The time has come for politicians and CEOs to pay the piper

To any and all currently elected officials and those trying to get elected. I am a hard-working voter who is 70 years old and still working because, financially, I have to. If I have to still work because I need health insurance and have not as yet been able to save enough in my retirement account to retire on, why should I have to bail out individuals who earn millions a year and/or companies that have been taken to the edge of bankruptcy by irresponsible leadership?

At first I was firmly in favor of saying hang those who screwed up and failed their duties as leaders of major companies. I said they were not entitled to their $10 million or $20 million or more per year that their contract called for. Then I realized that if the government can declare a legal contract between a company and the executives null and void, nothing would and could stop them from declaring contracts between employers and unionized employees null and void. But they should and must face both severe financial penalties and jail time!

However, because of the current financial situation and economic conditions, I also firmly believe that the playing field has been leveled between the public sector and the private sector. In the last few months I have read in The Gazette, or Times Union, or other local papers that close to 25 percent of private-sector employers do not offer paid vacations to their employees. Almost 40 percent do not offer paid sick time. And, of course, close to 80 percent of private-sector employers do not offer health insurance to retirees, nor do they offer a guaranteed-for-life retirement income. The days of giving and giving have to end. As taxpayers we have to demand fiscal reform from all of our elected representatives, local, county, state and federal. Bring the public sector wages and benefits in line with the private sector.

In conclusion I would urge everyone to talk to a grandparent or great-grandparent who lived through the Great Depression and what it was like. I fear that if we do not learn from the past we will be forced to relive it.

Edward F. Wagner

Clifton Park

Voters beware, Palin is inexperienced in too many areas

All too many Americans have a fatal attraction for show business. Palin’s instant stardom would seem to suggest that what all too many Americans want in this election is entertainment, not substance. Palin has proven herself to be a star entertainer. But, does this talent qualify her to become the next vice president of the United States? I hope not.

Mona Charen, a syndicated columnist, reported in her Sept. 23 column that Palin, to her credit, did attack the political elite and the energy industry in Alaska for pork-barrel spending. Charen then adds, as if promoting a soap-opera star, “Sarah Palin is not perfect but she is just the most exciting, authentic, fresh and talented politician to debut in a generation.” Palin is a star entertainer who has put on a show designed to gain votes.

As to her political experience, Palin has been the governor of Alaska, made up of thousands of largely homogeneous constituents. As vice president, she would have to make judgments involving millions of Americans with different beliefs.

McCain’s and Palin’s political views are on the side of stasis, not change. If elected, both McCain and Palin would continue to follow largely in the footsteps of Bush, notwithstanding some minor cosmetic changes they might try to make. Further, both candidates believe in exclusiveness: American first and foremost!

According to the Sept. 24 article, “Palin makes diplomatic debut,” Palin has taken a “. . . tightly-controlled crash course on foreign policy . . .” and that she has met with world leaders by shuttling across New York City going from one meeting to the next.

The GOP campaign has applied severe restrictions on her being interviewed by the press for fear that she would put her foot in her mouth. In an interview on Sept. 11 on ABC News, she proclaimed that she had insight regarding her neighbor Russia. “They are our next-door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.” In a Sept. 14 letter to the Gazette, the writer noted that Palin had never visited Russia, and until last year, she has never traveled outside North America. Her comment on the ABC News interview met with further derision from Palin’s critics for her attempt to claim in a CBS interview that she has had political experience with Russia. “We have trade missions going back and forth.”

For all the reasons cited above, as well as others not mentioned here, I strongly believe that voting for McCain and Palin would be a tragic error!

Frank M. Calabria

Schenectady