Passengers exit the Caltrain station at Fourth and King streets in San Francisco in 2022. Caltrain is one of the Bay Area agencies that would have to cut service if a regional tax measure to fund public transportation fails.
Felix Uribe/For the S.F. Chronicle
Regarding “Caltrain maps a path toward possible shutdown: First weekend service, then station closures” (Bay Area, SFChronicle.com, March 30): We don’t need another regressive transportation funding measure. Our taxes are already too high.
Santa Clara County voters have passed multiple tax and fee increases, including the Caltrain Measure RR tax, two bridge toll increases, three Valley Transportation Authority sales taxes and the 2010 Measure B vehicle registration fee of $10, along with state Proposition 30’s ¼-cent sales tax
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Additionally, we’re on the hook to pay back numerous state bond issues, including for high-speed rail.
All this nickel-and-diming makes the Bay Area horribly expensive. Each increase does not amount to much, but the cumulative effect adds to the region’s unaffordability.
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Before increasing taxes again, waste needs to be removed from transportation projects.
VTA needs to go with the twin-bore tunnel for the BART extension to downtown San Jose and eliminate the redundant extension between the San Jose and Santa Clara Caltrain stations that duplicates Caltrain service and VTA bus lines.
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Why doesn’t the Metropolitan Transportation Commission suggest taxing rich tech companies and leave the little guy alone for a change?
We had an Iran deal
Of all the reasons Donald Trump gave for the war in Iran, it can be argued that the fear of an Iranian nuclear weapon was the primary justification for the war.
But Trump increased the possibility of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons when he withdrew the United States from the Iranian nuclear deal in May 2018.
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No one can deny that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was an imperfect deal. But it imposed restrictions on the production of enriched uranium that could be used to produce a bomb. It included close monitoring of Iran’s nuclear activities with international inspectors on the ground.
The agreement was supported by the international community, and it contributed to modestly improved relations between the United States and Iran.
I blame Trump and the Republican Party for this horrendous foreign policy decision that is directly responsible for today’s war with Iran.
Loren Spiekerman, Foster City
Bad message to kids
Regarding “Trump issues an expletive-filled threat against Iran as details of US aviator’s rescue emerge” (News, SFChronicle.com, April 5): I’m wondering what message President Donald Trump is sending to my grandchildren with his vulgar, expletive-laden message regarding his war with Iran on Easter Sunday.
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That Trump could choose to denigrate himself and the office he holds, in a feeble attempt to, I guess, show what a tough guy he is, is difficult to comprehend.
I struggle to find an answer when children ask why this person acts the way he does, and why he berates entire cultures, mocks disabled people, lies with impunity and willfully ignores basic human decency with his words and actions?
Just saying, “Oh, don’t listen to what he says,” is not the right response; it ignores the moral decay that emanates from Trump.
How sad for all of us, our grandchildren and our nation.
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Trump is fire
Regarding “Trump asks for $152 million to rebuild Alcatraz and reopen it as a prison” (Politics, SFChronicle.com, April 3): For once, I agree with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who stated that President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would “further ignite the American dream.”
Funding inane distractions like the Alcatraz project and spending $500 billion to boost defense spending while cutting Medicare, Medicaid and other domestic spending by 10% will indeed light what’s left of the American dream on fire.
Oh, that’s not what Johnson meant by “ignite?” My bad.
Meredith Minkler, Berkeley
Give GOP a chance
I am perplexed at the handwringing regarding the possibility of a Republican governor once again leading California, a state I have lived in my entire life.
Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.
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Friends, please, take a look around you: homelessness, drought, fires, high prices, poor roads, a train to nowhere, Capitol construction costs secrecy, etc., etc.
Maybe, just maybe, we can try something different for a few years? I mean, seriously, can it get any worse?
Frank Huntington, Carmichael, Sacramento County