LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)

Our Own Worst Enemy

If drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge really will prevent national disasters ranging from economic recession to a war in the Middle East, as editorial after editorial in IBD seems to suggest, then it is a short-term solution at best.

In reality, it is our gluttonous lifestyles that we refuse to give up that keep us dependent on foreign oil. "Cognitive Dissonance" (Editorial, Monday) makes light of the fact that "every red-blooded American, such as Nascar fans," will not go for restrictions on our gas-guzzling lifestyle. That sounds like we are making a choice. We can drill until our country has no wildlife left and we will eventually run into the same problem and have to come up with real solutions, not just short-term fixes.

Curtis Bartone, Savannah, Ga.

Flat Tax Undulations

Some observations on your "Russian Revolution" (Editorial, Tuesday) are in order. No flat taxer has yet to explain to me how such a tax would stay flat. We made a big stride in that direction in 1986; look where we are now. Sometimes I think the Democrats are more interested in wealth equalization than increasing government revenues, and their only way to do that is just plain take it off the top. Only a progressive system allows that, thus their support for it.

In my opinion the Fair Tax (a sales tax) is a better idea. Taxes would then be paid voluntarily and anonymously, and the cost of income taxes would not be built into the products we buy. Would that not do wonders for our balance of trade as well as our employment picture?