This is Viewpoints for Saturday, August 15, 2015
Request for help
While leaving Archie’s (McDonald’s) coffee shop, a frequent stop for seniors to chat, you know hashing and bashing world problems while sipping coffee. A faint voice over my left shoulder caught my attention asking if my name was Daniel Lee, the one who writes letters to the editor and if, so would I help her? Of course being a neophyte critic, dying for attention, how could I refuse?
Like most of us on fixed income she didn’t get out much, as she continued, the road down Fulton Mill in south Bibb has pot holes so bad that she’s destroying her only means of travel.
Being a resident of south Bibb, it would be in my best interest to check it out. In doing so I found, since consolidation, without capitulation with taxpayers, the roads and ditches have fallen into disarray along with others areas like the landfill. But our magnificent nine plus one (commissioners and mayor) have everything under control by spending the tax dollars on the much needed drone surveillance project. Overlooking EPD landfill fines while spending like a freshman with a new uncapped credit card. While hoodwinking the people on this franchise fee on utilities, “which is a tax by-the-way” at .04 percent per household receivable by the first of March but collected per month billing. This money is dead money for one fiscal year in the general fund or reserve fund of the utility companies, in parts of the US is called seizure without compensation and loses are recoverable. The .04 percent does not seem like much but that’s three gallons of milk per month for those on a fix income as well as less spending money to support this one cent sales tax. The taxpayer is in need of someone who can do the math as well as repair the road and ditches like before consolidation.
— Daniel E. Lee
Macon
Clean air
Maggie Lee’s article on the clean air plan pushing Georgia to solar/nuclear gave me hope: she wrote, “But its biggest effect may be to accelerate changes already underway in the state.” Terrific — you’re not starting from zero, you have momentum. “Would-be solar farmers were scrambling to complete their bids for a big upcoming Georgia Power solar buy.” Excellent — people are excited for work opportunities.
I love that Atlanta enacted new legislation to allow third party lending for solar installations. So many states have caps and restrictions limiting solar’s growth, restricting ratepayers’ freedoms. People in charge complain: they’re going to have to decide how to cut emissions — but that’s great — they get to decide. You don’t have to follow a formula that only works for California, but not for you. You get two extra years to comply, your nuclear counts, your air will be cleaner and your kids healthier. Win, win, win.
If people worry that U.S. coal will still be mined and burned overseas causing emissions and dangerous sea rise, there’s a simple thing to do — investigate Citizens’ Climate Lobby. We’re encouraging Congress to support U.S. carbon fees that can be charged on imports from countries that don’t limit carbon emissions with a similar fee. Since foreign countries won’t want their businesses to pay U.S. fees, they’ll enact their own carbon fees and they’ll stop using coal. Everyone wins if Congress rebates this revenue to the public.
Carbon pricing will get the world to work with us, EPA regs can’t do that.
— Judy Weiss
Brookline, Mass.
Fighting for the 99 percent
Sen. Bernie Sanders is a modern day David going up against a greed-infested giant. Goliath dominates and crushes little people who do not have the big bucks to sway a politician’s vote.
In Thursday night’s Republican debate, Donald Trump did the country a big service by explaining how the big money campaign donors buy politicians and get a favorable return on their investments. Money in politics is killing democracy and is killing America.
I didn’t see anyone on the two stages in Cleveland who wants to mend our broken political system. Bernie Sanders is the only David-like candidate in the 2016 presidential race. The chances of him becoming president might be rather slim, but he has the integrity, courage and determination to fight for the 99 percent, for justice, for peace, for democracy.
— Paul Lam Whiteley Sr.
Louisville, Ky.
New tax?
I write today regarding a growing problem I have never seen addressed in a public forum, together with some possible solutions: fast-food drive-through windows. A recent opening of a fast-food restaurant in Warner Robins saw a double line of cars in the drive-through line. A fast-food chicken restaurant on Ga. 96 has double-lane drive-through order stations that are staffed by two people at least some of the time. Perhaps we should praise the addition of more low-paying jobs but we should also be concerned about the great waste of gasoline and the unnecessary increase in climate-change combustion products released into the atmosphere, as well loss of time and exercise.
I wouldn’t expect any real support from the fast-food merchants who have to be concerned about their bottom line. Public awareness could help some. I suggest a new law. If you don’t have a handicapped permit or a strapped-in car seat child visible to the cashier, a 50-cent tax should be added to the bill. The proceeds would go to the state EPD or to augment the state gasoline tax. People tend to resent new taxes and fees but this is one they could avoid paying and do some good at the same time.
— James H. Swift
Warner Robins
Plenty of problems, no solutions
Regarding the Aug. 6 article in The Telegraph about the woman who called 911 150 times. It doesn’t take an Einstein to determine that she is mentally ill, so why isn’t she institutionalized or on medication. Sadly, help is rarely available or affordable for people with mental illness, but apparently they are able to obtain guns to go on a shooting rampage in schools, theaters etc.
Mental institutions were closed years ago due to the high cost of operation, and mentally ill people put out among the general population are expected to self medicate with no oversight.
When the powers that be in Washington D.C. spend taxpayers money and borrowed money to fight useless wars and fill the bank accounts of corrupt so-called heads of state to keep so called peace everywhere, but can’t take care of the problems in this country, God help us.
— Johanna Sochacki
Macon
Inaccurate quote
In a recent letter to the editor, Mike Smith of Warner Robins, citing Thomas Jefferson, wrote “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” This is one of many, many quotations incorrectly attributed to our third president.
