Letters to the Editor – Dallas Police,voting Centers, China Tariffs, Sen. Cornyn, Medicare, Stock Market

Observations on Dallas policeRe: "Time to talk overhaul — Chief Hall back at work, ready to address staffing recommendations," Tuesday news story.The city of Dallas has a new $500,000 study that tells us very little in its 300-plus pages. Here is the result of my study, derived from what I read in the newspaper, what I see on the street and what I hear from citizens and police officers. The proper index is response time to 911 calls. Too slow. Add officers until we get it right. The city plans to add 19 officers this year. We can do that for a long time before we go too far.On efficiency: I notice that every traffic accident has three police cars and a fire truck, used as barricades. Not an efficient use of police assets. Police complain of hours spent on paperwork. Streamline the system. A police report should be a listing of essential facts, not an essay. The police need a new computer system that will reduce the time to file a report, not add more information. Generally, the perp is on the streets before the officer fills out the paperwork. Get a new chief. If Chief U. Renee Hall were going to change anything, she would have done it. Hire from within. Performance and efficiency counts; race doesn't.Mac Smith, DallasWe need informed votersRe: "Yes! Voting Made Easier — We're all for giving registered voters flexibility on where they cast ballots," Wednesday Editorials.The number of people who vote should be exactly the number of people who are motivated to vote. It's outrageous that media beg everyone to vote, allowing uninformed voters to determine who runs our government.People who vote based on criteria of candidates having nothing to do with qualifications for office just mess up government for everyone.A candidate's sex and race are irrelevant to his or her intelligence and judgment. People who have no clue as to a candidate's platform, please do us a favor and stay home.Tom Wilson, Grapevine China needs U.S.I read with interest the hand-wringing some are engaged in because we do not have a trade agreement with China. I would suggest that the president is acting on two premises. First, he knows that China needs a deal much more than the U.S. China's economy depends upon the U.S. buying its goods. China borrowed heavily to prop up its economy during the last downturn. The Chinese economy is fragile and will fail without the U.S. Xi Jinping is very much aware of this fact. Second, a good deal takes time and patience. No deal is better than a bad deal. How do we know? Look at the Iran nuclear treaty. The former president was unwilling to walk away from the negotiations with the Iranians and arrived at a deal even most Democrats will say is a bad deal. The president knows a good deal takes time and willingness to walk away. He has both on his side. There may be discomfort in the interim, but in the end we will have a trade deal that is favorable to the U.S. and will assist in creating more jobs in the U.S. Be patient.Brent Cooper, ArlingtonA void in leadershipAt the recent G7 conference in France, President Donald Trump deliberately skipped the session regarding climate change. I assume it was his childish way of showing his disregard for climate change concerns and his loyalty to the fossil fuel industry. His press secretary explained he had a conflict and that he was meeting with the leaders of Germany and India at that time. A lie, of course. The leaders of Germany and India attended the climate change session. The empty chair at that session that would have been Trump's symbolizes, sadly, the void in world leadership that the American presidency now represents.Fred R. Neary, Far North DallasYeah, thanks a lotWow! That ad from Americans for Tax Reform in Tuesday's paper caught my eye. The cost for my eye prescription went up from $250 an injection to $2,600 and I should thank this organization and Sen. John Cornyn! I don't think so. Lois Bue, CorinthWork for the people, not PACsTuesday's carefully crafted, full-page ad from one of the largest dark money super PACs thanks Sen. John Cornyn for "voting to protect the free market in Medicare." I do hope readers of this ad will scoff at the implication that Cornyn is a defender of Medicare. He is not. Plain and simple, his voting record and statements show that he looks to the benefits paid for Medicare and Social Security as the place to reduce the huge deficit he and the GOP created. Benefits that seniors have earned over a lifetime of hard work are in danger. Cornyn, most likely at the behest of dark money Super PACs, is reported to be working towards eventual elimination of those benefits seniors have earned over the decades. If the senator is truly concerned about the huge deficit he worked to create, he'd spend his energy to undo the damage caused by the transfer of wealth from the middle class to the super wealthy by the 2018 Trump tax.Senator, quit following the instructions of the dark money Super PACs and the wealthy people funding them. Instead, work for the people who elected you. Undo the damage you have caused.John Lingenfelder, PlanoMore equal than othersRe: "Where did all the stocks go? Companies wait to go public, rely on other capital sources," Sunday Business story.Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman says that anyone with $100 can have equal access to the markets. She also sells "co-located" computer access to high-frequency traders who want to be "more equal" than others. Your $100 is always late to the party.Greg Rickard, Far North DallasWealth and societal goodRe: "Don't barbecue the cow," by James Arthur Hudman, Sunday Letters and "Eating the rich — Extreme, sure, but it would erase our off-the-charts federal deficit," by Scott Burns, Aug. 18 Business column.Hudman, in his letter about Burns' column, implores us to not barbecue the cow. Dairy people know that there is a time to kill the cow — when the cow stops giving milk.History shows that wealth always needs to be used for the good of society or it will be taken away. Even Proverbs (28:8) speaks about how great wealth will be used by others who will be kind to the poor. The real question is: Are we getting milk from this cow or is it time to send it to slaughter?David Randolph, Plano  Continue reading...