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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2003)
Page 14 The INDEPENDENT, April 17, 2003 — La tta rs , continuad From page 3 ed by the Congress last year It is difficult how links be provided tax relief for the tween organized terrorist “wealthy”. Certainly the $500 groups and Iraq could be fabri per person tax rebates all tax cated by the U.S. when the payers got last year provided British forces in Iraq have found some tax relief to everyone! evidence of that linkage, when Under the rest of that tax bill the Iraqis have been operating which Congress passed, the a terrorist training facility in persons benefitting the most Iraq, and when the Iraqi gov are those making less than ernment, or what is left of it, $30,000 per year. They get a calls upon terrorists to come to 33% reduction in tax. Those its aid. Remember, Saddam making more than $200,000 has been making cash pay per year get only a 11 % reduc ments to the families of Pales tion. Under the current tax tinian terrorist homicide measure proposed by the Ad bombers. ministration, taxpayers earning You also wrote that shrinking less than $35,000 per year will public funds have been misallo- pay no federal income tax at all! cated to the military. In fact, The major consequence of even with the additional funds these two tax bills will be to shift that have been allocated to the the tax burden even further Defense Budget by President onto the “wealthy". We all Bush, the Defense Budget con should remember that the top tinues to consume the smallest 5% of all wage earners already percentage, of the nation’s pay over 50% of all federal in Gross Domestic Product, that it come tax dollars collected. has at any time since the Even President Kennedy, in 1930’s. The United States 1961, said that the way to re spent almost 3 times more on vive the economy and increase Defense, as a percentage of Federal revenues was to re the GDP, at the time of the duce taxes. Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 It is equally erroneous to as (and John F. Kennedy was sert that those dissenting from President), than it spends to public policies could be found day. Moreover, the Federal to be security risks and sum Budget, even in the Bush Ad marily jailed. Nothing in the ministration, continues to grow homeland security measure even faster than the rate of in that was passed allows the flation. Federal public funds Federal government to do any aren’t shrinking, and Defense such thing. The persons incar keeps getting allocated less cerated without bail and hear and less of them. ings are enemy combatants Your editorial repeats the captured overseas, and are not mantra that the tax cuts adopt American citizens. American citizens are fully protected by the Constitution, and nothing in federal legislation has, or can, affect their rights. You have written that the Ad ministration wants war with Iraq for power. That assertion disre gards a statement Secretary of State Colin Powell made in England not long ago. Para phrasing, he stated “For over a century America has sent its sons and daughters abroad in harm’s way to secure the free dom of people in other nations. And all we have asked in return is a small plot of land in which to bury our dead.” Your assertion is equally er roneous that the Administration has destroyed “working, effec tive coalitions that date back as long as 40 years.” What coali tions? NATO? The French have not been a political member of NATO since Charles DeGaulle. Germany has supported us only when its government found it to be in Germany’s best interest (it did not support us in Vietnam, for example). Russia was the cornerstone of the “evil empire” until the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia is headed by a former KGB spy master, and has never been part of any coalition with the U.S. NATO did agree to defend Turkey when Turkey supported the U.S. action against Iraq. The statement you made about the Administration de stroying a budget surplus built up for Social Security and Medicare trust funds also is in School Board, continued. From page 10 cumbered, i.e., needed to fulfill district obligations. She ex plained that the figures may not be complete, but they are as accurate as possible. Accord ing to Plews, this is one more step toward determining the ac tual ending fund balance, an essential part of budgeting for next year. The district’s cash flow has been eased, with staff agree ment, by eliminating a lump sum previously issued in June and, instead, prorating that amount throughout the summer months. Funderburg told the board that he thought the dis trict could make it through the remainder of the school year without reducing contingency funds or borrowing. P.I.E. Awards Awards were given to Karen Roberts for volunteering her time and skills to repair the high school curtains, to Dick and Kathleen Gwin for the donation of $500 to assist with the cost of softball uniforms and the pur chase of hats and shirts for the football team, and to Roger Campbell for hauling textbooks from the book depository to the district. School Calendar The board was presented with a calendar, unanimously recommended by staff, that in cludes a student release time of 1:22 p.m. on Fridays,with the remainder of the normal staff day used for in-service staff de velopment. Funderburg told the board that the staff will be formed into professional learn ing teams that will be able to re search best teaching practices across curriculum and age groups. Regular, scheduled in- service will allow consistent fol low-up and, according to Fun derburg, teachers will be able to begin using the data avail able from state testing to in crease learning opportunities for students. Director Leslie O’Leary, and several audience members, were uncertain that teachers would use the time as it is in tended. Harrison explained that, unlike in-service days as they are now, regular Friday in- service would be part of the scheduled work week. Funder burg said that a close watch will be kept to ensure that the time is used for in-service training. O ’Leary was also concern about parents having to provide for child care earlier in the day on Friday. The board unani mously approved the calendar as recommended. error. There never has been an actual Federal budget surplus. There was a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion over 10 years. When Federal revenues de clined following the economic turndown that began in Presi dent Clinton’s administration, the projected surplus declined. A surplus is by definition an ex cessive collection of taxes! It is supposed to decline. The tax rebates of 2002 were so small, those “tax cuts” (the only ones so far) had negligible impact on the “surplus.” Medicare and So cial Security have been, and are being, fully funded. There are no Medicare and Social Security “trust funds”. Since the 1960’s, Social Secu rity and Medicare fund collec tions have been commingled with general Federal tax collec tions. During President Clin ton’s administration, congres sional Republicans proposed re-segregating Social Security and Medicare tax collections, excluding them from calcula tions of budget surpluses. Con gressional Democrats rejected the proposal. Reasonable persons may disagree with the decision to at tack Iraq. Those who oppose the war because innocent civil ians may die need to responsi bly consider the fate of those Iraqi civilians at the hands of Saddam’s torture masters. Iraq is a state where people are fed feet first into a plastic shredder, are hung in public squares to bleed to death after their tongues are cut out, and are buried alive in hot asphalt. Iraq has killed thousands of its own citizens, including women and children, with nerve gas. Sad dam has allowed Iraq’s children to go hungry and diseased, while he diverts oil revenues to build more and more grandiose palaces, and to work on pro ducing a nuclear weapon. We cannot negotiate a solution to all this with a madman like Sad dam. Americans who allow all this to go on for no other reason than because of their patholog ical hatred of President Bush are not necessarily unpatriotic, or treasonous, but they are at least Bad Americans. David B. Smith Vernonia LANDSCAPING? WE’VE GOT IT! Sand tarkdust Soil Amendment Cedar Decorative Rock ncrete Blocks Chips Railroad Ties Boulders Stepping Stones Lawn Ornaments Compost ZSÎîÇïSt’jS Îl» Driveway Rock Drain Rock Flagstone WE DELIVER Open Mon thru Fri 7 to 4:30 Saturdays 8 to 4:30 Scappoose Sand & Gravel Co. 5 0 3 -5 4 3 -8 8 2 1
