Letters to the Editor

Readers comment on high CEO pay, parents who take career breaks to rear children and then "relaunch," Cuba after Castro, and the bane of free trade.

High-paid executives should pay high taxes

In response to the commentary, "Congress pecks away at CEO pay," from April 30: We should be less concerned about CEOs' "obscene" compensations and more concerned about the amount of taxes they actually pay.

If the IRS were to raise taxes for the top earners (and close many loopholes that benefit them), the public at large would benefit by having fewer taxes to pay.

This method would also eliminate the complex review process of CEOs' salaries. It would also cover all high earners, not just CEOs.

Robert David Michael
San Diego

Let Dad take parenting breaks, too

Regarding the Opinion piece from May 1 by Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin, "Moms and careers: a new way forward": This piece proposes an alternative to the all-or-nothing choice between career and children that many women face: Take a break and then "relaunch." Ms. Cohen and Ms. Rabin provide a good bit of evidence that this alternative career path is genuinely possible for many women in the right line of work. It is a great thing for more women with children to have this better option.

But the authors neglect to mention the other side of the career-parenting equation in traditional families: men! It is high time for the balancing of work and children to be viewed as being as much the responsibility of fathers as it is of mothers.

Especially with a career "relaunch" as a realistic option, there would be considerably more alternatives for parents to integrate child care with long-term career goals.

Consider just one: quick maternity leave for Mom and a longer child-care "break and relaunch" for Dad.

Andrew Blom
Chicago

After Castro, please reform Cuba

Regarding John Hughes's Opinion column from April 25, "In Cuba, a struggle over history's march to democracy": Mr. Hughes elucidates how important it is for the Cuban dissident movement to be strong and determined to bring freedom and democracy to Cuba after half a century of communist dictatorship.

The Soviet Union does not exist anymore to subsidize Cuba. Cuba has also lost its credit internationally, having not paid back several loans. Cuba must realize that it cannot continue to live off of its tourism industry, its disastrous sugar harvest, and oil handouts from Venezuela that are resold in the international market rather than kept for domestic use. Cuba needs to change its command economy to a free market, play by the rules, and have democracy.

Unless there is a paradigm shift in political thinking from the top, the post-Castro era could end up being a repetition of the past – but with more dire social and economic consequences to its inhabitants.

Robert A. Vieites
Miami

Free trade: a bane for many Americans

Regarding the April 23 commentary, "World trade faces a big chill": The US trade imbalance indicates that there is a whole lot wrong with the present system of trade – free trade is simply not fair trade. "Fast track" trade seems to have resulted in a fast track to the bottom for many Americans who once could count on good-paying jobs. Both parents working to make ends meet destroys a proper family environment for raising children. Globalization is demanding sacrifices that have little to no benefit in keeping America strong and secure and its citizens in good financial health.

Terrence Ryan Scott
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

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