Letter to "Time" Magazine

Letters to the Editor

Time Magazine

New York, NY

Dear sirs:

I read with great interest your article on bankrupt cities and counties ("The Broken States of America," June 28, 2010). Here in Dallas we are cutting library hours by half and closing public pools at the height of summer, putting police officers on furlough days and laying off maintenance workers--and Texas is actually doing better than most states. The summer's other big stories - the Tea Party movement, the oil spill in the Gulf, Federal government spending and the national debt - are inextricably linked. It's obvious that we Americans are demanding a lifestyle that we are unwilling to pay for. In plain economic terms, this is insanity. Which will it be? Top notch services, a first-class military and police force, energy independence and a sturdy infrastructure, or low taxes, low taxes and low taxes? Everything, including "cheap oil," has a price.

Very truly yours,

Jennifer P. Jonsson

Dallas, TX