Is U.S. supposed to act as “Santa Claus to the world”?

Re: “A refugee crisis has arrived in Denver,” Dec. 25 editorial

The editorial is completely wrong and naive. The premise that the United States is an unlimited, perpetual Santa Claus to the world is an illogical emotional and dangerous fantasy. Under this current uber-liberal regime, Americans are in the very worst economic straits since 1980. The very idea that this country is in any way liable for the decades-long incompetence and failure of Nicaragua, Cuba and others is ridiculous and unsustainable.

American leftist, I refuse to let you collapse my nation for your open border, future amnesty vote pandering.

— Mitch Offutt, Littleton

Since most liberals seem unconcerned about our border problem, it was good to see The Denver Post acknowledge that “the refugee crises at the border is a mess,” that “we have a government silently shuffling refugees around as though they are a dirty secret,” and that “Biden’s administration seems unwilling even to articulate a plan.”

However, even after those criticisms, The Post suggests that refugees are much better off under Biden’s administration than Trump’s. I disagree with that. I believe that the only difference in the “suffering” under the two presidents is that millions more have experienced that suffering under Biden. ( I am not a Trump supporter. )

The Post does not speak for all Coloradans, so it was wrong to say, “the people of Colorado are ready and willing to do our part to lessen the suffering of these refugees,” when it’s clear that a large portion of residents does not feel that way.

Many of us so strongly object to the Biden administration’s inaction regarding the border and the number of people allowed in that we feel the only thing we can do is not support the actions of Denver as a sanctuary city.

I’m sure most Coloradans sympathize with the refugees and the problems they faced in their home countries; however, should we also welcome the millions upon millions in those countries left behind, along with others in South America, Africa and the Middle East?

— Jim Malec, Roxborough Park

From a place of caring

I feel sad because I feel compelled to remind the American people what a blessing it is to be a citizen of this country. Being a citizen requires each of us to bear the burden of the perpetuation of human existence on our planet and, particularly, in this country. At Christmastime, it is apropos to summon the better side of our natures and lend whatever assistance we can to help migrants who are entering this country either seeking asylum or illegally, yet desperately.

Individually, at least, we could demonstrate to others that we care about the anguished nature of their plight in fleeing an existence that is intolerable for them; that would be something. Practicing ignorance of this problem makes us out to be insensitive and uncaring. Why wouldn’t we want to speak of this problem in a constructive and supportive way? We should want to give what support we can to the immigration employees who are required to spend their holidays immersed in dealing with scared and distressed people coming across our border who barely have anything but the clothes they are wearing. This is my plea for all of us — to simply care. That is where the very nature of the celebration of the holidays begins.

— Alvin C. Vasicek, Mesa, Ariz.

Increased gas usage

Re: “The shocking utility bills — flawed economics, policies or meters? ” Dec. 25 letters to the editor

Let’s all take a deep breath before we storm Xcel’s offices with torches and pitchforks over high November utility bills. This November was dramatically colder than last. According to the National Weather Service, mean temperature at the Denver reporting station was 46.3 degrees last November, and 35.6 this year. More meaningful for comparing heating requirements is the number of so-called “heating degree days”: 874 (2022) vs 556 (2021). Based on this measure, one should have expected to use about 57% more gas for heating this November than last. One letter writer provided average figures of 7.5 (2022) vs 4.7 (2021) therms per day. Although a small portion used for hot water (and possibly cooking) is relatively fixed year-round, if we assume those entire amounts are for heating, the expected 2022 usage would be 1.57 x 4.7 or 7.4 therms/day, in excellent agreement with Xcel’s bill for this customer.

— Stan Cosstephens, Conifer

Increased gas rates

After Xcel made a huge push to promote their new and improved “peak hour” pricing strategy for electricity, I incurred a doubling in my natural gas price. The optics of this new electricity pricing strategy make it appear more like a smokescreen to distract us from their unconscionable natural gas price hike. Hmmmmm…..

— Mark Rice, Greenwood Village

Let’s fix the ballot issue process

Re: “Enough patchwork problem solving,” Dec. 25 commentary

Angela Cobián and Stephen Berman make excellent points about Colorado’s fiscal problems in their commentary. But the elephant in the room, which they mention briefly, is the ballot issue process itself.

