PUBLIC HEALTH
Government service at its best in DeKalb
Kudos to state Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, the team from the DeKalb County Board of Health and the gracious volunteers who provided back-to-school vaccines and dental, vision and hearing screenings recently in the beautiful cafeteria of Columbia High School.
The process was well-organized, and waiting children were provided with crayons and drawing paper to help them pass the time until they were called up.
Many grateful DeKalb County parents took advantage of this wonderful opportunity. It was an example of government service at its best.
Mary Gould, Decatur
COMMUNITY
There are still good Samaritans after all
I recently lost my wallet. It fell out of my car on Lake Forrest Drive.
By mid-morning, I received a call from a young man who had found the wallet (missing the cash, driver’s license and some credit cards). My bank also called, telling me one of their customers found one of my credit cards and brought it to them. I rushed to cancel another credit card, get a replacement driver’s license and return home.
Later that day, the doorbell rang and a young woman handed my wife my driver’s license that she had found. Then, another neighbor called and told me he had the other credit card.
I am grateful for these honest and kind people, and find our world (or at least mine) a warmer, and nicer place.
Paul Scharff, Atlanta
GOVERNMENT
Try cutting politicians, the government’s budget
I suggest to our president that all government programs could be cut by 10 percent. This also includes payroll and military spending. A soldier’s salary is low enough, though, and should not be touched. Politician salaries should also be cut by 10 percent.
My personal thought on corporate incentives are that they should be abolished. The American people as a whole have seen lost wages and cuts, so why not the government, and politicians? This simple solution would be accepted by all simply because it’s fair.
Michael Poole, Hampton
TAXES
Stop whining, give the wealthy a break
I’m tired of hearing the whining of people who think the wealthiest Americans are getting rich through tax breaks.
I’m not a wealthy American. I live on Social Security and a small pension, so I would be considered one of the little guys. I understand how the wealthy got wealthy. The wealthy got their wealth by traveling the same path that is available to every American. Some inherited it, but the majority earned wealth by getting an education, working hard, investing when they could and by building their wealth the old-fashioned way.
Wealthy people use their money wisely to build greater wealth. That’s how they become known as the “Rich Americans” — and they didn’t get there through tax breaks.
I don’t blame the wealthy for their success — I blame me for not being one of them.
Jim Carter, Snellville
