Dear Editor,
While I appreciate the fact that Malibu residents have chosen a nonviolent protest, I have to chuckle at the choice of subject matter. Elon Must owns just 12.5% of the Tesla stock. Even if the protestors get their wish and the company goes bankrupt, as the richest man in the world, Musk will not feel the pinch. It is not Mr. Musk who suffers in such a situation. It is the tens of thousands of middle-class employees, many of whom likely live paycheck to paycheck. If Mr. Musk owned every restaurant in Malibu, would you still be protesting, knowing that you would be putting every chef, ever waitstaff person, every food delivery driver out of a job? I seriously doubt it.
Every president since Ronald Reagan has promised to end wasteful spending in government. Who better to do that than two of the most successful businessmen in the country? Social Security is not going to disappear, but neither should it be sending monthly checks to people who are no longer living. Now, I know many of you have connections with The Arts but funding a television show or a play of any sort in a foreign country should be done by public donations and fund drives, not with tax dollars.
I, and others who have no direct connection with Malibu or California, have made donations to the Fireman’s Fund, to homeless shelters and animal shelters, etc., following the devastating California fires. These donations came out of the pockets of many hard-working people because we know it does “take a village.” People pitch in and help when help is needed but the spending of our tax dollars should not be whimsical but rather solely practical.
So, boycott Tesla if you so choose but it won’t put a dent in Elon Musk’s bank account. Why not focus on improving your own state? Goodness knows California politicians are as good as Washington politicians when it comes to filtering tax dollars into politician’s pockets. Perhaps when Elon is done in Washington, you should consider hiring him to review California’s spending.
Kate Knudsen, Indiana