime Minister Sharon learned from changing facts on the ground and provided courageous vision and statesmanship, so is our country’s leader presented with a similar opportunity.
Mr. Bush could go down in history were he to launch our nation on a full-court press to grapple with the issue of energy independence. Precisely because he is from Texas, was connected to the oil industry, has close ties to the Saudis, and is not seen as a starry-eyed tree-hugger, he has just the right credentials to stand before our country and, like Mr. Sharon, tell us what we need to hear.
With China and India growing rapidly and in need of ever more energy resources, the geostrate gic competition for oil will only grow, doubtless driving prices higher in the long run and creating more tension in the international system. That will only further strengthen countries like Iran, already hell-bent on building nuclear weapons; Saudi Arabia, the chief funder of fundamentalist Islam around the world, and Venezuela, whose leader has forged close ties with Cuba and Iran.
There are no quick fixes for the challenges we face. Yes, we must seek to drive less, use public transportation where it exists, carpool, and lower the thermostat a few degrees this winter. But it will take a sustained national effort to explore existing and new technologies to move us away from our dangerous dependence. The time to start is now, and the place to begin is in Washington.
DAVID A. HARRIS
Executive Director
American Jewish Committee
Manhattan
‘Higher-Priced Groceries Act’
Mayor Bloomberg said on February 10, “There’s always two sides. Some people like big stores, some people don’t like big stores, but that’s in the end what the marketplace should determine” [“The Higher-Priced Groceries Act,” Editorial, October 11, 2005].
Good for the mayor for adhering to the Republican principles of market solutions and personal responsibility, over government stewardship and public responsibility.
THOMAS LYNCH
Belle Harbor, N.Y.
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