Leadership needed to fix roads
I found the Atlanta Forward article ( “Tax fix could solve highway mess,” Sept. 1) most interesting. Congressman Tom Price cites the need for tax reform and suggests this may lead to a revenue stream that, in part, could pay for repairs and improvements to our infrastructure. On the other hand, he cites the problems encountered in passing any transportation bill. Since a rewrite of the tax code, or even revising the tax treatment of foreign earnings and remittances, isn’t likely for a long time, I suspect that nothing serious will be done until there is some terrible disaster. The annual vehicle taxation in Georgia should be based, in part, upon weight and mileage. The heavier the vehicle, and the more miles it is driven, the more the wear on the roads. Fuel taxes will have to rise significantly. As fuel efficiency has improved, less fuel is consumed, and less fuel tax is collected. As many Georgia politicians decry any taxes, especially new ones, I don’t believe the recent tax law changes enacted in our state will make a serious dent in the backlog of repairs and improvements. I guess we require some crisis for our erstwhile leadership to get serious.
ALEXANDER M. WILLIAMSON, ALPHARETTA
Expanding interchange won’t help
Re-routing or trying to fix the I-285/Georgia 400 interchange with more lanes won’t solve the underlying problem. The continued issuance of building permits in metropolitan Atlanta which increases population density and the number of cars is the real problem. An expanded MARTA network and light rail to Macon, Athens, etc. could enable commuting to and from work without putting more cars on a road system, which simply can’t keep up with residential and commercial development in the metropolitan area.
BOB PERSONS, ATLANTA
Police antics strike fear in citizen
I’m disgusted to read about the antics of another group of incompetent, trigger-happy DeKalb County police officers (“Wrong-house shooting: Mix-up leads to chaos,” News, Sept. 2). Their behavior and the response of Public Safety Director Cedric Alexander is completely unacceptable. Their gross negligence ensures that this couple will never again feel safe in their own home. This is reckless behavior and these officers should be fired, and I call for Alexander to resign, for he clearly is not a capable leader. How many more innocent people have to die at the hands of supposed law enforcement “professionals”? As a resident of Brookhaven, I pray every day I never cross the path of a DeKalb County officer. I am scared to death of these guys.
GREGORY H. JOHNSON, BROOKHAVEN
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