JOBS: Think first, then solve problems

Laura Massie's letter in the Sunday edition illustrates a major reason why we are in such a mess: Voters who have an alarming lack of critical thinking skills.

This letter has all the hallmarks. Name calling, finger pointing, blind adherence to the party line. And finally, the capper. "The president should have the final say." Gee, I wonder if she felt the same way when Bush was president.

Her message was this... "trust the president to fix our problems or you are a greedy, sinful person." And if you do this simple thing, you will "Feel Good." Respectfully, that doesn't make sense to me Laura, no matter how many names you call me. And if we don't start doing what makes sense, we will continue to do what does not make sense. I am not a Republican or a Democrat; I think that both parties are part of the problems. But they do share one trait, people voted them all in. We asked for what we got, and we got it.

I am not a Republican or a Democrat. I am an American. I want correct answers. I want competent leaders. But that is going to take voters who can look beyond the rhetoric and THINK FOR THEMSELVES. Work it out in your own mind Laura, don't just accept the party line.

To me, the president's plan seems like more of the same. More government spending, more government manipulation. More meddling by the same government that had so much to do with getting us into this situation. Why would the results be any different?

I can't say that I have all the answers, and I'm not saying government doesn't have its place. But I'm thinking that the best way to right our ship is to unleash the awesome power of the human mind. We are builders, creators, fixers. We have an insatiable drive to make things better. To find new paths. It is in our genetic makeup to succeed, survive and to help others along the way.

We need a government that fosters those traits. And those traits, in return, will nourish the government. Instead, we have a government that feeds on us like a vampire. Sucking our blood until we collapse in weakness. What we need for success is a government that is behind us, not in front of us. We need a level playing field where big business and small business play by the same rules. Standardized taxation, so we all know what we are going to pay and we don't have to have an army of accountants and tax code lawyers, and fear our government knocking on our door, or pulling the rug out from under our feet because of a willy-nilly tax policy.

Social welfare that does not reward failure and perpetuate itself through its own policies. Americans crave fairness, but in our zeal for fairness we have allowed the government to create a vast myriad of inherently unfair policies. Every citizen should get the same breaks, no group deserves more or less from their government. If a group wants more, they can form support groups just as easily as they can political action committees. If you want to "feel good" by helping a certain group, do it locally, with your own time and money.

The Federal government has no place spending tax dollars to engineer social policy. That just encourages divisiveness. This nation was founded on fairly simple ideals, such as limited government, personal liberty, equality, fair taxation and states rights, to name a few. These ideals are what made us an engine of productivity and opportunity. These ideals are what makes the USA different and better than the rest of the world. And I see no reason not to believe that they are the same ideals that will bring us back.

WALTER LITMAN

Coeur d'Alene