Thank volunteers for clean streets
Thanks to Atlanta City Councilperson Mary Norwood for lauding the successes of the Georgia Works program ("Caring for Atlanta's Streets," Opinion Feb. 6). In the Virginia-Highland neighborhood, we have seen the results of this program (www.georgiaworks.net) for several weeks as some of our most-littered streets have been cleaned by these folks. We are grateful to be included in their campaign to help keep Atlanta a clean and beautiful city.
JOHN WOLFINGER, ATLANTA
Teacher pay raise would lift America
The supporters behind the plan to raise salaries for jurists have the correct reason, but it’s for the wrong cause. As your article reports (“Pay hike for Ga. judges gets push,” Metro, Feb. 12), the argument is that higher pay is needed to make sure top lawyers seek out judgeships when there are openings. This argument would most likely make much more sense if you apply it to the teaching profession. Studies show those countries able to attract top university students to become teachers produce much higher results in the classroom than the U.S. Imagine what could happen if the top 10 percent of our college graduates were fighting to get into our classrooms and teach our children.
JOAN PIEDMONTE, MILTON
Bill takes Georgia back to racist era
The U.S. Supreme Court in a recent decision noted “Georgia’s long, well-documented history of past discrimination in voting.” House Bill 194, introduced in the state Legislature, would reduce early voting from 21 to 12 days. If enacted, the law would have a decidedly adverse impact on minorities and other voters who have used early voting. Voting is a fundamental right and is protective of all rights. Legislators who support HB 194 should be embarrassed that they are willing to return the state to the dark days of discrimination and voter suppression.
LAUGHLIN MCDONALD, SPECIAL COUNSEL/DIRECTOR EMERITUS, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION VOTING RIGHTS PROJECT
Levy cigarette tax for schools, roads
Regarding “Cigarette tax hike studied” (News, Feb. 14), a cigarette tax is a great option for raising funds for transportation or education. We should embrace such “Piogovian” taxes — a tax on activities generating costs for others — and use the revenues to bridge funding gaps, reduce other taxes or distribute funds to citizens.
We could reduce taxes on what we want more of by raising taxes on what we want less of. For example, we could reduce payroll taxes and get revenue from a carbon fee. This would encourage employment, reduce pollution, improve health and contribute to reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change.
BRAD ROUSE, HIAWASSEE
