Readers write for Aug. 20, 2010

How uplifting to see recent college graduates putting an expensive education to good use by following candidates around with cell-phone cameras ("Trackers," Aug. 19). They could just as well have saved the tuition and gone straight to work for TMZ.

Face it: Political trackers are not about accountability and truth. They exist for one reason -- to be present if and when lightning strikes. Political campaigns tend to be very boring. Candidates offer the same mundane messages multiple times per day to various audiences. Like a television meteorologist who hopes to report a natural disaster, trackers hope to catch a candidate screwing up, perhaps saying something he shouldn't, tripping over his shoelaces or picking his nose. It isn't about making their own candidate look good; it's all about making the opposing candidate look bad. One misstep, no matter how irrelevant, can be caught on video and exploited to no end by an eager media and blogosphere hungry for juicy gossip.

No doubt the young people volunteering for the task of tracking have been brainwashed into believing they are on the front lines, sacrificing their time and integrity for a noble cause. In reality, they are expendable pawns in what continues to be a very ugly political world.

KARL KLASSNER, LAKEVILLE

The Independence Party's Tom Horner and Republican Tom Emmer would have us believe that the higher taxes proposed by DFL endorsee Mark Dayton will drive small businesses from the state ("Who can revive the economy?" Aug. 18).

For a few thousand dollars, these businessmen are going to sell their business headquarters or give up a lease, let their employees go, find employees of comparable skill at the new location, in some cases lose their customers, sell their homes, sell their lake cabins, ask their spouses to change jobs, ask the children to attend a new school, and give up church and community-group memberships?

Horner and Emmer have a shamefully low opinion of the intelligence of Minnesota voters.

JAMES J. WILLIAMS, ORONO

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Every time election time approaches, politicians seem to fall in love with small business.

Emmer says that Dayton's proposed tax increase for people making more than $150,000 per year will harm small-business owners and hurt job creation. Horner says it would "spread panic" among small-business owners.

Could it be Emmer and Horner who are spreading fear and panic?

Most small-business owners nationwide and in Minnesota make less than $100,000 per year.

As a small-business owner for more than 20 years, I make hiring decisions on the basis of market demand, not the tax rates.

I would not mind paying more taxes if I made more money. This is fair.

I am sure that there are a few business owners making more than $150,000 who may not like paying more taxes. This will not affect job creation.

To use this small number of small-business owners to cause fear and panic among voters is misleading and irresponsible.

But then again, maybe Emmer and Horner are more concerned about the few highly paid business owners and executives rather than the majority of small-business owners.

BEN KYRIAGIS, PLYMOUTH

I am an independent businessman. I get up every morning at 5:30 a.m. to work in downtown Minneapolis. My pension plan's balance is a result of my contributions and stock market returns. If the market goes down or my business is off, I have to work harder to ensure my retirement benefits. Being married with a wife who works at an inner-city school, and raising three children, I have no other options.

Mayor R.T. Rybak's proposal to raise property taxes by 6.5 percent to offset stock market losses in the pension fund and escalating city pension costs should be a wake-up call to any private citizen, working or retired ("Rybak calls for a property tax hike," Aug. 17).

Why can't the public retirees' benefits be lowered? Will the city government and their employees support me if my retirement plan loses money? I'm expected to provide for my pension plan, pay for theirs, and make up any market losses.

Our government -- federal, state, and local -- has perfected the art of spending of other people's money.

RICH CAMMACK, MINNEAPOLIS

Minneapolis is in the middle of one of the richest agricultural centers of the world. Our riverfront, with its Mill District, is a testament to that wealth. Jobs and millionaires were created along the river based on the agricultural products grown in our region.

Why not partner with Cargill or General Mills, which originated in Minneapolis, and transform the beautiful but dilapidated Minneapolis Armory into a food emporium showcasing foods from our region? Local cheeses, meats, baked goods and, yes, a much-needed year-round farmers market could all be housed in the Armory. It's situated between two light-rail stops, so people from around the metro could use transit to get there.

And on each side of the Armory, the north and south block are street-level parking lots. Transform those into magnificent parks, and you've just created an urban space that would be the envy of any city in the world.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the city of Minneapolis to think really big. I hope our city government can take off its blinders and imagine the possibilities. I hope our international food corporations will remember their heritage and give back to Minneapolis.

STEPHEN M. DENT, MINNEAPOLIS