Climate think tank is a bad idea

Carbon dioxide constitutes 3.6% of greenhouse gases. Human activity contributes only 3.3% of all carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere. That's less than 0.12% of the total.

The goal of reducing that amount 25% by 2025 is a costly, useless fantasy, and 10 cents a month from everyone's utility bill for a bogus "climate think tank" is a grand example of too much government meddling.

Roy W. Rising

Valley Village

State pensions drain taxpayers

The Sunday Business section gave a prime example of why the California budget is such a mess.

In the story "Teacher needs financial education" (Money Makeover, Aug. 24) was a line about the person being advised that as a state employee, she would get a pension of $6,880 a month at the age of 55.

Yikes! We taxpayers are on the hook for over $80,000 a year for someone who can retire at age 55. Let's hope they don't vote to increase the pensions or we'll really be in trouble.

Dennis Burgess

Reseda

Radical move on Social Security

Regarding "Answers, not IOUs, for Social Security," (Consumer Confidential, Aug. 24):

I commend The Times for avoiding alarmist language in a column about the solvency of the Social Security system. On the whole, the piece was well balanced.

I do object, though, to describing President Bush's attempt to dismantle the system in 2005 as "reform." Changing Social Security from an all-encompassing social insurance system to a 401(k)-type private investment plan, as Bush would have done, is radical restructuring, not reform.

The long-term financial prospects of the Social Security system are a complex subject. Unfortunately, it is often presented in simplistic or biased terms.

Len Gardner

Laguna Woods

Aid auto biz, but dump execs

Regarding "Detroit pushes for a $50-billion bailout" (Aug. 23): I want the United States to have a strong automobile industry. This proposed bailout can provide an opportunity for that to happen.

There could be hope if, as part of such a bailout, the stupid executives who again did not foresee a fuel crisis were discarded and the ridiculous union benefits were scaled down.

Otherwise, why bother?

George Zeissner

Fountain Valley

A scapegoat for IndyMac's failure

It is interesting that former IndyMac staff want to blame Charles Schumer for their bank's collapse. ("California probe of Schumer rejected," Aug. 23).

Responsibility goes neither to the bank's management, which pursued risky loans, nor to regulators who allowed these practices to go on.

Apparently, the IndyMac staff believes that as long as nothing was said about the problems, the problems did not exist.

Daniel Whalen

Ventura