Thursday's letters: Democracy based on mutual respect, understanding

Breakdown in communication causes chaos

Recently, out-of-state friends have asked me, “What in the world is going on in Florida?” Heartsick, I tell them that politics here have turned nasty and that it’s only getting worse.

First, it was the Sarasota County School Board firing the superintendent, then the takeover of New College.

More: School Board finalizes Asplen's departure, appoints interim superintendent

More: New College board fires president, installs DeSantis ally

More: How to send a letter to the editor

Next, the banning of books in public schools, then dissent on the hospital board, attacks on curricula and now in Tallahassee a protest about Michelangelo’s statue of David.

What in the world is going on in Florida? A breakdown of courteous conversation! People on both sides who are so sure they are right aren’t listening to other points of view. Slogans supplant serious attempts to understand someone else’s ideas.

Our democracy is based on mutual respect, or it previously was. When people take time to listen to each other and sincerely try to understand each other, new ideas and solutions evolve – and without loss of dignity to either party.

My mother would say, “Both of you go to your rooms and write 100 times, ‘I will listen before I speak. I will try to work things out peacefully.’ And don’t come out until you can smile at each other!”

Janet K. Olshewsky, Sarasota

Tax hike would hurt Buchanan’s bottom line

It seems disingenuous for U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan to be criticizing President Joe Biden’s budget.

In his March 26 column, “Small businesses will be hurt by Biden’s reckless budget proposal,” Buchanan took particular aim at Biden’s plan to raise taxes on the rich.

More: Buchanan column criticizes Biden's budget proposal

The Longboat Key Republican is the fourth wealthiest member of Congress, according to Business Insider.

According to Buchanan’s own financial disclosure, he spent $1 million to $5 million purchasing an Ocean Alexander yacht on Nov. 16, 2017, the same day he voted for the first draft of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”

More: Buchanan buys yacht, backs tax-cut package on same day

Given Buchanan's net worth and income, the progressive group Tax March estimated that the tax cuts bill, along with a lower individual tax rate, saved him up to $2.1 million on his taxes. The corporate rate fell from 35% to 21%.

Buchanan claims that raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, as Biden proposes, would give us one of the highest rates in the industrialized world. However, our current 21% rate is lower than 17 of the G20 countries.

Buchanan complained about spending during the pandemic, but according to reports three car dealerships owned by him received as much as $7 million from a federal COVID program.

Kris Perry, Bradenton

Don’t panic, but climate change is here

It’s here! Hurricanes Ian and then Nicole hit us and tore parts of Southwest Florida apart.

Storm after storm swept into California with drenching rain and roof-breaking snow. Then systems with 100-mile tornadoes devastated communities and killed people in the South.

Rainfall in Florida is way below average this spring. Wildfires have ravaged the country like never before. Florida grass is crisp, dry and ready to burn, with no rain in the forecast.

Climate change is here! Doomsday? Hardly.

We understand what is happening; science can explain it. Nature has buried carbon-rich fossil fuels and we have dug them up and are burning them as fast as we can.

We subsidize production, celebrating falling fuel prices. We love big trucks and boats with four or five outboards. We love big noise, big vehicles and lots of smoke!

So what can we do?

Tax gasoline, a dollar per gallon. Tax natural gas and coal.

Use that money to purchase solar roofs, panels and battery storage for our homes.

Capture the wind, the tides and the waves.

Subsidize electric cars, and reward those who use renewable energy to light, heat and drive.

Where is the political will? We can defeat climate change, but we have to do something now!

Henry R. Danielson, Englewood

Let migrants become part of society

The March 27 Herald-Tribune reported that Florida legislators are moving to prevent migrant students from paying in-state tuition at state colleges.

If we are honest in this debate about immigration, we all want migrants to become a beneficial part of society by assimilating and achieving higher levels of education and professional achievement.

Denying this path to higher education for migrant students will undermine this goal, and lead to the unintended consequence of more illegal residents stuck in low-wage jobs and doing manual labor.

I’m alarmed by the haste with which this Legislature makes policy decisions that are not thoughtful or nuanced, and by their lack of independence from the executive branch.

Pamela Pecarich, Lakewood Ranch

Ringing endorsement of Sarasota Memorial

I would like to wholeheartedly state my support for Sarasota Memorial Hospital. My parents, and then I, have always had wonderful care at the hospital.

More: New group seeks to end taxing authority at Sarasota Memorial

This includes many hospital stays, surgeries and outpatient care. I had a heart procedure last March and my care was flawless.Anne M. Vose, Sarasota

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Politics in chaos, with no understanding of other points of view