Letters: Critical column sells Rishi Kumar’s tax plan short

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Critics sell Kumar’s tax proposal short

Re: “Pol planning to inject Prop. 13 full of steroids” (Page A6, Jan. 20).

Max Taves, Margot Kushel and Larry Stone fail to acknowledge Rishi Kumar’s objective to stop runaway state and local tax assessment costs that continue to rise on the backs of seniors.

Seniors main source of income is their Social Security. The five largest worries for seniors are housing, transportation, food, health care and taxes.

Living in high-cost areas where school and infrastructure bonds are an open checkbook makes it impossible for seniors to keep their homes, let alone sell their homes in an unstable housing market. If families cannot afford housing, how can seniors with fixed incomes afford to thrive? They cannot.

Kumar’s tax plan won’t bankrupt a county or state. Rather, fiscal irresponsibility by politicians and voters who vote “yes” on bond measures will have to cease. Stop using seniors’ property taxes for state and local programs.

Jeff Staben
Santa Cruz

Kumar’s latest gambit is another no vote

Re: “Pol planning to inject Prop. 13 full of steroids” (Page A6, Jan. 20).

Just when I thought voters had put an end to Rishi Kumar’s political career by overwhelmingly crushing his assessor campaign, it looks like he’s bent on wasting everyone’s time and money again.

Kumar is still peddling his cockamamie plan to exempt senior citizens from paying property taxes. He is using what amounts to nothing more than a Trumpian style lie that senior homeowners are systematically being thrown into the streets because of property tax burdens. That’s nonsense.

As a senior myself, I don’t think it would be fair or equitable to be exempted from property taxes. I still benefit from the many services local government provides, including education, health care, clean water and law enforcement.

If you see anyone collecting signatures for Kumar’s ballot measure, I advise you politely say no thanks. Hopefully, this will be Kumar’s last political gambit that we have to defeat.

Robert Livengood
Milpitas

Proposed tax a drop in bucket for billionaires

Re: “Billionaires can afford cost of keeping health system afloat” (Page A6, Jan. 20).

To put Josephine Rios’ article in perspective, there is no way someone could spend $1 billion in a lifetime.

Just based on the average growth of 3% fixed CD interest and not the average S&P 7% growth, we are looking at $30 million a year without touching the $1 billion; that is $2.5 million a month. Even after paying 40% income tax on the gain, you are still looking to spend $1.5 million a month.

It is not just one person’s talent or hard work that helped make them a billionaire. It is the environment, opportunity, professors of the universities, hedge fund investors and the support systems they received; it is the domino effect of the whole state.

I appreciate what Jensen Huang of Nvidia said. He is not concerned about the billionaire tax because he is busy making better chips.

Doris Khoo
San Jose

ICE nabbing citizen is a bad sign for all

ChongLy “Scott” Thao is an American citizen whose story should shock even the right-wing apologists.

After kicking in his door, ICE agents dragged him in freezing conditions in his underwear, then drove him to Minneapolis before realizing their mistake. I must wonder, did he receive his Miranda rights? Was he allowed to call anybody? Is this happening in America? Are we safer?

To be clear, if there is a rapist, pedophile or other criminal, I have no problem with deporting them. I do have a problem with the methods. I am sure Renee Good’s family isn’t safer.

Glenn Stansbury
San Jose

ICE’s tactics give critics a lot of ammo

Re: “Protesters shouldn’t demonize ICE agents” (Page A6, Jan. 20).

A letter writer opines that the main problem with ICE actions today is that they are not supported for political reasons. Let’s call his argument “ICE, by the numbers.” Barack Obama deported 5.2 million, and Joe Biden deported 4.4 million, so why complain about ICE today?

There is a large undocumented immigrant community in the United States, and there has been for a long time. Many of these immigrants work hard in jobs that few U.S. citizens are willing to do. Previous administrations did not demonize the undocumented and unleash violence on peaceful immigrant communities. Just listen, and you can hear the thuggish behavior encouraged by the president and his loyal minions at the top.

With the Renee Good incident and the administration’s web of lies that followed, it has become crystal clear that ICE can not only get away with brutalizing peaceful communities, but they can literally get away with murder.

Jim Von De Bur
San Jose