Keep Talking About Tax Cuts for the Rich

Thank you for having the courage to take on this brand of demagoguery (''The rich deserve a tax break, too,'' Editorials, Mar. 8). I'm not against paying my fair share (whatever that is), but I'm really tired of being painted the villain simply because I've enjoyed some measure of success in life.

The liberal-vs.-conservative tax argument is fundamentally about the steepness of the progressivity curve. If voices like yours lead to an honest debate on that point, it will be progress.


Kenneth J. Artingstall
Glendale, Calif.

Does Disney Crush Kids' Imaginations?

I found it ironic that all the heavy hitters in ''Disney's Mickey Mensa Club'' (Science & Technology, Mar. 8) went through their own critical first 10 years of childhood without the ''benefit'' of computers and the nuclear-powered visuals embedded in Disney products.

It is nevertheless predictable, since the greatest developments in a child occur quietly, in a mental space that's uniquely his or her own--just the way a seed germinates. Unfortunately, Disney's vivid, over-the-top approach to storytelling is not unlike planting seeds with a pile driver. Disney paints a complete picture for the child, down to the tiniest pixel. This leaves children with nothing of their own to process and work with. Such stuff overpowers the child's imagination and leaves a hollow imprint with the Disney logo embedded in the young child's brain.

If all these bright people are really doing this ''for the children,'' they might want to learn how children develop and learn deeply. The greatest irony is just around the corner. Due to Disney's successes over the past 50 years, the ''Mickey Mensa Club'' will go the way of the dinosaurs as the pool of replacement talent increasingly is limited to those raised on the ''new'' Disney.


Karl J. Forsyth
Anchorage, Alaska

Online Wine: We Don't Need a Middleman

There is more to consider in ''Cyber-grapes of wrath'' (UpFront, Mar. 8). Opponents of direct shipment following Internet sales claim that forcing these sales through the conventional three-tier system ''...would cut down on underage drinking and boost retail sales.'' The latter may be true, but customers and wineries see no need to pay markups to retailers and wholesalers who did nothing to create the sale.

As for the underage-access issue, the current system isn't much of a model of protection. A study by the Health & Human Services Dept. determined that more than half of those aged 18 to 20 drink alcohol every month. It's hard to believe that minors purchase a great deal of wine, beer, or spirits by the relatively expensive and slow path of direct shipment, which leaves a clear trail of credit-card transactions, when they have ready access at the corner store. In California and New York, where direct shipment to the home has long been legal, virtually no complaints of illegal deliveries have been made. Yes, artificially created ''stings'' can show that minors can obtain licensed beverages directly, but it doesn't happen under normal circumstances.

Finally, the claims of tax losses advanced by direct-shipment opponents are misleading. Virtually all of these sales are fully legal within the 30 states that permit intrastate shipment and the 14 states that permit limited quantities of wine to be shipped to their citizens.


Simon Siegl
President
American Vintners Assn.
Washington

The Stuff of Productivity Gains

I was pleased to hear of the Federal Reserve's analysis, which indicates that productivity is growing faster and steadier than previously thought (''Long live the productivity revolution,'' Editorials, Mar. 8). Increased productivity is our greatest hope for saving Social Security and other old-age benefits. As the older portion of the population continues to grow, the younger, shrinking portion will have to make more and more ''stuff.'' It now appears that this is a realistic possibility. If so, we will be in for good economic times--low unemployment with more interesting work and plenty of ''stuff'' to live on.


Robert L. Grinaker
Charlottesville, Va.

Your Clunker Isn't Really Worth a Mint

''Donating your car? Don't be duped'' (Personal Business, Mar. 8) was a refreshing light on an interesting problem. It is nice to have a way to get old cars off the road, but it is coming at the expense of honest taxpayers as well as the charities you refer to.

Several major charities are promoting car donations on the radio. A freQuent claim--that ''you may save more in taxes than you could get by selling your vehicles''--is actually promoting tax fraud. The Internal Revenue Service allows you to claim the fair-market value of your donation to a charity. To benefit by that much in tax savings, you must use a highly inflated value. Charities suggest using the Blue Book value; however, that value may not be close to the value of your particular car.


Ronald E. Miller
Branford, Conn.

Give Tax Bucks Back to Those Who Earned Them

Regarding ''This is a tax cut whoSe time hasn't come'' (Economic Viewpoint, Mar. 8), it would be funny if this type of thinking didn't cost me money. I am constantly amazed by well-intentioned people who are convinced that an across-the-board tax cut to return a small portion of the surplus is somehow unfair because the high-income earners will get the lion's share.

Perhaps author Robert Kuttner forgot about the origin of the surplus: a remarkable tax increase at the high end (up from 28% to over 40% in the past decade). Now that the government collects too much money, what's wrong with rolling that back a little? No, we are told, that would be redistributing wealth from the poor to the rich. Well, raising taxes on the high earners and giving it to low earners is called redistribution of wealth, too.


Gary S. Firestein
San Diego

There's No Secret behind Dell's Success

Michael Dell does indeed reveal the key to his success (''Don't look for Dell's secrets here,'' Books, Mar. 8). It's just not really a secret. Michael had one very good idea--to sell PCs direct. One good idea driven by an ambitious, energetic man with a reasonable amount of common sense, above-average intelligence, and good social skills is enough. What makes you think that successful businesspeople must be visionaries or geniuses?


Ken Dreyfack
Paris

The Best of the Best Deserve Better

I am the wife of a former active-duty officer of the U.S. Marine Corps and current reservist (''Pushing the pay envelope,'' Economics, Mar. 8). Most civilians have no inkling what military life is like. As I stood by my husband through two six-month deployments to the Middle East in two years and all the months of warm-up training, it was easy for me to tell him: ''This is too much of a strain on our family. It's time to look for a new career.''

This is the reason my husband and his pilot friends are leaving the military in droves. Those who are staying are working longer hours for the same pay, with longer deployments to Bosnia and Saudi Arabia. My husband and his friends love being Marines, and they are proud to be associated with the best of the best. But when you see them flying Vietnam-era helicopters and outdated military trainers--and the ''newer'' aircraft is more than 10 years off--it's easy to read the handwriting on the wall.

Military families are looking for more stability, not less. The average military family moves every two or three years. If the transfers could be every three to five years, more people would be willing to stay in.


Jeanine Naviaux
La Jolla, Calif.

''High-Tech Star'' (Cover Story, Mar. 15)

In ''High-Tech Star'' (Cover Story, Mar. 15), $1 invested in EMC Corp. a decade ago would be worth $363 today, not $36,196.

''Sony's shakeup'' (International Business, Mar. 22)

A table in ''Sony's shakeup,'' (International Business, Mar. 22) should have stated that Sony Group, not Sony Electronics, will shed 17,000 workers over four years, not three.