Tax breaks are not ‘giveaways’
I always find it interesting when tax breaks for businesses or reductions in tax rates are referred to as “costs.” This confers an attitude that the money actually belongs to the government and that it is “giving something away” to provide tax reductions. How about the perspective that the government is actually taking away less? Tax breaks are not “giveaways.”
MARK BAUCOM, ATLANTA
Too little, too late for Cobb
Regarding “Amazon hunt may be forcing a Cobb County shift on transit,” PolitiFact, Sept. 19 — it’s shocking that the leaders of Cobb county think they have a chance with a tech icon like Amazon.com. Cobb placed its bet on transportation and transit decades ago and has doubled down on this bet in recent years with the relentless focus on road infrastructure spending.
Those of us who choose to live in Fulton County/City of Atlanta placed our bets as well. We even voted to tax ourselves last November to expand MARTA and Beltline transit. If Amazon chooses Atlanta for a second headquarters, it will almost certainly be located on MARTA and/or the Beltline.
It’s a good thing the leaders in Cobb County are finally concluding that a unified transit system is needed, but it’s far too late to matter for Amazon. If they get on board with mass transit now, perhaps Cobb will be relevant in future bids.
BRANDON SUTTON, ATLANTA
Shooting at Georgia Tech puzzling
An emotionally disturbed student at Georgia Tech called 911 that a person armed with a knife was wandering the campus. The student then described himself as that person. Three or four officers from the campus police force answered the call. When ordered to drop the weapon, the student refused and kept walking toward the police officers. Now you would think that three officers could have easily subdued this student simply by punching him out. Instead, one officer chose to shoot and kill him.
The following evening a group of thugs on campus began rioting. Campus police responded. The thugs set fire to one police car and stomped on another one attempting to break the windshield. They also attacked the officers who now were obviously in a dangerous confrontation. The officers did not choose to fire their weapons. Unlike the previous evening, when three armed officers faced a 90-pound weakling, they were so frightened that one officer chose to shoot and kill.
The whole scenario is puzzling. What kind of a police department does Georgia Tech have? Certainly one that is dysfunctional. Their behavior is certainly nothing to be proud of.
SEYMOUR RICHARDS, ATLANTA
Decatur marchers need history lessons
There has to be something in the water in Decatur. The Decatur marchers demanding the removal of a century old Confederate statue (“Marchers in Decatur push for removal of monuments,” News, Sept. 12) certainly have better things to do, don’t they? These protesters remind me of the mindless, disgruntled flower children of the 1960s who finally mostly grew up. I am disgusted because few of these idiots seem to have any sense of history and they feel entitled to judge people of the past through their distorted, rose-tinted sunshades of modern-day political correctness. The marchers tout their supposed superior tolerance but actually their attitude drips with intolerant hate.
As a descendant and family member of two dozen Confederate soldiers and as a historian and a genealogist, I know the history of that war and the aftermath and I feel these demonstrators to be dismally ignorant. Our modern-day educational system has done a disservice to our nation by not teaching actual history and by not instilling objectivity, common sense and civility.
Will sanity, tolerance and intelligence ever return to Decatur or will the racist political agenda win out?
ERNEST WADE, LOGANVILLE
