Georgia no ‘beacon’ for small business
For Gov. Nathan Deal to claim that Georgia is a “beacon for progress” defies reality and common sense (“No, governor, we’re not a “beacon for progress,” Opinion, July 23). The U.S. added 288,000 jobs in June 2014; employment decreased by 9,500 jobs. Progress? Or regress? Republicans claim they are “pro-business.” That might be true for corporations that get sweetheart deals, but certainly not for most small businesses. My business requires I get a state-issued engineering firm business license. Since Deal’s tenure, costs to renew this license have skyrocketed from $10 plus a first-class stamp to $10 plus about and additional $100.
They have made it nearly impossible to renew these licenses by any means except online. I spend days unsuccessfully trying to do this and end up sending a certified letter with a copy to my lawyer because I do not get any confirmation until more than seven months later. Georgia also now requires notarizing several forms every year to renew business licenses. What problem was this yearly notarization requirement supposed to solve?
PETER T. KALLAY, KENNESAW
Coal-fired plants fuel climate change
A recent Opinion letter-writer erroneously links ozone, carbon dioxide (a heat-trapping gas) and black snow to global warming (“EPA rules based on flawed science,” Readers Write, July 23). Their connection is unrelated to one simple fact: Carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels dangerously raises the world’s temperature. The Union of Concerned Scientists states that coal-fired power plants are the nation’s largest source of this earth-warming gas. It is time for the AJC to join world-class newspapers and move the debate from settled science to the crucial question: How do we prepare for and slow the ravages of climate change? The new EPA rules are a good start.
JEFF JOSLIN, ATLANTA
Ridicule of public aid still hurts
Forty years ago, I too felt the embarrassment and shame of shoppers’ comments in line behind me when they saw that I paid for groceries with food stamps (“Public aid: picking up groceries, shame,” Metro, July 27). They never seemed to notice I bought powdered milk because it was so much cheaper than fresh, or day-old bread and marked-down produce or that the only canned goods were cheap brands.
They did notice and comment on the package of beef in my cart, but didn’t understand we would have several meals from that one package. And they commented on the occasional treats I would buy for my two young sons, but they didn’t realize their father had been out of work for months and that I had no job skills and no way of earning money other than baby-sitting other people’s children.
I am now grateful I have a good education and job with a good salary. Forty years later, it still hurts.
ALLISON C. GILMORE, TUCKER
