Letters To The Editor
WASHINGTON STATE
Let’s finally reform tax system
The Legislature and Gov. Gary Locke would be well to consider the likely possibility that many people voting for Initiative 695 want a redistribution of taxes rather than a cut in taxes. If they had shown some grit when this initiative quickly gathered its required signatures, the state could have had a fair tax code in place already. All this talk about cutting services appears to be more about punishing the voters instead of listening to the voters.
OK, it’s not too late. Here are some ideas for you. Raise gas and diesel taxes so users pay for the roads. Tax studded tires for the same reason. Lower the regressive sales tax, which just encourages us all to buy out of state. And yes, Virginia, introduce a modest state income tax; a simple surtax would keep the paperwork to about 10 minutes. (Listening to voters would find most people not liking state income tax because of the paperwork, not the money.) Leonard Butters Spokane
Think of what your savings cost
Shame on you who voted for Initiative 695. First the Kaiser strike, now this! Where are all these people going to work in Spokane? We want people to get off welfare but, again, where are they going to work? All the programs that will be cut as a result of I-695 are the ones the poorer people use. The people who have money won’t be hurt at all. For those who voted yes on I-695, when you’re paying your $30 car tabs, I hope you think about those of us who don’t have a job, or homeless children with nothing to eat. Lori Rukes Spokane
Cut waste, not services
Our illustrious Gov. Gary Locke had several months to counter Initiative 695 with an alternative. He chose not to. Then, he promised a “dramatic” overhaul of the car tax if we voted it down. We’ve had enough of politicians’ empty promises, thank you.
We the people are now being subjected to threats of cuts in public transportation, law enforcement and health. We won’t put up with that either, Locke.
We the people demand that when cuts are made, they are made in the area of the ever-enlarging bureaucracy and the millions of dollars of government waste. Tighten up your belts, Democrats and Republicans. We need more Jesse Venturas. I fervently hope he is just the first of a long line of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers (and wrestlers?) in government. We the people are fed up with the 100-year status quo corruption, greed and special interest (personally enriching) type of government now in charge of our lives.
Make cuts. But not when it come to our mobility, safety and health. Our priorities must be job 1, or Locke and those like him will be looking for a real job. Jeff Blum Richland
OTHER TOPICS
Parent’s honesty commendable
Recently, my wallet was stolen from a dressing room at Northtown Mall. I truly appreciated the caring attitudes of the store’s personnel. Needless to say, I spent a grueling period of time canceling credit cards and checks.
Thankfully, I received a phone call from the mother of the young girl who stole my wallet. Because of the mother’s honest act, I recovered all but $10 of the money taken and all of my cards and checks.
Being a mother myself, I can realize how much “tough love” it took for her to report her own child. I applaud her!
Maybe if more parents would use this approach, youth crime would start to decline. Gail Rychalski Medical Lake
Wrong to quote Bible out of context
Re: Paul W Flanary letter of Nov 2.
The true “perversion of Christianity” is by the uninformed. This perversion is caused by those who quote the Bible out of context.
The two most common errors are “money is the root of all evil” and “judge not, lest ye be judged.”
The truth is that the Bible reads, “The love of money is the root of all evil” and, as far as judging, God expects us to judge (righteously), “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment … but in righteousness shalt thou judge.”
As a righteous (Christian or not) person, we all have the responsibility to judge the difference between good and evil actions! David M. Glowen Spokane
Not all dentists want fluoridation
Hallelujah! The Spokesman-Review news item of Oct. 31, “CDC touts benefits of fluoride” at last lets the public know that “Washington dentists are pushing for legislation to get fluoride in more of Washington’s drinking water.” Well, this dentist with a D.M.D. degree is not for putting fluoride in our water.
How many people even know fluoride is next to arsenic as a poison? Because one part per million seems minor does not lessen the poison effect over time, as confirmed by “whistleblower” William L. Marcus, Ph.D. In 1990, as a senior EPA toxicologist, Marcus questioned the safety of fluoride and was subsequently fired from the EPA. Marcus is quoted as saying fluoride is a carcinogen (cancer causing) by any standard the EPA uses to determine carcinogens.
There is much recent evidence pointing to fluoride as a great health risk. Why is the dental profession being used to promote fluoridation? Love of money? How many people know industrial waste is the source of fluoride for water fluoridation? Not pure sodium fluoride. Have your readers taken note of the recent news regarding Kaiser Aluminum’s problem of fluoride leaking? Furthermore, how many know that recent studies indicate there isn’t any statistical difference in number of cavities between fluoridated and nonfluoridated areas, only more unsightly teeth (fluorosis)? Ellsworth D. Foreman, D.M.D. Safe Water Coalition of Washington State, Otis Orchards
Clinton right about protecting forests
I support President Clinton’s action to curtail logging roads in our remote public forests.
Pristine areas still exist in the Colville National Forest even though the logging industry has abused the land and there exist thousands of miles of logging roads paid for by the taxpayers.
The Abercrombie-Hooknose and Kettle River Range areas create more revenue through recreational use over time than a clearcut.
TO leave them roadless and forested as they are is to ensure a heritage for our children that includes clean water, outdoor recreation, sustained habitat for wildlife and quality of life that even has economic value. Please, elected officials, support the president’s plan. Adele M. Fisher Spokane