Look at real causes of violence, poverty
I’ve been reading the opinion section over the past month, and several articles are leading me to interject my thoughts. The issues I am referring to are as follows: spiraling health care costs, raising minimum wage to $15 per hour, more gun control and last, but most important, failing education.
First, raising minimum wage being a moral responsibility: This rate was set as a starting point so you could work and climb up the ladder by learning other skills or a trade, not so you could sustain a large family for the rest of your life.
For example, people in the military, many of whom are not making $15 per hour, risk their lives every day, put in the hard work and time, learn skills and move on in life.
Second, spiraling health care costs: A huge part of this stems from unemployed women having children without the baby’s daddy anywhere to be found or kids having kids, i.e., Fred Barney’s June 19 letter stating the public should no longer be held accountable for the costs of private decisions. It is a woman’s right to have children. It’s the parents’ obligation to support and participate in raising, educating and offering the best life they can, to each child, even if they go without a few luxuries like smart phones, cable TV or anything else not needed to survive.
We have no problem regulating by law what people can eat, like trans fats, or where you can smoke, etc., because it’s not healthy. But we will not save a child’s life by stopping kids from having kids and stopping unhealthy moms from having more kids. This is not healthy mentally or physically, which leads to my last part of this equation — why kids and young adults are committing mass murders.
Everyone quickly points to the guns. It’s all about guns. Remove them and all problems will be solved. Wrong. Let’s glance back 40 to 50 years. There were movies and TV shows that showed many gruesome killings with and without guns. There were guns in many homes across the country, but kids didn’t take up arms and commit murder. Why not?
Here is something to ponder, what the media doesn’t speak about when these crimes occur: The majority of these people that commit these crimes are on some type of medication, be it anti-depression, anxiety, bi-polar, which seems to be everyone’s issue in today’s world. The pharmaceutical companies are making billions of dollars a day and they keep this low profile. It’s easy to blame guns, right? My T-shirt says it perfectly: “If guns kill people, then pencils mispell words, cars make people drive drunk, and spoons make people fat.”
So the next time this type of situation arises, and I assure you it will, pay careful attention to how it is reported. I promise you this, you will only hear about the weapon and why we should ban guns. This time, ask the real questions and see if the pharmaceutical companies will respond or not.
Oh, and remember one last thing, education is the main point here, and it must start early. It always starts at home with family, morals and values. Please listen.
Gary Macejka
Amsterdam
What are city planners thinking?
Casino sign versus rotating gas station Sunoco sign on Union Street: I agree with Mr. Richard Tullock. Was his rotating sign an eyesore? Hell no. It was American history.
I was a customer of his and I did not know about his sign being illegal. Give us a break. Do we really want an 80-foot casino sign? Read: 80-foot sign. How much were you council/planning people paid? Oh, yes, Galesi gets all the tax and other breaks. I will say it if no one else will. Go ahead, sue me. I have nothing more to give anyway. Eighty-foot sign: Schenectady, are you serious?
Also, the Alco property is so contaminated, a “100-foot cap” would not help. I knew the old timers from Alco and I worked there for GE also. So, I know. I know and so do many others — do not drink the water.
Glenn P. Salamone
Schenectady
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Categories: Letters to the Editor
