Sales Tax

Dear Editor, I remember when Bellevue Cemetery was a beautiful and peaceful place. It was well cared for by city employees who took pride in their work. The city chose to contract this work out to a company interested only in making money, supposedly to save money. Is the savings worth the mess the cemetery is in? I remember when we had twice-weekly garbage pickup by city employees who did an excellent job. Now we have once-weekly garbage pickup. The city chose to contract this work out, too. We pay a bi-monthly tax of $14.54 for this service.

Our compliments to state Senate President David Williams and his fellow Republicans for finally doing Monday what they should have done earlier in this session of the General Assembly: Pass a state budget and Gov. Ernie Fletcher's "tax modernization" plan. The surprise move left Democrats howling "foul," but the Republicans did exactly what the Democrats have been doing in Frankfort for decades: They used their power to achieve what they felt was best for the state. Some Senate Democrats were miffed because the Republicans attached amendments to the budget that would delete Democrats' pet projects if they didn't vote in favor of the budget and tax package.

To the editor: I mostly agree with Rhonda Dragomir’s columns; however, with regards to the tax increase she favors concerning the board of education in her Sept. 2 column, I think she is flat wrong. For every study she can produce showing kindergarten to be valuable, I can show just as many studies questioning the value of such early training. I personally believe it to be nothing more, for the most part, than glorified baby-sitting. Dragomir goes on to say that now she has “skin” in the game by being a new homeowner.

A recent letter writer asked what poverty is. The technical definition is deficiency. Inadequacy. Pauper. The condition of being poor. But poverty is so much more. It is ugly. It is pain. It is misery. Loss of hope. Decaying of the spirit. A social disease. Shame and disgrace. It is something in America that cannot be excused or justified. The writer described the “many benefits” the poor receive. There are not that many. They are difficult to qualify for. They afford only the bare essentials.

Dear Editor, Once again, I see that some voters either don’t do their research or only listen to a line or two of rhetorical political ads. This seems to be the case with Roger Bowman. Calling Rand Paul an ultra extreme radical seems a bit extreme to me and all those who supported and voted for Mr. Paul. Had Mr. Bowman done his homework, he would know that Rand Paul isn’t radical at all. Rand Paul has moved up to the adult table and has the courage to discuss some of the “big boy” issues; issues that heretofore have been taboo, especially for the weak politicians.

Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce kicked off its 2011 Public Policy Series on Wednesday with a panel discussion of an issue on the minds of business people everywhere: taxes. There was generally a consensus that tax reform should be looked at seriously in the legislature. The panel that gathered for lunch at Danville Country Club included state Reps. Jim Wayne of Louisville and Bill Farmer of Lexington along with Andy Hightower, executive director of the conservative Kentucky Club for Growth, and Sheila Schuster, an advocate for issues such as mental health, health care and disability.

As a mother, I'm fed up with the questionable choices made by the leaders who are entrusted to serve and protect their citizens. As a resident of Kentucky, I need to know that our leadership is willing to invest in the life that my son will have here. I need to know that when he's old enough to go to school, he'll have every opportunity to learn and succeed as well as his friends in Maryland and his cousins in California. And I need to know that the air he breathes and the water he drinks is just as safe here as it is anyplace else and that he will experience a community in which people are treated fairly and justly.

As a mother, I'm fed up with the questionable choices made by the leaders who are entrusted to serve and protect their citizens. As a resident of Kentucky, I need to know that our leadership is willing to invest in the life that my son will have here. I need to know that when he's old enough to go to school, he'll have every opportunity to learn and succeed as well as his friends in Maryland and his cousins in California. And I need to know that the air he breathes and the water he drinks is just as safe here as it is anyplace else and that he will experience a community in which people are treated fairly and justly.

Kentucky is now surrounded on three sides by neighbor states that are making dynamic conservative changes to their economic policy and experiencing dynamic results. Recently we learned that the conservative leadership of Indiana has led to a $1.2 billion dollar surplus in that state's coffers. By cutting spending, finding prudent efficiencies and without raising any taxes, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has put Indiana on a path to financial prosperity. By assuring businesses that the state won't come around with its tax collecting hands out any time soon, they've vastly improved their business climate.