Barbara Essington writes that Ronald Reagan's "free-market" philosophy is the correct one.
To the Editor:
It is amazing how seldom the left wing allows facts get in the way of its vision of a utopian society.
President Ronald Reagan spoke of America being "a shining city on a hill." He believed in free-market capitalism which, when allowed to work, provides prosperity and economic freedom to many Americans. But the modern left has come to believe that socialism and the concentration of power in the ruling elite is superior to our free-market system.
Full "income equality" is a false concept that is impossible to achieve. Taking from those who have achieved more to gratify others is defined as stealing. Many progressives think the private sector has no right to keep what it has rightfully earned. "Free stuff" that government gives out has to be paid for by someone.
President Barack Obama's numerous failed policies have increased the size of the lower economic class, shrunken the middle class and grown the top 1 percent -- to which Obama belongs. The pitiful annual economic growth rate during his seven years in office has been between 0 and 2 percent. Federal government debt is now nearly $19 trillion. This is not the legacy we want to leave to our children and grandchildren.
It is important to realize that those in government who want to control every aspect of our lives are supposed to be accountable to us. Government plays an important and necessary role in our lives, but only the God that I serve can meet my needs and do what no government can do.
Barbara Essington
Carneys Point Township
N.J. can vote an easier way
To the Editor:
I am a poll worker and I have noticed many older people in wheelchairs coming in to vote. Others have to be accompanied by relatives, arrive with casts on their limbs, or are using canes to reach the balloting machines.
It is commendable that people want to vote, and I am proud to see them come to the voting place. But, there is an alternative to all of these inconveniences. They can be eliminated if the voter requests a vote-by-mail ballot from the county clerk or board of elections.
Why struggle to get to the polls when a mail-in ballot can save a lot of grief?
In Gloucester County, all you have to do is call the county clerk's office at 856-384-4531, and they will mail you a ballot for every election. No stamps are needed to mail completed ballots back. I have done this for many years, and it works well.
Luis M. Perez
Glassboro
Editor's note: In Gloucester County, you may also access a vote-by-mail application at www.gloucestercountynj.gov/howdoi/learn/vbm.asp
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