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Retail theft is
hurting communities
Re: “Target: Organized thefts spurred closures” (Page B1, Sept. 28).
Another outlet (Target) making goods accessible to the Oakland and Pittsburg communities closes. More people lose their jobs.
The pandemic created widespread need and has eroded a sense of personal responsibility. Some people feel they have the right to steal. Groups of youth fill their backpacks with items they did not purchase. The damage hurts not just the stores but affects whole communities.
James Erickson
Brentwood
New gun laws are
not the solution
Re: “Newsom’s tougher gun laws include a new tax” (Page A1, Sept. 27).
While your front-page article seemingly applauds Gov. Newsom’s new law, most of us realize new gun laws are not the solution to rampant, out-of-control crime that continues to remain above pre-pandemic levels. It’s simple: the bad guys could care less about laws. They don’t follow the laws anyway.
More gun laws exacerbate the problem for the honest person concerned about their personal and their family’s self-defense. Newsom and his followers already know that. Disarming the people, so they must comply, is the real agenda.
Chris Kniel
Orinda
Newsom’s veto
betrays immigrants
In vetoing the Home Act, Gov. Newsom has once again shown how narrow-minded and self-serving his actions are. He has yet again shown how his entirely selfish interests outweigh any understanding of the human condition.
He has very publicly castigated Republican governors who treat immigrants as pawns and now he has the gall to veto the Home Act, AB 1306. This act ensures that immigrant Californians earning release from state prison under the rigorous criteria of existing criminal justice laws go home instead of being cruelly transferred to ICE. He continues to support those who see prisons and detention centers as a solution for society rather than investing in education to the detriment of our children and the real safety of all Californians.
Hopefully, our state legislators can override Gov. Newsom’s two-faced nonsupport for immigrants.
Caroline Lehman
Albany
Term limits would
be costly solution
Re: “Government problems demand term limits” (Page A6, Sept. 29).
Term limits won’t fix our broken government.
Marjorie Taylor Greene took office in 2019. Almost all the other Republicans blocking the budget were first elected to the House in 2022. On the left, AOC and The Squad held Biden’s infrastructure bill hostage for weeks. They’re all new since 2019, too.
They know how to fight, but not how to govern. That comes with experience — which no one in Congress will have after term limits.
Randall Spangler
San Jose
Trump, Fox keep beating
the ‘fake news’ drum
In keeping with his “fake news” ploy during the 2016 election, Mr. Trump is accusing the “Lamestream Media,” specifically NBC, of being dishonest and corrupt. He goes on to say, “The fake news media should pay a big price for what they have done to our once great country.”
It’s a very effective ploy used throughout history; “Hey, don’t listen to them, only listen to me.” Controlling the narrative has always been the number one priority for any politician, but especially those with authoritarian instincts. It’s no coincidence that Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda, was Hitler’s right-hand man during his rise to power and beyond.
I do agree with his last sentence. Fox has already paid $787 million, basically admitting that they knowingly aired “crazy” people falsely accusing a voting machine company of rigging the election. In other words, “fake news” that’s caused damage to our country. Fox should apologize.
Bob Wheeler
Walnut Creek
Businesses, consumers
need ‘swipe fee’ relief
Excessive credit card “swipe fees” are plaguing businesses like mine throughout the Golden State. Many Californians are unaware that businesses are charged every time a customer makes a purchase with their credit card.
Last year, credit card “swipe fees” totaled nearly $130 billion — a roughly 20% upcharge compared to 2021. To add insult to injury, Visa and Mastercard are planning to increase these fees by an extra $502 million this fall.
Visa and Mastercard’s stranglehold on the market has given them leverage to continue inflating costs. Fortunately, the Credit Card Competition Act could be the lifeline California businesses desperately need.
The legislation would save businesses $15 billion annually by injecting much-needed competition into the credit card industry. I urge California’s elected leaders in Congress to bring the Credit Card Competition Act to a floor vote.
Bhagdeep Dhaliwal
Pleasanton
Source: www.mercurynews.com