Tax cuts for wealthy

The Republican tax plan is typical of all their tax plans since former President Ronald Reagan. Cut taxes for the wealthy, ignore the massive deficits these cuts create, until the Democrats are in charge, then complain that those darn entitlements are the cause of all deficits.

And we must reform (meaning cut) entitlements. There is no reason to cut taxes again. The wealthy are doing quite well. It’s just a bunch of bull. If they want to truly help a group of people, stop taxing Social Security (another tax reform gift from Reagan) and unemployment benefits. Now that’s a plan that would put money “back into people’s pockets.” And that money would go straight into the economy. Rocky Fort, San Lorenzo

Costly spending

The PBS masterpiece “The Vietnam War” is truly great filmmaking. But after a recent episode, one phrase haunted me: “America — right or wrong” was a mantra of the time, for both the troops and the military-industrial complex. And it really continues to this day with Iraq, Afghanistan and even North Korea. Why do we support the military side of our government, when there are serious questions that they will not answer — mostly because of former President Lyndon B. Johnsonlike ego issues?

Why are we spending nearly two-thirds of our federal budget on wasteful, scattershot military projects that often don’t work? You could also extend this concept to the blind pseudo-patriotism of the NFL controversy. Quite often, patriotic America gets it wrong.

William Sauro, San Francisco

Reason for protest

Regarding “Don’t let Kap’s message be distorted” (Last Word, Sept. 28): Well said. The protest is about racism and police brutality. Respect or disrespect for the American flag is not the issue. White people — and institutions — will seemingly do almost anything to avoid addressing racism.

Too many of us white people find the issue “unsettling” and “embarrassing.” I’ve rarely known a person of color who thinks the problem in the U.S. is that we talk about race too much. Buck Bagot, San Francisco

Kap’s arrogance

Spencer Whitney missed an important point on the NFL owners protesting with the players. Why is OK to protest with them but no one will hire Colin Kaepernick as a backup quarterback?

That is called putting your money where your mouth is! Yet Kaepernick is not in the NFL for more than just the protests, and perhaps he becomes the Curt Flood of the NFL. Kaepernick was very arrogant last year by wearing a Fidel Castro T-shirt in Miami and wearing socks with cops as pigs. This comes with having a guaranteed $13.9 million contract last year.

And if not for his girlfriend, Kaepernick could have been signed by the Baltimore Ravens for their backup quarterback. She sent out an unflattering tweet about the Baltimore Ravens owner, from what I understand, and he withdrew his support for the Kaepernick signing. Another case of arrogance.

Andrew Smith, Santa Rosa

Exercising rights

Regarding “Disgraceful act” (Letters, Sept. 26): First, I salute the writer for his and his family’s military service, just as I revere my own son’s 30 years of service as a Marines officer.

But even though I would not choose to demonstrate as the football players have done, I am mystified by the letter writer’s repeated references to his defense of constitutional rights and then contradictory conclusion condemning the exercise of those rights as a national disgrace. Why is it a disgraceful act to exercise one’s constitutional rights?

Jacquelyn Gentry, Foster City

Violent nation

As an American who grew up in Southeast Asia (though far from Vietnam), my blood boils when I think that our nation dropped napalm and white phosphorus on grasshut villages whose residents wanted nothing more than to work their farms.

It was truly one of the great crimes in history, and any commemoration that sets that fact aside in favor of feel-good moving on and reconciliation does a terrible disservice to our planet. Until North Americans widely recognize that we are as capable as any other nation of atrocities, we will keep committing them.

Steve Baughman, San Francisco

Caltrain capacity

I’ve used Caltrain with my bike every day since 2008 to go to work in San Francisco and thank them so much for being advocates of bike ridership in the Bay Area over the years. I hope Caltrain continues being at the forefront of innovation in urban transportation.

I worry when I hear conductors on the train actively encouraging passengers to vote for the design with the lowest number of seats and spaces for bikes. For me, the most important aspect is being certain that I can get my bike on board when I commute. Some of the proposed designs actually reduce bike and passenger capacity compared to now. Considering how quickly Silicon Valley’s growing, we’re going to need all the space we can.

The current design with bungee cords is not the most sophisticated, but it’s cheap, and it works! A great idea could be to distribute the 84seat capacity along the whole train. I would be more efficient getting on and getting off if I could sit next to my bike.

Vincent de Martel, Palo Alto