Readers Write

GOVERNMENT

Nothing stolen from city

In a recent article concerning Sandy Springs’ plans to spend $24.1 million on capital projects within their city, Mayor Eva Galambos was quoted as saying the taxes her city is now spending on capital was money Fulton County “stole” from Sandy Springs annually before they became a city.

The mayor’s comment is misguided at best and reprehensible at worst.

Before Sandy Springs became a city, they were charged county taxes for their community through a Special Services District.

This money and other tax dollars over the years paid for building roads, parks, sidewalks and the infrastructure Sandy Springs has today. Fulton County never “stole” money from the residents of Sandy Springs, what it did was provide them roads to drive on, sidewalks to stroll on and parks to play in. It’s time for Mayor Galambos to let go of her dislike for Fulton County and move on.

John H. Eaves, chairman, Fulton County Board of Commissioners

ENVIRONMENT

Scrap ‘Cash for Clunkers’

“Cash for Clunkers” is touted as protecting the environment by taking older vehicles off the road and replacing them with new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The reality is that the trade-in vehicles will be scrapped regardless of the amount of useful life they have left.

While the true intention of this legislation is not to protect the environment but to financially stimulate the automobile industry in the short term, the hidden costs of this bill could cause environmental havoc indefinitely. A tremendous amount of energy and resources will be exhausted to build new vehicles to replace the scrapped ones.

Providing tax incentives to purchase new vehicles or maintain current vehicles maintained for fuel efficiency would be a much better use of federal money and truly benefit the environment.

Aaron Lowe, Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association

POLITICS

GOP’s frightening face

Is it possible that the entire Republican Party lacks basic intelligence, or just the people who write to newspapers?

The “conservative” viewpoints we read all say the same thing: “We do not need to change the face of the party.” That “face” looks a lot like Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh.

But wait! We have a senator in Johnny Isakson, elected by this red state, who seems to never gain the ire of the conservatives. Yet this man is the epitome of the type of face that attracts a wide range of voters.

It is ludicrous to believe that we are calling on the Republicans to become Democrats. We are asking the Republicans to be open-minded, moderate in demeanor, and able to prioritize their values in proper perspective, to do the work of the people.

The Cheney/Limbaugh faction’s dominance of the party scares the rest of us away, and that will lead to a decade of rule by Pelosi and Reid.

Michael Honohan, Marietta