Letters: Leverage power | Tax increase | A good read

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U.S. should leverage
power to aid Gazans

The United States should leverage Joe Biden’s “bear hug diplomacy” to insist on a U.S. military security-controlled delivery of food and water to Gazans by sea.

The U.S. military has tight logistical control and the discipline to guarantee that each delivery contains only food and water. There would be no valid concerns that shipments conceal weapons.

U.S. military ships stationed off Israel/Gaza are laden with food for troops, including prepackaged MREs, and they have amphibious landing capabilities.

Amphibious craft deliver to shore for distribution by U.N. operations. U.S. boots do not need to even get wet.

If Israel blocks its one remaining international ally from a security-guaranteed, life-saving humanitarian operation, their intentions of genocide by starvation of the Gazan population is clear.

In that case, we should boldly invoke a showdown with Israel to deliver food and water, breaking their blockade. Or we should stand down as a manipulated rather than a strategic ally.

Barbara Morita
El Cerrito

State is sneaking
through tax increase

Most taxpayers in California have no idea of a sneaky tax increase that will affect millions of workers.

Effective January 1, 2024, the state disability insurance (SDI) tax, currently at 0.9% will increase to 1.1%, and more significantly, it will apply to an employee’s total wages rather than being capped at a certain amount. For 2023, the maximum wage base that the tax could be applied to was set at $153,164.

California is one of the highest tax states in the country. Rather than increasing income taxes, the state should be looking for ways to reduce them. Maybe not as many high-income earners would be looking to move out of state.

Scott Horton
Alamo