Georgia needs to get tough about speeding
The column “No easy fix to slowing traffic” (Opinion, Jan. 31) pulled my cord. Stop signs, speed bumps, traffic lights, etc. are not solutions. Georgia has too many inconsiderate, ill-mannered, self-loving, stupid drivers.
Before I moved to Atlanta, I lived in Virginia. One state law dictated that anyone driving 20 miles per hour over the speed limit was prima facie reckless driving. The minimum fine was $1,000. The public was terrorized about speeding.
Georgia needs to get tough on driving. No insurance? The car is confiscated. No one should get a driver’s license without completing a driver’s education course including instruction in courtesy, energy conservation, traffic laws (and the reasons for them), car maintenance, etc.
James Rust, Atlanta
No matter who wins, real changes unlikely
We all know that the 2012 presidential election is a big one. However, whether it’s Barack Obama returning to the White House, or Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney winning, I feel no real changes are going to be made.
Each side can argue that it’s the other’s fault, but the one thing that’s constantly missed is that this needs to stop being a Republican-Democratic issue — and start being an American issue.
We will fail to improve our country as long as we have guys with their own agenda (including what the party wants from them).
The reason these guys don’t fix the problems of the middle and lower class is because they’ve never been middle or lower class. They don’t understand the problems.
When are we going to get someone who refuses to compromise on their beliefs — and stop letting the lobbyists and “the establishment” run this country?
Chris Stephens, Grayson
Significant money trail is the issue to watch for
Outrage over the influence that lobbyists wield over our legislators is a tempest in a teapot. Lobbyists represent organizations that simply want to get their message to lawmakers.
Their tactics are the same as those used by sales people in the private sector. Salesmen and lobbyists are basically communicators trying to prove that their product is the best solution.
Doing so at a luncheon or over a round of golf allows them an uninterrupted opportunity to discuss their issue. They have a little fun at the same time — but hardly enough to motivate a legislator to vote against their better judgment.
This may sound cynical, but I think it will take a lot more than an occasional junket to Vegas to buy a legislator’s vote. Evidence of a significant money trail is what the voter (and the AJC) should be looking for — not the occasional shrimp cocktail.
Jeffrey Lahm, Atlanta
