Printed letters, June 29, 2012

By Staff
Thursday, June 28, 2012

I find it hard to believe that Grand Junction city officials would think twice about canceling fireworks this year. We are in severe drought conditions, and much of our state is on fire, with thousands of people displaced from their homes.

Here is a novel idea: Let’s take all the funds that are spent on public fireworks displays and donate to a fund that supports our troops, who give us the freedom to celebrate Independence Day. The fund could also help displaced families and finance the firefighting yet to come.

How difficult is it to sacrifice one year of fireworks for the good of the community?

JULIE BUTHERUS

Grand Junction

Conservation fund, Tipton due thanks for aiding parks

Every time I visit Colorado National Monument or share this local treasure with a friend, I say thank you to the Land and Water Conservation Fund for fighting for Colorado’s share.

The LWCF is helping our national parks stay beautiful and open to the public. Colorado National Monument and McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area both receive money from the LWCF. Better yet, the program is funded by fees levied on companies engaged in offshore drilling, not from taxpayers.

I thank Rep. Scott Tipton for advocating our park heritage, and I encourage everyone to be grateful for our local landscape and to continue to ensure our representatives know how much we value our parks.

JESSICA SCHOLL

Grand Junction

 

Baby boomers may be forced to seek riskier investments

Is it just a mere coincidence that, as millions of baby boomers begin to retire and search for a safe haven for our life savings, the secure investment world changes?

Millions of folks who worked years and did save were ready to invest in secure FIDC backed certificates of deposit, with a historical return of 5 to 6 percent. Now CDs are essentially without investment value at .01 percent up to a staggering 0.5 percent.

Could Wall Street, the overpaid investment bankers and certain politicians manipulate the market in such a fashion as to force the baby boomers into more risky investments in the equities market? When there is that much money to be taken from the middle-class folks, it makes a person wonder.

GARY ROBERTS

Grand Junction