Property cannot be persons
Thank you Mark Worcester for pointing out some of the common concerns people have regarding corporate personhood.
Haley's argument is radical, but no more so than the argument that was behind the 13th Amendment, that abolished slavery, or the 19th Amendment, that clarified women had the right to vote, during the tumultuous times leading up to when these amendments were ratified.
It has been clarified through the 13th Amendment of the Constitution that persons are not property, to be bought and sold. It needs to be clarified through amendment that property cannot be persons, with the same inalienable rights as natural persons. Corporations are created by statute, they can be bought and sold, and it is up to the states to define their rights and privileges under the law.
Just as in the times before the passage if the 13th and 19th amendments, there are many who fear the consequences of change. But as we saw after these amendments, and we will see again, our democratic republic is strongest when wrongs are corrected.
— Beverly Churchill
Anchorage
We have arrived; stop welfare
I think we are now at a point in our lifetime where we can phase out welfare and/or public assistance. This is evidenced from the observation of the responsible human behavior of frequenting and being "financially" able to purchase items from liquor stores, pot shops, smoke shacks, getting tattoos, not to mention facial piercings, then there is the purple hair. Oh, I left out opioids!
I guess I was wrong … our education system with learning to become responsible must be working! We have finally become a sensible, financially sound and well-accomplished society.
— Rolf L. Bilet
Anchorage
Sick, So Sick: A play
Doctor: What brings you here?
Patient: I can't explain it. I'm an intelligent woman but when I listen to any television news or read any newspaper, nothing seems to make sense anymore.
Doctor: When did these symptoms begin?
Patient: Nov. 8, 2017. It has been downhill since then. What is happening to me?
Doctor: What you have is quite common, dear. You are in what we now call "100 Daze Malaise."
Patient: Is there any hope?
Doctor: It is much too early to say.
— Mary Navitsky
Anchorage
We the citizens are the true bosses — get vocal and visible
The Legislature can't agree on a budget — or much of anything else. They are now into overtime at our expense. Actually, they are messing with everything at our expense. Their decision to plunk
$3.5 million of our money into their new Minnesota-Benson office in Anchorage ($11-plus million) is ill-timed at the expense of education, senior programs, safety — you name it. They are analogous to somebody complaining they have no money in the budget to buy food for their family, but have plenty of money to gamble, and buy booze and cigarettes. This is one time I would love to have somebody come out and say: "You're fired — all of you!"
The thing we should never forget is that we — the voters — the citizens being stomped on — are the true bosses and can fire them. Write letters to the editor; make phone calls; get vocal and visible. For every penny they waste, let them know they are accountable for that penny of our money. They also don't seem to realize that time is money, and their poor time management is at our expense. It might be advisable to provide citizen "baby sitters" or "nannies" to get them organized.
Plato said: "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber." We may be too smart to engage in politics, but we also are too smart to allow the greatest state in the country be run into the ground.
— Jacqueline Fries
Anchorage
Smith's explanation spot on
Thank You, Robin Smith for your article, "Alaskans will foot the bill for Alaska" (ADN April 26). You explained how important the Permanent Fund is for low-
income Alaskans, how foolish it is for Alaska to continue paying more tax credits for oil companies than Alaska is getting from them, and why an income tax is a better way to fund state government.
I was startled when you ended your argument to support the House income tax proposal with, "My husband and I own a small business. We are in the highest tax bracket. We are willing to pay our fair share to keep Alaska strong." Wow, if more people in that tax bracket would be so wise and brave, Alaska will be OK.
I lived in Alaska for many years when we had an income tax that was a small percentage of the federal tax. I was in a much lower tax bracket, but was happy to pay for education and other state services with a tax that is more fair to low-income citizens.
— Amy Bollenbach
Homer
Lower-wage earners work hard
In a recent article about the House income tax proposal, a member of the Senate majority is quoted as saying "The harder you work, the more you pay (taxes)."
I strongly disagree with this idea that if you are a lower wage earner that you aren't working very hard. I suggest the senator follow a nurse's aide during her
12-hour hospital shift.
— Kelly Blumer
Anchorage
Bill will hurt next Alaskans
As a pediatrician in Alaska, I care mostly for Alaska Native babies and children. I strongly urge Congress to say NO to the House Speaker's health care proposal. When I think about the impact this would have on my own health care as I approach my 50s and would like to retire in my 60s, I get chills. But when I think about the impact on our children, their families, I feel real fear.
I know the devastating impact this "health care" bill will have on all of us. Less preventative care, increased overall costs and burdens to families, older folks. More mental illnesses as people become more anxious, depressed about not only their health but their child's, their mother's, their father's health. This bill will definitely hurt the future generations of Alaskans. It is detrimental for children and families across our state, our country.
Currently, we are at a historic high of 95 percent of children who have health care cove rage. Let us build on that as we go forward, not knock it down. Don Young needs to stand up and say NO to the House speaker. Please. Our future depends on the health and well-being of our children now.
— Mary Herrick, MD, FAAP
Anchorage
Last shutdown hurt millions
President Trump tweeted this morning that "our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess." The last time the federal government shut down I was in Flagstaff, Arizona, with a group of 16 Alaskans who had traveled there for a long-planned rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. Our trip got canceled. Our guides lost thousands of dollars of income. The young Japanese man at our hotel who had traveled thousands of miles to see the Grand Canyon was heartbroken. Multiply that by millions of people who were hurt in big and small ways. It was all stupid, pointless and infuriating. America can do better than that. We have to want better than that.
— Gunnar Knapp
Anchorage
Haley responds
to ConocoPhillips' Worcester
Mark Worcester (ADN April 30) asserts that Haley's position is radical; corporate rights are essential. I didn't assert that corporations shouldn't have rights. I asserted that their rights don't derive from the Constitution: They should be defined in the corporate code, the body of law that creates and defines corporate structure and scope of powers. (See: www.adn.com/opinions/2017/04/23/return-to-reason-corporations-are-not-citizens/.)
You can judge for yourself the significance of the fact that Worcester is corporate counsel for ConocoPhillips, and weigh his opinion accordingly.
— Sharman Haley
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.