Foreign Policy
Contrary to Frothing Conspiracists, Beirut Warehouse Explosion Was the Result of Bureaucratic Failure
Shortly after the horrific explosion at a warehouse in the port of Beirut that killed some 200...
Culture
The Heart and Art of Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser—the peerless graphic designer, painter, and visionary for humanity—was a dear and...
Economy
Under Cover of Covid, Republicans Will Come After Social Security as They Have Done Repeatedly Before
With Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter foremost on everyone’s mind, it is unlikely that Social...
Letters to the Editor
The Spectator welcomes letters from our readers. We'll assume they are for publication unless stipulated otherwise. For information on where to send emails or written correspondence to the editor, click here.
To the Editor,
I recently read the article "Changes in the Electorate Signal Close Florida Race" by Karen Houppert. She repeatedly used the term "Latinx" to, I assume, describe people of Latin American heritage. I understand that she wants to be as "woke" as possible, but to use a meaningless word is unacceptable. The proper English word is Latin or Latin American. Spanish is a gender based language (as are all romance languages), so if you are going to use the language then use it properly. My wife is a Venezuelan-American and can't stand how "woke" people abuse her native language.
Frederick Dennstedt
Flagstaff, AZ
To the Editor,
This afternoon I've been listening to the impeachment trial with tears in my eyes for several reasons. The first is because of the thorough and deeply researched history lesson that the Democratic House managers are providing in the proceedings. It is not fine oratory but it is compelling and you can hear the passion in their voices. What an example for our offspring, in place of the pathetic administration currently in power. [...]
To the Editor,
I am not sure why Steve Pressman wrote, and you published, such a lame set of arguments against a wealth tax (Sep 1 issue, p 6). The article claims "Perhaps the biggest negative is that the wealth tax does not have a very distinguished history." The main historical fact reported is that some wealth taxes were repealed, or reduced, or were unpopular as evidenced by their decline. So what? [...]
Pressman responds:
First, and maybe most important, property taxes are not wealth taxes. The property tax is a tax on the assessed value of a home and the land it sits on. It is not a tax on the equity that one has in one's home, which would make it a wealth tax. The same property tax applies to someone underwater on their mortgage and someone who owns their home outright -- when the two homes are of equal value in the same neighborhood. Rather than a tax on the wealthy, property taxes fall primarily on the middle class. [...]