The vast majority of the fiscal complexities to which they refer have been put into our state Constitution or our statutes by ballot issues. And as they point out, these campaigns are extremely expensive. So instead of being “citizen initiatives,” they have turned into big-business initiatives, like, as they point out, the liquor sales issues we dealt with in November. We addressed ballot issue constitutional changes by changing the thresholds a few years ago. But it is still relatively easy, expensive but easy, to get statutory changes onto our ballots. And even though the legislature can adjust statutory changes, most legislators are cautious about messing with laws passed by the voters.

What we are fundamentally dealing with in Colorado is a clash between direct democracy and representative democracy. Colorado has always had both, but in the past 30 years the clash has created the extreme problems mentioned in the article. To address the root of so many problems, we need a significant overhaul of the initiative process itself. Only when our major problems are the actual purview of our legislature, instead of the ballot, will we be able to crawl out of this fiscal morass.

— Lois Court, Denver

Editor’s note: Court is a former state senator from District 31.

Lessons from San Francisco’s downfall

Re: “What comes next for the most empty downtown in America,” Dec. 25 business story

The article on San Francisco was an accurate portrayal of a disaster that is on the way to Denver. Both cities have had inept administrations for a number of years. This sadly leads to the type of deterioration both cities are experiencing. Unless the voters in Denver wake up quickly, Denver will become an ugly wasteland mimicking the awful situation in San Francisco.

— Thomas Elliot, Littleton

More memories from the golden age of newspaper carriers

Re: “Former Denver paperboys give scoop on routes and rowdiness, decades later,” Dec. 24 news story

I liked the story of Marty Lavine and his paper route. In the school year of 1945-46, a friend and I had a paper route. After school, we went to the office, blocked our papers, put them in the canvas carrier attached to the handlebars and took off.

Yes, we guided our bikes with one hand and sailed the papers with the other, aiming at the front porch. This was important, and if the paper landed in the bushes, we retrieved it and re-aimed. Yes, we wanted the money, but it was also something new, an adventure since we were the only girls.

However, on a cold damp Kentucky winter afternoon, it seemed less like an adventure and more like a job. The reward was spending our hard-earned cash at the drug store where our guy friends worked the fountain.

We returned on Saturdays to collect the payment of 35 cents.

— Virginia B. Heddens, Fort Collins

In the 1960s, my friend’s family, the Keims, delivered the Rocky Mountain News in Kremmling. The mom would pick up the kids at lunch from school to help deliver the News around Kremmling. Summers, my friend Diana and her siblings each had their own route. Diana would fold the papers and stuff two bags full, which hung off the handlebars of her bicycle. Everyday. Sometimes, she not only carried the papers but me on the handlebars too, which took leg strength. What with laughing so hard, there were some very near misses and perhaps a few bike wrecks.

In the late 70s and 80s, Nora O’Hotto began delivery of The Denver Post in Kremmling. She was very determined to get the papers to her customers, even when 3 feet of snow fell in 24 hours. She was very particular about throwing the papers in the correct place for each customer. The grandkids would always like to go along and help. The article brought back these memories.

— Twila O’Hotto, Kremmling

Much like Dickens, this time of year gives us pause to ask, “what if?”

Delivering The Denver Post was my first job at age 12. My grandfather Papa Jack was also a paperboy. He had a goat cart and delivered the Evansville (Ind.) Courier for half a cent in 1912. His being a paperboy, my being one, had an impact on our future. He started Rockmount Ranch Wear Mfg. in 1946; I am president.

Back in the 70s, the papers were evening delivery. They were delivered in bundles. Job one was fold and rubber band. Not having a goat cart, I used a grocery cart.

This job was every day, not for slackers. The benefit was the money. You paid The Post for each subscription. Was it $2 a month? The customer paid $3; you made $1. You collected the money. If the customer stiffed you, it cost you $2. Being a debt collector was part of the gig. One customer stiffed me for three months. I knocked on the door and phoned. They had a small marble table on the patio. I took it hostage and left a note that I would return it when paid. They replied, “keep it.”

As Papa said, “there has been a lot of progress but not all improvement.” Our culture lost something when kids no longer deliver papers from goat carts, bikes and grocery carts. Learning how to run a business is an important lesson; it transmitted the principles of commerce and hard work.

— Steve Weil, Denver