Letters to the Editor |

Minimum wage and the cost of living in the nation: Letters

Re “Intentions don’t justify bad ideas” (March 3):

Few if any editorials mention a central question regarding a nationwide minimum wage: The vast differences in living costs in the United States. While the proposed federally mandated $15 an hour, or even more, might be fair in high-cost areas similar to coastal California, it will be absolutely ruinous in vast areas of the country where the cost of living is significantly less. Owners of small businesses who take all the risks and may work up to 70-80 hours per week netting little more than $15 an hour  themselves will be wiped out. The necessity to balance increased labor costs by raising prices to levels that may not be affordable for their customers will cause their business to fail. A fairer proposal would be $15 an hour in highest living-cost areas indexed by a percentage based on local living costs.

— John Mitchell, San Juan Capistrano

Troop presence in Washington, D.C.

Following the riots and incursion into Congress, some 27,000 National Guard troops were deployed in our nation’s capital. This is 3,500 more troops then we have deployed in South Korea; almost three divisions, after a one-day mass riot/incursion. How many National Guard troops were deployed across major cities such as Seattle, Portland, Chicago, New York, Minneapolis, etc.? None? Congress is The People’s House,” yet how many buildings, homes, businesses, etc. were destroyed last summer? No National Guard were deployed to protect the White House when Trump was president. Apparently when the politicians’ house is attacked or threatened, call out the Guard.

— Bill Ring, Mission Viejo

The hearings on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol

Re “FBI chief says Capitol riot was ‘domestic terrorism’” (March 3): Bureaucrats typically defend and excuse themselves from responsibility for the infamous Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. They were victims, yet some still ignore the facts and defend the predators as “patriots.” On television, witness the congressional hearings that pass the buck. President Truman stated “The buck stops here.” There are viable threats to again attack the Capitol. Ineptness cannot be accepted or tolerated by the powers that be in Washington. Send in the Marines.

— William Lewis, Irvine