Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 18, 1993 TAG: 9312200314
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
First, at the risk of nitpicking, I'd like to point out: At 1993 rates, to be in the 35 percent combined federal and state income-tax bracket, he'd have to be receiving, before deductions and exemptions and excluding Social Security and self-employment income, at least $28,150 if he's single, or $47,800 if he's married. At that income level, it's hard to believe that he has any real need for any Social Security benefit.
Times have changed. It's time for our middle-class retirees to abandon the welfare mind-set that says ``the government f+ioweso me Social Security.'' The government cannot afford to support all healthy, able-bodied 65-year-olds who simply decide it's time to stop working. Social Security can and should provide a safety net to keep our elderly who can no longer support themselves from living in poverty. If a young adult receiving government assistance refused to take a job paying $20,000 per year because of what it would cost him in taxes and lost government benefits, we'd call him a welfare cheat. We're remarkably tolerant of the same attitude in older adults who've reached the socially acceptable retirement age of 65 (or even 62).
Personally, I'd rather not work until I die. Spending the last 20 years of life gardening or playing golf sounds great, but I don't expect the government to help foot the bill. I doubt the drafters of the original Social Security legislation envisioned that type of support for that length of time either.
I've heard many complaints that the current Social Security benefit barely provides a subsistence level of income for those with no other source of retirement income. Perhaps if we stopped paying healthy people with other sources of income to retire, and paid benefits only to those who cannot work and have no other income, we could provide a larger benefit to those who really need it.
THAYER CHANEY
BLACKSBURG
Raining on Roanoke's parade
I CANNOT believe that the city of Roanoke let the annual Christmas parade be canceled because of a few raindrops. There were a lot of kids, as well as adults, looking forward to this special event. Bedford, Salem and Blacksburg did some very smart planning.
And to the marketing department at Patrick Henry High School:
Lesson No. 1: Always have a rain date scheduled.
Lesson No. 2: Please tell the truth why you don't want to reschedule, and not some bum story about the participants having different schedules.
DAVID BROWN
ROANOKE
Telephone pitches ought to be illegal
ARE THERE people like me who detest telephone solicitations? There are two ways we might stop such activity:
Never ever buy anything offered by telephone solicitation, even $1.50 for a $1 bill. Never buy from anybody selling anything by telephone.
Get a law passed making it illegal to do such a thing.
WAYNE FINCH
DALEVILLE
Unzoned Houston became a mess
IN RESPONSE to Miles Holland's Dec. 7 letter to the editor (``Citizens want freedom from zoning'') about Houston, Texas, enjoying 70 years of freedom without zoning:
Has he ever been there? I've lived there. Houston was a boom town with oil money. It gave new meaning to the bumper sticker, ``Don't mess with Texas,'' because it was already a mess. Skyscrapers dot the city and are mixed in with houses and every type of business. Rush hour affects residential areas because of businesses located next to them. Houston no longer enjoys free zoning because any new building does have to meet new zoning standards to help correct some of the mistakes of the past.
Franklin County is not Houston, so to use it to back up your views on zoning is both inaccurate and inappropriate.
MICHELLE LOWE
BLACKSBURG
Labor's support wasn't unanimous
AS A RANK-and-file union member, I take issue with the Dec. 3 article by staff writer Joel Turner, ``Unions to support Garrison candidacy.''
I'd like to inform Gerald Meadows, president of the United Central Labor Council, that while he and the council gave unanimous endorsement to Garrison, the rank and file may not have that viewpoint. When Mr. Meadows evokes ``the unions,'' he's evoking the rank and file. But he had no consent from us (which is not unusual). He shouldn't have been surprised to find out that his and the council's viewpoint was certainly not shared unanimously among the rank and file.
RUSSELL McDANIEL
SALEM
For safety's sake, give a signal
WHAT HAS happened to courtesy and respect for other drivers?
Every day I'm amazed and angered at the number of people driving on our highways, streets and interstates who either don't know better or are just too rude to signal their intentions when passing, changing lanes, merging or turning. Don't they realize they're a danger to everybody around them? I've observed this occuring most often on interstates and in areas where there's heavy traffic congestion. Signaling is easy and it makes everyone safer. Are these people just ignorant or are they rude? I'm inclined to think the latter.
MONICA L. ROBERTSON
ROANOKE
by CNB