— Jerry Bunch
Macon
Special anniversary
On Aug. 12, we were at Red Lobster in Perry to celebrate our anniversary. While waiting for our dinner, we learned that the couple at the adjoining table were also celebrating their anniversary. When they got up to leave, we wished them a happy anniversary and told them we were also celebrating. We told them although we were a senior couple, we were only celebrating our fourth anniversary, and that together we had a combined 99 years of wedded bliss with our deceased mates prior to our getting marred. They congratulated us and left.
We finished our meal about 15 minutes later and when I asked the waiter for our bill, he said the couple who were also celebrating their anniversary had paid it. What a wonderful gesture. They never mentioned their names, but thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving us an anniversary to remember.
— Dewey & Theresa Tweed
Warner Robins
Right to healthy air
Last week President Obama made history when he announced carbon pollution standards for power plants. The Clean Power Plan is a landmark action to protect public health, reduce energy bills and bring clean power to communities in Georgia. The CPP nationally is expected to prevent up to 3,600 premature deaths, 90,000 asthma attacks and 300,000 days of missed work and school.
Cleaning up carbon pollution benefits public health immediately, as it will cut emissions of other dangerous pollutants that lead to ozone and particulate matter. Polluted air unfairly harms some more than others: children, older adults, kids and adults with asthma, people with COPD, heart disease, those who work or exercise outside and even low-income communities. Dirty air threatens the health of someone in nearly every American family.
Critics of the CPP mistakenly argue that the federal government is overreaching. But in reality, the CPP offers a flexible framework that allows Georgia to develop a tailored plan. With the retirement of some of the most egregious coal-fired power plants and with one of the fastest growing solar markets in the country, Georgia is heading in the right direction. But we have more work to do.
To maximize health benefits, Georgia should take steps now to protect the health of our residents. All of us — everyone in every family — has a right to healthy air.
— Susan Berryman-Rodriguez
Project Director, Mothers & Others for Clean Air: American Lung Association in Georgia
Smyrna
White lives don’t matter?
I’m not making excuses for people that resist arrest and end up getting shot by police, but the news media needs to stop making a blockbuster news story when a white officer harms a black person and no story at all on most incidents where whites are shot by police officers. It just not the whole truth.
I really believe a lot of the people participating in these riots really believe cops only shoot black people. They don’t know any better. They have been raised like Middle East terrorist to hate mainstream America and no one will tell them the truth.
The fact that cops in the U.S.A. shoot on average almost twice as many whites than blacks. Uneducated people don’t believe people like me or the FBI stats but they believe CNN. Tell these people the truth, headline white people getting shot by police. We had a so-called questionable shooting in Twiggs County where a white man was shot. Where was CNN and Sharpton? Several years ago a white woman gunned down while pumping gas by a black man, no hoopla, no CNN, no FOX, no protest. The double standard must stop, all lives matter, but evidently, white lives don’t matter to the new media.
— John Smith
Byron
Unfair competition
There is a lot of Bibb County taxpayers who own commercial and residential real estate. The problem of bearing the tax burden for Mercer University, The Medical Center and Section Eight housing and others has become exaggerated with all of them being able to price them unfairly. They also have a controlled market share. I use to get 40 percent of my renters from Mercer, I now get none. Just one example is a flat for $600 including utilities. As to whether they are self insured or have debt payments could also strangle small investors.
Any one considering buying rental properties with debt, might want to consider closely their total costs, the debt service, insurance, taxes, maintenance and vacancies are constant costs and having at least $10,000 in cash above each property costs is a must. Many groups and individuals have failed and now in Bibb County the unfair competition is growing annually.
— Joe Hubbard
Macon
Open secrets
The “Dallemand saga” is worst than a poorly contrived Soap Opera on reruns. Will sunshine finally penetrate the veil of opaqueness and secrets of the Dallemand-Bibb School District era? If so, it will be mainly due to the tenacity of The Telegraph’s efforts to inform citizens. It appears there is such a possibility according to state legal authorities under the Georgia open meetings requirements unless there is another twist of the tale such as:
Dallemand stops the arbitration proceedings/claim so prior actions of Dallemand and the district board remain in obscure and secret until the next legal action by an involved party.
A quorum of the board does not show up for the hearing(s) allowing the arbitrators to enforce their obscurity of facts. If this occurs, the complicity of this board and Dallemand’s actions while school superintendent becomes clear to all by continuing to shirk their governance responsibilities. This would make it difficult not to have all board members removed by the governor and a special grand jury impaneled.
— Arthur D. Brook.
Macon
Carry at all times
There are currently, and have been for some time, specific threats of violence against members of the U.S. military, both active and retired and our families. The murder of four active duty members in Chattanooga is a stark reminder of how real these threats are. I urge our representatives in the strongest possible terms to introduce legislation to authorize active and retired members of the military to carry arms at all times and in any locations authorized by states carry permits and on all federal installations. The incident several years ago at Fort Hood and again yesterday in Tennessee highlight the real need for this protection. These individuals are and have been proficient in firearms and we demand the right to protect ourselves and our families in the face of these very real threats.
— Reginald W. Jenkins USAF (ret.)
Danville
Made in the U.S.A.
Well I heard on today’s news that a mom complained that Target had building toys marked for girls. What in the world? If we are so disturbed over such a minor issue and since we go overboard in everything the government and special interest groups elect to demand, I had rather it be over a much bigger issue. I wish there was an economic way that all clothing stores would have designated shopping areas assigned to “MADE IN THE USA ONLY.” It would make it more convenient for buyers to choose U.S.A. products. Then taking it further, all companies selling furniture, appliances, tools, machinery, on and on, should do the same.
— Faye W. Tanner
Macon
This story was originally published August 15, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Saturday, August 15, 2015 ."