IMMIGRATION
Racism rears its head in illegal-immigration foes
Growing up in northwest Atlanta during the 1940s and 1950s, I observed Klan rallies at a nearby park. My parents would take me to a hill on our property overlooking the rallies to teach me that such hate was not the way to believe. I recall watching the marching, shouting, flag-carrying and cross burning — and feeling the palpable hatred and anger that flowed from those hooded figures.
I see a great similarity in the hatred flowing from some in our Legislature today, as Georgia legislators propose laws to punish undocumented immigrants. Some of Georgia’s leaders have simply swapped Jim Crow for Juan Crow. Racism and hatred have new faces, but they are still the same sad people reincarnated.
Curtis Rivers, Adairsville
TAXES
Legislators don’t realize they’re on wrong path
Does our illustrious Georgia Legislature not know its backside from that of an ass? They surely must all be drunk with power to believe that they can replace income tax with new sales taxes on about 20 different services. What is their logic? Does our Legislature not realize that sales taxes are regressive — that is, they hurt the less fortunate to a far greater degree than those with deeper pockets? This will only hurt the Georgia economy, as people replace their once-a-month haircut to one every six weeks, and will forgo their three-month oil change with one at five or six months. Surely, they cannot be serious.
Roy Robert Detweiler, Buford
POLITICS
A dubious thank-you for the ‘birther’ bill
I’m relieved to see Georgia legislators tackling the No. 1 issue concerning all Americans: Is the president’s birth certificate real (enough)?
Who can trust the Hawaiian secretary of state, governor — or newspaper accounts?
After all, Hawaiians could all be in on some nefarious plot to dupe the rest of the country.
Thank you, Georgia legislators, for taking on the tough fight so many had given up as a waste of time and money.
Bruce Kauffman, Atlanta
DEFICIT
Some alternative ideas to solve U.S. budget crisis
Instead of trying to solve the federal budget deficit by cutting essential services and social programs, and on the backs of the poor and the waning middle class, I would like to propose an alternative.
This would be next to impossible (politically) to implement, but here goes: raise taxes by eliminating the Bush era tax cuts; stop our foreign wars and bring the troops home; cut defense spending by 10 percent; cut out subsidies to the oil companies; and start manufacturing goods in America once again (which will create jobs and increase tax revenue).
My hunch is that this will do it, but I’d like to see somebody try to put numbers to these suggestions — or prove me wrong.
William Jordan, Lawrenceville
