This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re "Presidential debate: Big Bird suddenly gets big spotlight" (Tribune, Oct. 5):
Raising taxes is only part of the equation our country needs to employ to resolve our deficit problem. The other necessary part will be deep budget cuts.
Love or hate former Gov. Mitt Romney, he made this excellent point: "I will eliminate all programs by this test — if they don't pass it: Is the program so critical it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? And if not, I'll get rid of it."
PBS' Big Bird is a symbol of government spending. My granddaughter loves "Sesame Street," but I doubt her generation will love the long-term Chinese debt they are being saddled with.
At my house, when the economy plunged, we had to budget our expenses based on what we needed, not what we wanted. It is time for us to ask our government to do the same. When children and the needy are going without, do we really need our feathery friend?
Scott Kiser
Cottonwood Heights