Readers sound off on reparations, art sale taxes and American incomes

North Hills, Calif.: On March 14, San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee proposed to the Board of Supervisors, among more than 100 other proposals, to pay $5 million to only Black Americans. That’s a lot of money and since only Black people are included in the reparations proposals, this would seem to be racism at its worst.

I am sick and tired of hearing that we must make reparations only to Black descendants of slaves. If reparations are to be made to anyone, first come the Native Americans, from whom we stole all the land on which America is built. Out of a total of 374 ratified treaties with American Indians, not one has ever been honored. Instead, the tribes were forced onto reservations, which are still little more than concentration camps.

Next come Black descendants of slaves, followed by descendants of Chinese slave laborers who the U.S. forced to build our railroads.

Next, make whole the descendants of Japanese-Americans from whom FDR and and then-California Gov. Earl Warren stole all their farmlands in World War II and incarcerated them in concentration camps on the grounds that they could be spies. No Japanese-American was ever even charged with spying, but they were kept in concentration camps for the duration of the war. The stolen lands were never returned and the former owners were never compensated for them.

Next come descendants of Mexicans from whom, under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, we stole most of the western United States and Texas. Peggy Burgess

Bronx: Re “Honor of Black boy, 10, killed by police in 1973″ (April 29): I read this paper every day and I see a lot of terrible articles regarding murders around our city, but this article disturbed me, prompting me to write in. Regarding his death by a “white” police officer, I think it is terrible to label this police officer because he is white. This was terrible about Clifford Glover’s death but it didn’t matter if he was Black or white or green or yellow or blue, it is still a young life taken. I don’t recall this tragedy, but that doesn’t matter. I am just upset that you state specifically that this officer was white. I thought that we weren’t supposed to label anyone. A very disturbed white reader! Fran Boffa

Staten Island: Voicer Alfred J. Lebrio is the perfect example of why S.I. is so disrespected and the brunt of jokes. The borough is changing demographically — case in point, the number of letters from S.I. residents that are empathetic, enlightened and educated — dare I say, woke! I suggest he drop the word “dearie,” though. It just makes him sound like a misogynistic fossil. Ellen Settanni

Manchester, N.J.: Our swift-moving president’s reaction to send 1,500 troops to protect the border is the perfect example of that old saying: He finally closed the barn door after the horses got out. Truth is, Brandon is closing the border to keep all the immigrants in — he needs them for the upcoming presidential election. Aren’t we the schmucks? Edward Sere

Brooklyn: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the victims murdered by their neighbor were not “illegal aliens,” they were human beings with names. Have some humanity. Show some respect. When you go to church on Sunday, remember that God don’t like ugly. June Lowe

Manhattan: In the next few weeks, billions of dollars’ worth of paintings will be sold in New York City. It is almost common knowledge that no tax will be paid by the billionaires that buy these multi-million-dollar artworks. Tax loopholes allow the avoidance of taxes through various transfers. You simply can’t solve this problem by creating a new tax in New York on artwork. The art will just be sold in other states or countries to avoid the tax. The only solution is to have an international tax that applies to all million-dollar-plus sales on art and other luxury goods. The international tax money that is collected could go to climate change and maybe, just maybe, the billionaires will smile at their contribution. Mary Smoke

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Staten Island: There is an old saying we’ve all lived by that requires updating to reflect current standards: “No one is above the law unless they are a justice of the Supreme Court,” as well as, “No one is above the law of bribery of public officials unless the recipient is a justice of the Supreme Court.” John Hogan

Bronx: Evil has always lived with us. It is our job to live our lives, and at the same time be able to evaluate what we see and hear. We must use our brains to weed out ideas and values that threaten our choice to live in peace and cooperation with others. Evil does not stand a chance if we do our job. Mark Benveniste

New Rochelle, N.Y.: Donna Lieberman’s plea (“The NYPD is already too big, so cut its budget,” op-ed, May 2) to defund some of the NYPD of its resources that are desperately needed to combat crime is completely off the rails. I grew up in the crime-riddled NYC of the ‘70s and ‘80s. The city needs to be a safe place for it to flourish. Instead of contemplating a cut, think of how we can increase funding for the people who stand between us and chaos. Support safety and we will, as a result, grow a city that will yield the tax revenue necessary to support other programs and services as well. Brian Feinblum

Jackson Heights: Mayor Adams’s plan to deter car theft is to distribute free Apple Air Tags to track the stolen vehicle on an iPhone, like a bad video game. As most of the car thieves are probably repeat offenders, wouldn’t it make more sense to track them? Glenn B. Jacobi

Bergenfield, N.J.: Voicer Gary Lefkowitz asks why people were upbeat in the early 1960s. Being a little older than Gary, I was a bank teller then. The parity in paychecks was uncanny. A regular job paid between $90 and $100 dollars per week and this allowed the average guy to live. The General Motors plant in Tarrytown and Mahwah Ford were working three shifts and you still had to wait for a new car. Almost all jobs came with hospital insurance, so you could afford to pay the doctor. The talk was of a four-day workweek, restaurants and bars were packed and waiters paid no tax on their tips, which they promptly put back into the economy. There was no cable TV. The news was the news. Then the unfinanced adventure in Vietnam unfolded, the rich were relieved of their tax burden and, as the years rolled on, bought everything. Most people agree the country went in the wrong direction, they just can’t agree on the blame. Al Schwarzler

Bayonne: Got my Tuesday’s paper and was looking forward to reading about the Devils win over the Rangers and the Yankees loss to Cleveland, but saw nothing about these games. Except for Sundays, your sports section is pathetic. Joe Jaros

Staten Island: To Voicer Amy Campbell-Oates, who claims to be so disappointed in the Democratic Party and claims to be to the left or moderate: There are two main parties to vote for in elections, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. You also claim to speak for others who are moderate or to the left. If you really are what you claim to be, you wouldn’t be voting for Republicans, as they are counter to your viewpoints. Nationwide, the party is anti-abortion, anti-gay and transsexual, very pro-guns and, in many states they control, are passing restrictive voting regulations that affect Blacks and minorities in their states. So if you’re not going to vote for Democrats, who are opposite those Republican strategies, then you are not really moderate or to the left. Sorry, but you are not fooling me or others who are truly to the left or moderate. Miguel Diaz