This is Viewpoints for Thursday, May 19, 2016

All letters having to do with the May 24 election must be received by noon Friday, May 20.

Snow the voter time

The political race seems to have entered a new phase of snowtime, designed to show the voters how little they know about politics. If left is right (correct) then right is also wrong. Understand? Just how can a candidate go into a nominating convention with more delegates than the combined total of his/her competitors, yet fail to achieve the nomination? Makes just about the same pile of sense as the ongoing attempt to railroad the winner with false and/or misleading stats on how successful current politicians have been at either balancing the federal budget or reducing our debt to China. Must be the same people who spend 30 some hours per week (average) on the phone raising funds for their re-election. Did you see it on “60 Minutes?” Got It?

Incumbents and career politicians

Angela Maddox Hicks is running against Rep. Austin Scott to represent the citizens of the 8th District. I will vote for Angela because she is not a career politician. She is not an incumbent.

I am not voting for Scott because he is a career politician. And because he is an incumbent. Over the last six years, despite record revenues, Congress has spent more money than it received. This has resulted in six consecutive deficit budgets. The national debt has grown by approximately a trillion dollars a year. By 2018 the interest on the debt will be about 8 percent.

During Scott’s tenure the federal bureaucracy has increased. The IRS and the VA continue to provide minimal service. But no one is held accountable. And management continues to receive yearly bonuses. Scott and his fellow Republicans have not proposed a plan to eliminate the tax code and replace it with a fair and simple code. If something is not done soon mandatory spending will be greater than discretionary spending.

In my opinion the only thing Scott and his fellow Republicans are concerned about is continuing the Washington discord and blocking Donald Trump. The only way things will change is if voters do not elect incumbents or career politicians.

Experience preferred

Articles about the Peach County probate judge election in Tuesday’s Telegraph, argue that ignorance is as good as knowledge for a probate judge, that an apprenticeship is as good as university training in the law. Having been a nurse for years and years does not qualify an individual to be the physician for an ill person, nor does working in a court prepare one to be a judge. Having to defend knowledge against ignorance in the 21st century seems bizarre but apparently has to be done. Why then is a legal education important for a probate (or any) judge?

Laws, property documents like wills, in fact, virtually everything probate judges have to interpret are, after all, almost entirely written by lawyers. The language involved is sometimes specialized and structured differently from ordinary speech. If it were not, we would not have to hire lawyers as often as we do. Much of law is built on precedent, and dealing with it requires research and the training to build logical, clear and unbiased judgments that will not be reversed on appeal by a judge with formal education. In addition, the legal profession’s self-regulation includes the requirement of discretion and equitable treatment of all comers. Failure can mean disbarment — the loss of a lawyer’s professional credentials, the equivalent of medical malpractice. Professions are self-governing and strict — far beyond meaning well.

So why is legal education required only for counties with population above 96,000? That decision was one of practicality rather than preference. Although much smaller, Georgia, while 24th in area, is second only to Texas in number of counties —159 to 254. The result of this political/geographical situation is that Georgia has a number of small counties with low population and therefore limited tax bases. In the past (and perhaps still) some counties were unable to afford to pay professionals for positions like probate judge. So the requirements were set at a minimum rather than what might be desired in a perfect world. When a small county, like Peach, can step up to the higher standard, it should.

Hit the road Jack

Robot calling time and it’s after 7 p.m. Good old C. Jack Ellis has started calling and reminding me that he’s running as a Democrat for the tax commissioner’s job. Well guess what? As the old song goes; “hit the road Jack, no more, no more.”

The eight years he was mayor were enough. Please tell me what qualities he possesses for the tax commissioner’s job. Please feel free to publish his home number so that I may return his call at 1 a.m. to have a nice person to person talk with him. Thank you very much. The gentleman who is the present tax commissioner is doing a fine job and has my vote.

Turn off the spigot

Next election day the citizens of Monroe County will have the opportunity to remove the roadblock that is preventing a solution to the Macon-Bibb-Monroe county line dilemma. The current chairman of Monroe County has not only blocked any attempts to compromise with Bibb County but has cost each county millions of dollars in legal fees and tax revenue. In addition, he called the secretary of state a “wimp” for not agreeing with him.

Ten years ago, Charlie Bishop and I reached an agreement that would cost neither county anything. In addition, the president of the most recognized and respected real estate firm in Macon agreed to build a big box store with sales of $80 million annually (think Costco) and a hotel on the Monroe County side of the line if we would settle the dispute. Monroe County would receive 2 cents of every dollar or $1.6 million plus ad valorem tax on both buildings plus hotel/motel tax. The BOE would receive one penny or $800,000. Ride out to Bass Pro now and look at the vast parking lot, built for a mini mall with nothing there except Bass Pro.

Monroe Countians, when you vote, think about what could have been and select a mature business man for chairman.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Thursday, May 19, 2016."