TAXES
An out-of-control whale is about to swallow us all
Regarding “50 personal services may face 1st-time tax” (News, Feb. 28): I understand that varying levels of government are having budget problems, but since they more or less brought these problems about by mismanaging the tax revenues Georgians have paid already, they need to figure out how to get by without bleeding taxpayers and blackmailing them with threats of cutting of necessities. We are about to be swallowed by a whale with an appetite it cannot control. It appears it is time for Georgia residents to converge on our Capitol. The list of “personal services” that would be taxed manages to encompass just about every aspect of everyday living.
Allyana Ziolko, Atlanta
MIDDLE EAST
Change in sovereign nations must be internal
The fall of dictatorships in the Middle East brings great possibilities for democracy. It may not be the kind of democracy enjoyed by people living in the United States.
The most important lesson to be learned is that change in sovereign nations must be internal. Lasting change does not come through invasions and wars waged by nations with ulterior motives who seek to establish and prop up governments that meet their financial and economic needs. We should all be keenly aware of the total waste of human lives and money caused by the misguided invasion of Iraq.
Most times, the best policy is to till the soil, plant the seed, nurture the plants and reap the harvest.
Ronald D. Johnson, Austell
HOPE
Renegotiating benefits, salaries could help, too
With all the brouhaha over the HOPE scholarship and its complexities, I have not heard anyone give the slightest mention to another possible procedural change that would improve the program tremendously: renegotiate the pay and benefits of everyone employed by the University System of Georgia.
Or, you could start out by not issuing raises for the next two years; raising employee medical co-pays for doctor visits and prescription drugs; and lifting the percentage of premiums paid for by these employees.
It seems like so many others in this state and elsewhere have had to take drastic cuts in pay and benefits. Why not these people? This could allow the system to lower tuition.
Randy Arnold, Stockbridge
ENVIRONMENT
Billboard companies should have to replant
We may have lost the fight to save trees on public land, but the Georgia Legislature should consider the following: for every tree destroyed to better view a billboard, the company paying for that destruction should be required to replant trees in the community closest to the tree cutting.
No one can argue the air-cleansing quality of trees. All communities could use more trees around their schools, parks, playing fields, libraries, etc. Requiring the billboard companies to replace what they take away would make this destructive legislation more palatable.
Linda Stapleton, Atlanta
