Readers Write: Government efficiency, abortion access, mining, taxes, architecture

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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The president-elect has appointed two very rich and successful businessmen to make recommendations for efficiency in the federal government. And while the trope of conservative politics that government “can’t get it right” and businesses are more efficient than government agencies is not new, it is not my experience that businesses, especially big businesses, are inherently better functioning than government entities.

Here is a recent example from my experience: Our elderly and forgetful neighbor ran into trouble six weeks ago when her landline phone quit working. A team of neighbors has worked since then to figure out that her account with CenturyLink is active and paid up, and requested help from them to restore her essential service. After dozens of mostly frustrating hours on the phone to CenturyLink call centers with people giving unhelpful responses, and days of watching for technicians who never showed up, six weeks later, she still had no dial tone. During this time, the company clearly showed me that there is no effective coordination among marketing, customer service and repair services — and few people there care.

Alternatively, when I called the Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling number on Monday last week, a live human answered without a wait. She listened carefully while I explained that this same forgetful neighbor had mixed in trash in her recycling cart, so the recycling crew has been rightfully refusing it. I asked that she communicate to the trash crew that they should take the contents of the recycling cart just one time to get rid of it, and then we would start fresh to keep the waste streams separate. I knew that this was a tricky ask, considering that the trash truck comes down our street early in the dark and the neighbor’s house number is not well lit. What a relief it was to discover that Minneapolis city staff communicate well with each other and follow through! The mixed trash was gone on Tuesday.

Louise Hotka, Minneapolis

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If Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy really want to solve the problem of “efficiency” in government they must start with themselves. What are they going to do to close the tax breaks and tax loopholes and tax giveaways that allow billionaires like them to avoid paying their fair share in taxes?

Murray Smart, Beardsley, Minn.

I would like to respectfully respond to the top letter in the Dec. 9 Readers Write section titled “Let doctors follow their oath.” First let me say how sorry I am for the writer’s granddaughter that she experienced a terrible miscarriage of her baby. This kind of loss is so often discouraging and disheartening for the mothers, fathers and family.

I want to kindly correct three inaccurate assertions in this letter. First, the excellent care and necessary D&C she received in Minnesota is also legal in Texas, and in all fifty states of the Union. There is not even one state that has a law in place that would not allow doctors to remove the placenta after her “natural abortion” to save her life. I do not believe the writer was purposely trying to deceive, but more than likely he has been continually misinformed of the truth by both inaccurate reporting in the media and purposely deceptive editorial writing. Not to mention dishonest politicians trying to get elected. Second, there is no exodus from states like Texas that have outlawed abortion. In fact, the population of Texas is growing at a rate significantly faster than the state of Minnesota’s.

Finally, if doctors did follow their Hippocratic oath to “do no harm” in practicing medicine, as the writer stated, coupled with the nearly universally accepted medical science of when life begins, abortion would be nearly extinct today without any additional laws needed.

Chris Chanski, Medina

John K. Trepp’s closing words on when to start copper-sulfide mining outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness were “It’s not like these reserves of copper, nickel, etc. are going to be less valuable in the future” (Readers Write, Dec. 5).

Perhaps not, but by then the U.S., not foreign conglomerates, may mine more safely and keep what is mined here in the U.S. Ever evolving, batteries already need less of these metals than a year ago. If the share of the U.S. copper supply that comes from recycling was increased by a paltry 17 percentage points, that difference would be more copper than 13 PolyMet mines! The best choice is a no-brainer — but not for rich corporations and people who want to be richer.

The BWCA is over 1 million square acres of the most pristine water in the world. It is our country’s most visited wilderness area and directly adjoins Canada’s Quetico. In 2014, the EPA said that copper-sulfide mining was the most toxic industry. The Iron Range folks say they will care for the land. It worked for taconite, but copper-sulfide mining is a different beast. Its worldwide track record is abysmal, and made worse for us and the environment by mining companies derelict in their legal duties unless hounded by consumer watchdogs with limited funds.

So what’s the rush to extract certain minerals? Keep it in the ground for now. Recycling is cheaper, is done in and by the U.S., creates new jobs and bypasses multigenerational environmental consequences.

Debra Masters, Shoreview

An overhaul of the tax code is indeed a necessity, but let us not overlook a fundamental component of national revenue generation — the collection of taxes, i.e., the IRS (”Smarter taxes, higher revenues are crucial in 2025,” Other Views, Dec. 9). Without mechanisms for the collection of revenues, any tax reform will mean little. If Donald Trump and his lap dogs follow through on their mission to starve and undermine the IRS and its ability to ensure compliance, the nation will continue to suffer the loss of monies through lack of enforcement as well as outright cheating. Monies that could be used for the public good such as infrastructure renovation, disaster relief, etc. And let’s not forget just having enough staff to answer the phone when citizens call. If politicians of any stripe are serious about cutting the deficit, ensuring there is a fully functional and staffed IRS is a priority.

Gordon Abel, Minneapolis

I was disappointed earlier this year when James Lileks ceased his regular column, but I am grateful he continues to write Streetscapes. I have enjoyed his wry, engaging prose since his time at the Minnesota Daily (before he was capitalized). I am an architect, and though I do not always agree with Lileks’ takes on design, I appreciate his candid criticisms, well-informed and good-natured even when they are biting. More often than not I concur with his conclusions, such as his recent comment that “many modern architects seem interested in self-amusement and cheeky transgressions” (“Classical vs. modernism,” Dec. 7). Please keep this feature going with this wonderful writer.

Greg Maxam, St. Paul

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Lileks’ Dec. 7 article serves well to warn us of the probability of a return to “Make America Beautiful Again” under the Trump administration. Like other despots before him, such as Adolf Hitler or Nicolae Ceausescu, classicism is the preferred architecture of power. The Palace of Parliament in Romania may soon be the U.S. model across the land. Our only hope is that Trump’s commitment to reduced federal spending might limit the damage.

Dale Mulfinger, Minneapolis