Winston-Salem Journal LTE's SA 11/12/11

Raising rates
I have watched and listened to all the talk and print about Duke Energy wanting to raise our rates by 18 percent ("Duke Energy CEO made $8.8M in '10," Oct. 29). This is especially galling when I read the shameful salaries these weasels make.
As best I can tell, the top five take around $20.79 million per year, and these lice want more from retired folks like me. If these shameful salaries were cut by 90 percent, there wouldn't be any need to rob their customers.
This seems to be a bigger monopoly than Standard Oil or Ma Bell.

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ROGER L. NICHOLS SR.
Kernersville

Discontent
With all the discontent American voters have with our senators and representatives, this may be the perfect time for a constitutional amendment to limit their terms in office.
With unlimited terms, they can stay in office for life. This tends to limit their desire to do what is best for our country, but instead focus on their desire for re-election.
Long-term congressmen get too cozy with lobbyists. They gain power by giving favors to new congressmen, with the expectation of the favors being returned. They become more powerful and influential, and use that for their own agendas. They typically become chairmen of the various congressional committees, which control which bills reach a vote. They can better get pork bills passed in order to influence voters in their states (such as the "bridge to nowhere").
A constitutional amendment to limit terms can be achieved as it was done to limit presidential terms.

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FRANK B. NORTHUP
Winston-Salem

Regulation tsunami
After generations of economic growth and job creation, we are now at a crossroads, adrift from the ideals that created the largest, most powerful nation in the world. Astute observers note that it is our inability to govern that brought us to this point. The regulation tsunami is a perfect example.
Federal agencies are paralyzing investment and increasing cost unnecessarily. Business does not want to discard environmental or safety regulations; it wants the opportunity to embrace well-thought-out solutions. Business needs proof that Washington will put our ship on a true course.
The first litmus test will be the deficit-reduction super-committee. All businesses will be watching the players and results closely. Can our elected royalty deliver when presented with complex, profound challenges? Failure can be measured two ways. Directly, we will have automatic spending cuts, which will cause more job losses. Indirectly, we will have continued political dysfunction breeding more fear, envy and resentment.
Failure is not an option for the super-committee. The White House and Congress should move on pro-growth tax reform combined with slowing disbursements to the wealthy, restructure entitlements with needs-based testing, and regulatory reform targeting banks deemed too big to fail (the proposed Volker Rule is 298 pages of confusion). This is not the time to vilify business and sit on our collective successes.
If Washington can draw from the effective governing of the super-committee, a useful model can be derived for the statesmen of the future.

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HIL CASSELL
Lewisville

Greenway value
As a frequent traveler on several of Winston-Salem's greenways, I appreciate the Journal's attention to this significant resource ("Local greenways taking root, with room to grow," Nov. 6). Our city may compare favorably to others in the state with regard to greenways built in the past 10 years, but that hardly gives an adequate picture of how our 16 miles really measure up.
Raleigh's greenway system, begun in 1974, currently includes 69 miles, with long stretches connecting many of the city's most popular destinations. What's more, with six substantial projects under construction and another five in the design phase, Raleigh is headed toward an astonishing 100 miles of interconnected greenways.
In Greensboro, where there are already 32 miles of completed greenway, construction has begun on the first phase of an ambitious 4-mile downtown loop that will be unique in the state. In addition, Guilford County's 15-mile Bicentennial Greenway bridging High Point and Greensboro is nearly complete. Many towns much smaller than Winston-Salem, including Wilkesboro, Jacksonville and Sanford, have undertaken greenway projects that are far more ambitious for their size than anything we have or are planning.
Clearly, other cities and towns in North Carolina see the value of a vital, connected greenway system. Improving and expanding Winston-Salem's greenways should be among our priorities, as well.

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RICK MASHBURN
Winston-Salem