Letters: California bill would mitigate the costs of Big Oil

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Bill would help mitigate
the costs of Big Oil

Big Oil taxes us three times. We’re taxed at the pump to clean up dirty gasoline in the refineries, then again for cleanup after a climate disaster caused by extreme weather. Climate disasters have caused some insurance companies to run out of money; mine left the state. Now we all pay higher insurance rates — it’s like a third tax.

All of us bear the costs of Big Oil, although the loss of a loved one or home is beyond cost. The fact is we’re being triple-taxed. All California legislators need to be brave and pass the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 and AB 1423), which can help mitigate some of the injustices done.

That includes those legislators who accept campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry, like my state senator, Tim Grayson. Urge your legislators to vote yes.

Carol Weed
Walnut Creek

Newsom’s new plan is
familiar empty promise

Re: “Newsom’s new plan sets lofty goals, but it lacks vital details” (Page A6, March 20).

I had the same reaction to Dan Walter’s latest column that I have had to all the many vague and very expensive plans the governor has put forth that spend billions of California taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars with little to no measurable results: Newsom is all hat and no cattle.

Stephen Shivinsky
Walnut Creek

Slash-and-burn policy
won’t make U.S. great

I’m scared. I’m scared of Donald Trump and Elon Musk and what they are doing to our country. You should be, too. Now he is planning to dismantle “Voice of America,” which has been around for 80 years. I’m 93 years old, and I remember it. He’s firing people right and left for no reason at all, getting rid of essential agencies, like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. What’s next? Going after CNN, MSNBC and our newspapers?

Where is Congress? They are totally spineless, so afraid of Trump that they do his bidding whether they agree or not. Worst of all it is just the beginning of this presidency. What is next? If he wants to “Make America Great Again,” this is not the way to do it. We must stand up to this bully.

JoAnne Wilfong
San Ramon

Democrats must move
on from old leadership

To the leadership of the Democratic Party:

Your mouths are moving but all we’re hearing is “blah, blah, blah.” My email is full, but no awareness or plan other than asking for money.

You don’t appear to even know who your constituency is. It’s not those who supported the Clintons or Obama or Biden. You haven’t moved on. You must.

Listen to the 18- to 35-year-olds. Take a good look at a world with an unaffordable economy and a planet dying from climate change. They know the future can’t be socially engineered so everyone has a college education, a house, a car, 2.5 children and most importantly, a job to pay for it all.

Stop talking about the past. No one cares. Listen to what the future needs and wants, and it’s not fascism. Let me know you’re listening and maybe I’ll throw you a buck.

Nancy Thornton
Concord

Headline continues
vilification of vulnerable

Re: “Cost of undocumented health care in California runs billions over estimates” (Page B2, March 16).

I found the title of this article to be another demonization of undocumented immigrants and read no further. Then I went back and did re-read it. It was a good history lesson. Unfortunately, most readers probably didn’t take the time to go beyond the headline.

I still have a problem with the title. It provides fodder for those who want to demonize the most vulnerable — people who work in agriculture, construction and other industries that are physically hard and dangerous, but essential to our economy, jobs that most people don’t want to work.

So history, but no solution to this old problem. I suggest we all read Matthew 25: 31-46 and then decide if we are sheep or goats.

Craig Kelso
Pleasanton

Reinstate USAID, our
beacon to the world

The recent dismantling of USAID signifies more than the end of a government agency; it marks the end of U.S. commitment to global solidarity and democratic principles. USAID embodied America’s belief that collective action fosters positive change worldwide. Its dissolution reflects a shift toward profit-driven motives, sidelining compassion and shared responsibility.

The narrative that we cannot afford humanitarian aid is a falsehood propagated by those who benefit from public disinvestment. While funds are readily available for tax cuts favoring the wealthy, we are told there’s scarcity when it comes to aiding the vulnerable. History will judge us not only by our actions but by our complacency. Yet it is not too late to act. Reinstating USAID is more than restoring an agency, it’s reaffirming our nation’s identity as a beacon of hope and benevolence.

Leslie Clements
Walnut Creek