New police headquarters
If I understood it correctly, the point you were trying to make in your editorial of March 3, "Moving police headquarters," was that moving the police department to Howard and Lexington streets is not in the city's best interest. I disagree.
As a result of the disruption caused by the subway and light rail construction projects, there are many vacancies in Market Center and both property values and sales tax revenues in the area have declined. Locating the police department headquarters in Market Center would improve the health of surrounding businesses because of the many people it would bring to the area on a daily basis. Additionally, the presence of so many police would add to the sense of security felt by patrons of the many nearby businesses and the Lexington Market.
This would stabilize property values and increase business in an area which makes a significant contribution to the city's tax revenues.
Regarding the future space needs of the police department or those of the fire department, the Stewart's Building sits vacant across the street from the Hecht Co. building.
The police department employs many administrative personnel. The city and state have made a big investment in the subway, bus and light rail systems which all converge at the Hecht Co. location. The city should now take advantage of this site's proximity to these public transportation resources.
Robert Max
Owings Mills
Not senatorial
America sure is a great country. A place where the downtrodden and even the mediocre can achieve. Our Maryland political arena is indeed such a place.
Where else can a person who has the eloquence of a truck driver, the delivery of a barmaid and the actions of a Jim Henson creation be made a U.S. senator?
A person whose senatorial accomplishments wouldn't fill a half dozen pages of her coloring book but receives 86 percent of the Democratic vote is indeed a sad commentary on voters' perception of quality representation.
We get what we deserve in this state and I hope those mindless lever-pullers of name recognition suffer along with the discriminating in our national embarrassment of mediocrity in high places.
Joseph L. Bishop
Monkton
Rosedale stranded
With Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards rapidly approaching as well as other spring activities at the Inner Harbor and other downtown sites, it seems ironic that the Mass Transit Administration canceled bus service from the Golden Ring-Rosedale-Chesaco Park area to downtown on Saturdays and Sundays. This was effective Feb. 2. This service was formerly provided by the #35 bus which went from Franklin Square Hospital to University of Maryland Hospital.
Meanwhile, other areas will soon be saturated with service to downtown with the new Howard Street Light Rail and the Metro, which, I understand, will operate on Sundays when a baseball game is scheduled at Camden Yards.
Charles Pearson
Baltimore
The extent of Milken's crimes
An opinion page article written by Murray N. Rothbard in the March 6 Evening Sun caught my attention and I think it also deserves some response. Based on his defense of Michael Milken in that article, I must wonder about his grasp of economics. To state categorically that no one has been hurt by Mr. Milken's market manipulations indicates to me a disregard for the many people who have suffered due to being caught in a leveraged buy-out situation. LBO's financed by junk bonds have proven to cause severe disruption in many people's lives due to restructuring and business closings leading to loss of jobs for many people.
The use of junk bonds also encouraged fraud in the financial community, which has resulted in a massive disruption in the banking industry, again causing loss of jobs for some, loss of assets for many and the whole nation having to pay through taxes for putting the banking industry back on an even keel.
Not only did Mr. Milken perpetrate a fraud on the financial community, he probably personally profited through various ways on insider information not available to the public, which is against the law. Of course, Mr. Milken was not alone in his activity. Everyone who obtained his services and also the company who supported and abetted him was just as wrong.
Mr. Rothbard may be one of those who support the idea that what is most important is the next quarter's bottom line no matter how you make it show a profit.
To me, there are some simple basics which seem to get overlooked by some who teach economics. First, you can't spend more than you make for an indefinite period of time. Second, high return incurs high risk. Third, sales and profit cannot be expected to exceed past performance to any great extent. Therefore, any debt incurred should be covered by past performance and not some pie-in-the-sky projection.
The past 10 years have also shown that some kind of regulation is needed and also that government is obligated to keep inflation in check as it was the very high inflation rates of the late '70s and early '80s which made a major contribution to our situation today.
Walt Vikestad
Churchville
Throw 'em all out
After all the theatrics, the hand wringing, the screams of anguish from the Maryland legislature, was there any doubt in anyone's mind who, in the end, was to be targeted to pay the bill? I knew all along that the home and property owner was going to be it.
The word from Annapolis went out: We don't care how you do it, just get us the money. We need it now. And the tax assessor, the ever-obedient lackey, went at it with a vengeance. This, in spite of the fact that property values in Baltimore City dropped in 1991. My tax was raised by 47 percent.
Why are politicians so blind? They always go for the quick fix and the long term disaster. There is an election coming up in November, folks. What say we vote all the bums out.
Emmaniol Kalathas
Baltimore
The 29-hour week
This morning a major network news program called my attention to a developing trend in industrial hiring practices. As the economy slowly rises from the depths of recession, our corporations are beginning to hire new employees, not at the normal 37-40 hours per week, but at 29 hours per week. Why? At 29 hours per week, the new employees are considered to be part-time and the employers are not required to pay for health and other fringe benefits.
According to recent estimates, the United States already has 35 million citizens without health care coverage. As Congress and our presidential candidates debate about ways to provide coverage for a portion of that number, big business is striving to increase the number who lack coverage. Perhaps it is time to consider a comprehensive National Health Care System so employers won't have to play these games.
D. Windler
Towson
Political ed 101
Former Maryland Attorney General Steve Sachs once said that debate is the "music of democracy." It was sure good to hear that music at the University of Maryland recently. Chairman Nathan Landow and the Maryland Democratic Party deserve credit for bringing the Democratic presidential candidates to the University of Maryland to debate.
Maryland is one of the nation's great universities. The Maryland Democratic Party greatly enhanced the educational mission of Maryland by having the presidential debate at College Park. It was good politics and it was good education.
Grason Eckel
Baltimore
See New York
Recent studies of New York state's economy have indicated that the state has lost 500,000 jobs since the recession began. Further, more than 40 percent of all the jobs lost in the entire nation last year were lost in New York. What isn't reported is that New Yorkers pay the highest taxes in the nation and that corporations, pinched by the economy and tax-driven high employment coast, are fleeing the state in droves.
The Schaefer "tax and spend" budget plan may well have the same effect in Maryland. Maryland is the nation's third-highest taxer and this state's now-fragile economy can ill afford the luxury of jobs lost through higher-tax policy stupidity.
Edward J. Naumann, Jr.
Towson