ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601100003
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
THE ROANOKE County Board of Supervisors has decided that the county will build a new high school in the Cave Spring area. Supervisors also expect voters to approve a bond referendum to pay for it. To pay for the bonds, they have discussed raising the real-estate tax rate. Well, the present tax rate of $1.13 [per $100 assessed value] is already too high.
I received a notice recently that my real-estate assessment was being increased. The increased amount that I'll pay for real-estate taxes will be nearly $70.
According to the Board of Supervisors, the amount needed to build a new high school would be approximately $20 from each real-estate owner in the county. Simple math illustrates that the county can build a new school by using one-third of the real-estate assessment increase. Supervisors don't need to increase that $1.13 rate at all. In fact, if they want voters to approve the bond referendum, then they should lower the tax rate and employ a few belt-tightening measures.
The supervisors and county administrator know exactly where every dollar of money goes, but I believe they just don't care where it comes from.
County taxpayers pay real-estate, personal-property, meals, lodging, sales, gas, cigarette, roll-back and utility taxes. We also pay for county automobile decals, which is a tax, and the enormous water bill. If they intend to raise any taxes to build a new school, then they're just asking for too much.
DAVID S. COUREY
ROANOKE
Correction
A SENTENCE in Bud Santoro's Jan. 4 letter (``Congress deserves public's contempt'') should have read: ``While he collected his $11,000 for the month, plus all the nice little extras Congress has provided for itself, thousands of federal and nonfederal employees had to explain to their kids that Santa Claus was only for politicians that year.''
Insecurity abounds as arms proliferate
I AGREE with your position (Dec. 29 editorial, ``A call to spend less on arms''). We've talked about disarmament and, as you pointed out, have reduced military spending some since the end of the Cold War. However, the world still continues on the false premise that we're made more secure by creating more deadly weapons and maintaining massive armies. Rather than making us more secure, this adds to fear and mistrust, and motivates other countries to increase their armaments, which further adds to fear and insecurity.
We in the United States need to take dramatic leadership in reducing the cycle of fear. We're a leader nation in many ways. I'm happy that we often respond by helping in times of disaster and special need, but our priorities still remain off balance. To continue to spend nearly one-third of the world's $850 billion for military preparations, and to be the world's leading exporter of the means of violence and death, isn't what makes me proud to be a U.S. citizen.
In 1953, Dwight Eisenhower said: ``Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in a final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed - those who are cold and not clothed.'' Our priorities need to shift in a major way from continuing support of the ``god of war'' to helping people meet their basic needs: food, clean water, clothing, adequate housing, etc. This will go far in creating the security and climate for workable international law and worldwide cooperation in building structures for peace, based on mutual concern and respect rather than fear.
OWEN G. STULTZ
ROANOKE
No good even as wrapping paper?
BILL Nuckolls' letter to the editor (Jan. 1, ``Can't hide a liberal agenda'') is right on the mark. In my business, I see many people, and the vast majority think we deserve a better newspaper than what we have.
I received a gift wrapped in the Bluefield, W.Va., Daily Telegraph and found its editorial page far superior to yours. It's a good thing you have the only show in town. Otherwise, I don't think you would still be around. I hope this will be corrected some day.
JAMES K. MORGAN
ROANOKE
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB