Confine your anger to responsible parties
Regarding “Sanctions punish the wrong people” (Readers write, Opinion, Aug. 1), Allen Buckley had it right about Penn State sanctions punishing the innocent athletes improperly — and the same philosophy extends to Chick-fil-A and Dan Cathy.
Dislike Mr. Cathy, if you wish, because of his personal beliefs. However, when you transfer those feelings to the company, you transfer them to business partners and employees via the damage you do to the business. They, like the Penn State athletes, are innocent parties. I suggest that anger should be focused on the responsible parties. Leave the rest alone.
JIM ASKREN, ATLANTA
Tax, track record: Why we voted no
Like many Georgians, my husband and I recognize the desperate need for addressing transportation issues in the state. Why, then, did T-SPLOST fail? As two retired (and concerned) Georgia residents, we could not support the proposal primarily for these reasons:
First, we believe the proposal (a classic regressive tax) would once again place an unfair burden on the middle class and the poor.
Second, the poor record of oversight by state government (together with the failure to clearly define a process that would identify and prioritize needs objectively) raised sufficient reasons for us to oppose the proposal.
JOAN MCINTOSH, WOODSTOCK
Anti-tax fervor put us into this sad shape
While Georgia’s tea party touts the failure of the T-SPLOST referendum as a sign of their political clout, many of us mourn the lost potential of infrastructure improvement, jobs and growth. This ideological aversion to taxes, however small, is, in large part, what led us into this financial crisis in the first place.
SYBIL THOMAS, WHITESBURG
Insurance premiums continue to climb
The other day, I received a rebate check from my insurance carrier: a whopping $68. This amounts to a 1.5 percent rebate.
The following week, I received a rate increase notification. It amounts to a 9 percent bump in my premium. I’m not sure where Obamacare is headed. However, one of my concerns (and one shared by most businesses, I’m sure) is the premiums. No doubt, they are headed in one direction — up, up and away.
KEN LEEBOW, MARIETTA
At least monitor where weapons, ammo go
Everyone wants something to be done in the wake of the senseless killings that have been in the headlines recently.
Being the nation we are, it is difficult to suddenly change course. However, there is a need for some action that will at least tell us who a gun was registered to. And there is a need to keep pace with the amount of ammunition that is being bought. If everyone had to register his or her guns and new purchases were monitored, then at least we would know where the guns and ammunition should be.
Too many guns are getting into the hands of people who are mentally unbalanced. It is this that we must address.
DAVID CLARKE, BUFORD
