Correcting inaccuracies in election, TAD issue

The letter to the editor about tax allocation districts ("Inform yourself before voting on TADs," AJC Gwinnett Opinions, May 4) included some inaccuracies that I feel should be corrected. The TAD issue is complex enough without misinformation being presented.

The writer said the TAD would be voted on in a special election, which would represent a significant additional unbudgeted cost to the county. The truth is that the election is not a "Special Election." The TAD issue has been placed on the first normal election ballot, the "countywide primary," as outlined by the Legislature. Having this on the ballot in July does not cost the county a dime for this measure.

Contrary to the writer's view, this local election allows more focus on local issues than a November primary during a presidential election when voters may feel someone is trying to slip this through.

Also, the writer said the measure has already been declared unconstitutional. The TAD law has not been ruled unconstitutional. Involvement of school taxes in TADs has been ruled unconstitutional. TADs, even without school funds, are a good tool for redevelopment but at a smaller scale.

The letter writer took issue with a move to amend the state constitution so that school tax funds could be included in tax allocation district efforts to improve blighted areas. That's his opinion, but I would contend that as property values decline in blighted areas, schools are hurt through many factors including reduction in tax revenue due to the drop in property value. This is a concern of the Gwinnett County School Board. TAD projects can help schools.

The writer asked if the taxpayers and government should be put "on the hook" for any potential shortfalls that could occur in TAD projects. Taxpayers will not be put on the hook. TAD bonds are not backed by government. The TAD bonds are private bonds based on market and backed by the market. If the development fails (which not a single one in Georgia has), the private market covers the bonds, not the government. Government is not on the "hook."

Finally, I find it interesting that the writer refers to the study (November 2004 study by Research Atlanta Inc., Georgia State University, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. http://aysps.gsu.edu/news/release/tad.htm —- click on "Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law: A Policy Guide to the Evaluation and Use of Tax Allocation Districts.)

That document explores the positives and negatives of TADs, and if we are reading the same document, there are a lot more positives than negatives.

CHUCK WARBINGTON

Executive director

Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District

Norcross

Proud to call Jimmy Carter a fellow Georgian

Jimmy Carter is one of the reasons I'm proud to have lived in this state for my entire life ("A friend defends Carter's dialogue with Hamas." AJC Gwinnett News, April 24). He is a man of peace, and, unlike many U.S. presidents, can actually be credited with economic success as the real GDP of the nation even after inflation was higher in 1980 than 1976, and because he appointed the historically-lionized Paul Volcker to head the Federal Reserve. (A big chink in the pro-growth baloney contemporary conservatives wrap themselves in, by the way —- successful, tough economists who are liberal Democrats. Volcker is endorsing Barack Obama, if anyone cares.)

Any simple truth about diplomacy itself is a complex, misleading lie. I think no legitimate foreign policy stance would include either the mantra "we never talk to our enemies" or "we always talk to our enemies." Reasonable steps have to be taken, however, to attain the best possible situation out there. Most Israelis support engaging Hamas at this point.

I think it's funny that the main foreign policy difference President Bush ran on in 2000 was that he was going to stop direct negotiation with North Korea and instead direct all communication through six-party talks. That failed, of course, horribly. Now, Bush literally had to go on his hands and knees, offering North Korea a richer subsidy deal with fewer concessions on monitoring their nuclear situation, and in the meantime they became a nuclear state anyway. That's the discredited, knee-jerk ideology we should apply now to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Something I think similarly hypocritical, but not funny, is that I imagine a lot of Carter maligners are the same people who preach Southern heritage and conflate it with the righteous indignation at changing the Confederate flag. One thing that supposedly defines the South is its defense of its own people.

I'm tired of hearing people who claim to hold dearly to some sentimental attachment of regional identity agree with Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh —- themselves New Yorkers —- in not only disagreeing with Jimmy Carter, but denigrating the man personally. If you care about the land and people south of the Mason-Dixon, and their historical identity, you should give your children an example to be proud of, that uplifts them —- to believe that one day they too can be respected diplomats, presidents and leaders of organizations that support the cause of democracy worldwide —- instead of leaving them to skulk in the shadows of ignorance and impoverishment with only poorly-defined values of regional identity to carry to future generations. And the more we censoriously and speciously attack the man, the more those values become meaningless.

(Israeli nationalists would defend, simultaneously, Ariel Sharon, Shimon Peres, David Ben-Gurion, and Golda Meir, if a Palestinian or an American similarly insulted them.)

PIERCE ADAM RANDALL

Atlanta

The key to a healthy life

The guest columnist ("Heavy issues: Face it: Fighting obesity requires tough mind-set," AJC Gwinnett News, May 2) is right: "Combating obesity does require a change in mind set."

When discussing weight and health, Americans must stop focusing exclusively on food. Currently, more than half of U.S. consumers are trying to lose weight. But many studies show that most fad diets, strict regiments and unrealistic goals actually result in weight gain. Even the National Weight Control Registry —- the group that tracks thousands of Americans who have effectively lost and kept weight off for more than a year —- found no single formula for success among its members' eating habits. The only common theme is physical activity.

Living healthily doesn't mean that you must adhere strictly to the "dos and don'ts" of a few select diets. It's about all of our small, daily choices: turning off the TV, climbing the stairs, and taking that extra step.

TRICE WHITEFIELD

Senior research analyst, Center for Consumer Freedom

Washington

Really feeling the pinch

I can feel for the truckers, when their costs go up our costs go up ("More costly, but still truckin'," AJC Gwinnett News, May 1).

I am a retired senior citizen on a fixed income. My pension has no cost-of-living raise. I have had the same pension for nine years.

I hear every morning when I turn on the TV that the gas has gone up again. But what I don't hear is what the government is going to do about it. It's like they don't care as long as they get their cut.

I can't plan a trip or any other recreational activities because I can't afford it.

I hope the truckers can protest loud enough and long enough so they get what they want, and it may trickle down to retirees also.

I would like to enjoy whatever time the good Lord has given me, but I am tired of being stressed out about it.

EDMUND KOTKIEWICZ

Lawrenceville