Helen Richardson is a Colorado Treasure
Re: “End of an era,” March 2 news story
Many thanks to The Denver Post and Helen Richardson for the article on the Phillips family’s departure from Chico Basin. I and countless other birders have visited Chico Basin over the years to explore this wonderful natural area, an experience made possible by Duke Phillips and his family.
Many of us wrote to the State Land Board in support of his continued tenure of the property when the lease was up for renewal, but in the end, a competing bid won out, discounting 25 years of exemplary management. Shame on the State Land Board!
Best of luck to the Phillips family in Wyoming.
C. Greenman, Lakewood
I’ve been a Denver Post subscriber for 39 years. For 32 of those years, Helen Richardson has been masterfully telling stories with her camera. Her photo essay of the ranching family leaving Chico Basin Ranch was special. Brava to Helen, and to The Post for making space for it.
Laura Rosseisen, Wheat Ridge
Trump is right. AP is not as trustworthy as we think it is.
Re: “Witness for America,” March 2 commentary
Megan Schrader takes umbrage with the Trump administration’s restrictions on the Associated Press, citing its history of bearing witness to major news stories. But it still maintains its credentials, with limitations only on the traveling press pool and smaller events.
The AP’s executive editor, Julie Pace, claims, “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.” That’s laughable as it does neither. The Post suffers no shortage of copy or coverage regarding the White House despite AP’s restricted access.
Were the information in the commentary the only evidence of the AP’s worthiness to be granted the privilege of unfettered access to the president, I’d side with the AP. But it isn’t and I don’t.
The Gulf of America kerfuffle was merely a pukish attention-getter. The crux of Trump’s beef, I believe, is the perceived bias in everyday reporting. As an example, on page 14 of last Sunday’s Post, there’s a story with an AP byline on Trump’s first six weeks in office. “…Trump has embarked on a dizzying teardown of the federal government… in an attempt to increase his own authority.” That’s opinion, not fact. It could have just as easily read “to fulfill his campaign promise to his voters.” Who, what, when, and where would’ve sufficed? Why? is merely conjecture.
Add in recent stylebook mandates like banning terms such as “illegal immigrants” and discouraging “riot” or “terrorism” to describe political violence like the George Floyd furor (but apparently “insurrection” is completely fine when describing Jan 6). Long ago, the AP was a reasonably trustworthy news source. That ship has sailed.
Jon Pitt, Golden
Modern monetary policy tells us Musk’s cuts are draconian
Re: “Be outraged by opportunities for waste, fraud and abuse,” March 2 commentary
No doubt, financial controls are vital to prevent waste, fraud and abuse in all organizations. However, the article claims, “our government has no money of its own — all of it comes from taxpayers,” and interest on debt is an “unsustainable spiral.” Such statements are remnants of 20th-century economics and soundbites of deficit hawks. However, modern monetary economists (and maybe a few politicians) know better. Already making inroads in academia, there is hope for America if their message can reach the masses.
Regarding the “source of money” claim, currency-issuing nations must spend first to put money into the hands of citizens before it can tax. So, unless you have a money tree in your backyard, you are not the source of money! Taxes serve several purposes (primarily to give fiat currency its value), but government money does not spring forth from taxes. Regarding the “spiral” claim, all currency-issuing nations naturally run deficits over the long run. However, the government’s deficit is the private sector’s surplus. The deficit is not what we owe, it is what we own!
Thankfully, our government leaves money in the economy for us to compete for and save. Currency-issuing governments do not need to borrow their own currency. Treasuries have been around for a long time, but their underlying purpose is debatable at best.
I would encourage all taxpayers to stop taking mainstream economics at face value, to explore modern monetary theory (warning, it’s a dense topic), and to demand their elected officials do likewise.
Tom Berger, Highlands Ranch
John Griggs rightly emphasizes that efficiency and accountability for government spending are essential. But he wrongly implies that the private sector does a better job. Many businesses fail, costing investors money and employees their livelihood. When businesses succeed all sorts of “wasteful” spending is tolerated – lavish expense accounts, private jets, multiple-luxurious vacation properties or corporate apartments, you name it – because it is “their” money. Never mind that huge accumulations of wealth are paid for by customers, who often have limited choices.
Much of the governmental “waste” that Elon Musk deplores limits monopoly, private sector fraud, dangerous workplace conditions, and environmental damage. The job of government is to pass and enforce laws and policies that give people the security, opportunity, and freedom necessary to thrive. As the Pledge of Allegiance asserts, our country’s aspiration is liberty and justice for all, not freedom for some to exploit and harm others.
Government employees are the most regulated, accountable workers in society. We limit their compensation and expense accounts, define all their responsibilities and powers in legislation, and frequently refuse to hire enough employees to do the job we demand. I, like Mr. Griggs, have waited too long for a refund due to me by the IRS; I expect it is because they are understaffed, and too many people are not paying their fair share of taxes.
Of course, every government employee and elected official should be accountable. So should we all.
Paul Lingenfelter, Denver
There is no doubt that in an economy as large as ours there is fraud and abuse that needs to be addressed and eliminated. On that point, everyone is in agreement.
My question is: Why can’t we do it lawfully by going through Congress rather than have the wealthiest man on earth take a sledgehammer to the problem? Yes, there are federal service jobs that could be eliminated, but many of these people have chosen this career path because they truly want to make America work better for everyone. To vilify all these people with massive firings is not the solution. Rather, let’s work with the agencies to make them more efficient.
Regarding the deficit, let’s not forget that during President Donald Trump’s first term, his tax cuts for the top 1%, middle class and largest corporations in the country ballooned the deficit. Now, as John Griggs talks about rooting out fraud and abuse, Trump is pushing to extend his tax cuts, which will continue to grow our deficit.
Trickle-down economics has proven over and over again to be a failed policy, and yet Republicans keep doing the same thing over and over again. Deficits matter when Democrats are in power but not so much when Republicans are in power.
America is at a crossroads and what happens in the next four years could alter the path of our country forever. I only hope that some Republican Senators and Congressmen put their country ahead of their own self-interest. If not I genuinely fear for the future of our democracy.
David Shaw, Highlands Ranch
In this time of nonstop lies, full-on press suppression, and removal of fact-checking, it is discouraging to see The Denver Post carry water for Trump’s propaganda machine.
John Griggs was given way too much newsprint to spew more of Elon Musk’s lies about supposed fraud, waste, and abuse in every government system he has cyber-attacked to date. Neither Griggs nor Musk has provided any proof of such a large-scale Treasury problem nor any such supposed findings in any system to date. The only “proof” about the missing TAS codes is a single statement on X by whoever was running the DOGE account. Fact-checkers have proven over and over that Musk’s findings are false — like an $8 billion contract that was $8 million. He himself has admitted that he has made “mistakes.”
Musk was supposed to fix his reporting system but didn’t. He is not bringing in forensic auditors and truly auditing each system and providing the complex audit documentation for transparency on publicly accessible government sites for all to see. He and his hackers may have read/write access and could change any data they want.
Denver Post, I expect better. Do basic fact-checking before printing, especially when there are known issues with the source of the information.
Dawn Caldwell, Highlands Ranch
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