LETTERS: Public wages, miners, nuclear weapons

Private sector can't sustain public sector

A wage freeze by public employees may not be the answer to our problems, but State Sen. John Flanagan is right that it's a starting point . And, as stated in a recent letter, "public employees on Long Island are the largest group of taxpayers" "Wage freeze idea is shortsighted," Letters, April 11].

Therein lies the problem. The private sector can no longer support the public sector. The private sector is ruled by the laws of supply and demand and is self-regulated. I cannot say the same is true for the public sector.

For follow-up reading, try George Will's column "We can't afford early retirements" and the Box Score detailing California's pension-fund shortfall .

Roy Firmes

Farmingdale

How about some aid for miners' families?

God knows the United States loves to ride in like a knight in shining armor when disaster strikes around the world. But what happens when disaster strikes in our own backyard and there is no political clout to gain by lending support?

What about the families of the 29 brave men who lost their lives last week in Montcoal, W.Va. ? How about we send them some aid to help ease the financial strain they will soon have to endure?

Wouldn't it be great if we could help Americans the same way we help the rest of the world? But I guess the money for our brothers and sisters in West Virginia has already been sent to Haiti.

Jim Munson

East Northport

Palin nuclear analogy is downright scary

Nothing proves the righteousness of President Barack Obama's dismissal of Sarah Palin's views on nuclear weapons policy more than her attempted "folksy" analogy . In criticizing the president's decision to remove the threat of nuclear retaliation for non-nuclear attacks on the United States, she likened it to kids on the playground, with one saying, "Punch me in the face, and I'm not going to retaliate."

What would Palin propose as the appropriate response to such a child? To have your child pull out a gun and shoot the other child? I'm sure glad that Palin and her children don't live in my neighborhood if this is how she taught them to respond to potential threats.

Isn't it time we recognized that if this woman represents "real Americans," then our nation is in big trouble.

Bernie Stein

Merrick