Letters to the editor for March 30 – Lynchburg News and Advance

Thanks to Scleroderma walk sponsors

On behalf of the Amherst Womans Club, Sweet Briar College and the National Scleroderma Foundation, we would like to say thank you to all the sponsors, walk participants and businesses that donated to our Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma Walk held March 4, 2023, at Sweet Briar College.

Thanks to the generosity of many, we were able to raise over $16,000.00, which was designated for research for a cure for Scleroderma.

Thank you to the following Sponsors:

Greif, Inc.; Equis Financial, Amherst Rotary Club; Hermle, North America; Tru Vantage Solutions, Inc.; Amherst Womans Club, Sweet Briar College, National Scleroderma Foundation, Amherst County Lions Club, Cobb Dermatology, Ascension Church Mens Breakfast Group, Glad, Emmanuel United Methodist Church; Hickey Plumbing, Electric and Air, the Jordan Team Realty One Group Leading Team, Family of Laurie Babcock, Amherst Baptist Church, Amherst Order of the Eastern Star, Amherst County High School Theater Group, BonFire, Acorn Hill, Amherst County High School Athletic Dept., Main Street Settlement, Inc.; Edward Jones, Genevieve Fadool Senior Benefits, Ins.; Christians Backhoe Service, Rehab Associates of Central VA, Sardis United Methodist Church, Blue Ridge Group of Keller Williams, Family of Emily Burke Wood Daughtery, Staples, Melissa Floral Designs, Randolph Memorial Baptist Church, Yolan and Tyler Williams, Steve Martin Paint and Body Shop and Thirsty Dog Resort AirBNB.

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MARGARET ANN WHITE, SUZANNE RAINE

Xi, Putin up to no good

Chinas leader Xi and Russian President Putin failed to find a suitable road to peace in Ukraine? None was expected. Xis trip to Russia was solely for Chinas benefit; Xi cares not one wit about peace in Ukraine. He went for and got more Russian fossil fuels and showed just how damaging Putins war has been for Russia. What was especially telling was Xis statement that both China and Russia have similar aims. While Russia wants to eliminate neighbor Ukraine, China wants to do the same with neighbor Taiwan.

China has yet to make the mistake of actually going to war and we can only hope that Xi is smarter than Putin by recognizing just how much he has to lose by taking that step. Putin has shown amazing stupidity strategically. His country was reaping billions by selling off its natural resources at good prices while its politics and economy were ignored by his customers, the West.

No American or European posed a danger to his gigantic fiefdom. Nobody cared; the oil and gas kept flowing. Trump almost removed the US from NATO, labeling it a relic of the past. Putin could have maintained that situation till his dying day but threw it all away by starting the war with Ukraine. Presently, with every passing day Russia becomes more a country to avoid than a country to include.

If Putin ends the war today how many decades will pass before the West again ignores the Russian barbarians? I expect to see China export some weapons to Russia as that will extend the war and further weaken Russia. I also expect China to one day occupy much or all of Eastern Siberia as it realizes that expanding northwards is doable and useful. Russia should recognize that no Western nation is presently pursuing imperialistic policies but China is. Thats where Russias danger lies.

Here in the US, the failure of a single bank in California almost threw the economy of the US into chaos and required a government bailout to restore order, yet the Republicans are planning on defaulting the entire US government unless they get their way. Folks, that is insanity, plain and simple. One can detonate a ton of explosives in a building but what does one have when the dust settles, a pile of rubble. Thats what the Republican plan will make of your lives and your country.

A familiar story

To paraphrase Mike Tysons famous aphorism Everybody has a plan until they get hit in the face; everybody is a libertarian until they have to be bailed out. Many of the heroes of the tech world loudly proclaimed their libertarianism. No government interference into our business, thank you very much. Musk even presumes to tell us who to vote for. But now with the failure of Silicon Valley Bank they need a government bailout.

Each time this happens the conventional wisdom is each time is different and this time it is. In 2008, many banks had bought into the housing mortgage market and when it went south. Forty hundred and sixty-five banks failed between 2008 and 2012, close to 9 million lost their jobs, $19 trillion of household wealth was destroyed.

Nobody thinks this is happening now but still the Fed and Wall Street are worried. The market is this giant organism; in fact, some say it is the only thing that exists. There are two things about the market that are very frightening; one it exists because of everybodys confidence in it and doubt can spread very fast, and two when something goes wrong in one place it can spread to the whole organism. So, every couple of decades or so the market collapses and people lose their jobs, their homes, their wealth.

There are a number of things we can say about this time with some assurance, and one is the era of cheap money is over for the time being, the wealthy will come out alright, and profit belongs to the bankers, and loses belong to the taxpayers and for us little folks you can finally earn some money with a savings account.

A good friend says in six months we wont be talking about the banks. Its what we will be talking about that worries me.

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Letters to the editor for March 30 - Lynchburg News and Advance

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