Government overspending

Dear Editor:First, bravo to Thelma Simpson, Betty Stockton and George Hofstetter, John Masinelli and Jack Russell (Letters to the Editor, 3/28/13). People are really getting tired of the giveaways, the waste and the unnecessary spending on government at all levels. The number of people on food stamps, receiving free cell phones, free Internet, subsidized housing, free healthcare, unemployment insurance and disability insurance recipients are way up (14 million receive it every month). Gasoline and trash fees are up and going up more, the reason being that fuel costs are up. Downey now wants a tax on our utilities. Food prices are up -- just heard that sugar prices are getting so high some candy makers are being forced to move out of the country. $637 billion is given in foreign aid while most of these countries hate the U.S. Of course, President Obama doesn't want the Keystone XL pipeline, which could cause employment to go up, and the "green" people don't want it. The new "green" program will cause gas to go up approximately nine cents a gallon. Now the International Monetary Fund is asking $1.40 a gallon to be put on our gasoline to clean the air worldwide. But aren't you glad that we, the suckers, are so flush with money that we can pay for all this? The city has now added three more firefighters and will hire nine more in June so as to open up Engine 61. Sound good? Our city is in debt now and had to make cutbacks. The fire department is unhappy in Downey and wants to go to the county. Can we afford more firemen? Have we had so many fires that we really need this station? The federal government -- $17 trillion in debt - has given us a grant to fund this for two years. Then Downey will be on the hook to pay salaries and pensions after that, but the City Council can't turn down a grant from a debt-ridden government. Should we all go on the federal giveaway programs, stay home and not pollute? Or should we rise up and take our country back and let those from the top down know we're not going to put up with more of this ridiculous, stupid, overspending? Elsa Van Leuven Downey

********** Published: April 18, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 01