ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 19, 1996 TAG: 9602190088
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
PATRICIA P. Hammond's legitimate concern (Jan. 23 letter to the editor, ``Look to other tax sources for schools'') regarding a proposed real-estate tax increase for a new public high school is one to which all homeowners should give deep thought. Her proposal for a local 1 percent sales tax, in lieu of heaping more of the disproportionate tax load on already overburdened landowners, is one whose time has come.
The real-estate tax was implemented at a time when landowners enjoyed more of a say in local government than landless citizens. Their greatest distinction now is picking up the proverbial lion's share of the tab for public education that appears to have become a vehicle for forced equality.
I concur with Hammond, but with one major change. I move for a statewide sales tax to replace all real-estate and personal-property taxes, with food and medicine being exempt from that tax.
In addition to her accurate observation that property taxes are inequitable because property owners seem to be singled out ``to pay for everything,'' these taxes also are unfair because they are assessed without consideration of the owner's ability to pay them. Also, they represent a penalty on more economically astute individuals, and represent an additional, never-ending, ever-increasing tax - on the same money - that is as antiquated as annexation of counties by cities. Thus, doing away with real-estate and personal-property taxes, and distributing the local tax burden more evenly, would eliminate one motivation built into annexation proceedings.
Retirees whose sole support is Social Security are already in trouble. And if they have reduced dependence on that cruel joke, in spite of liberal congressmen's efforts to the contrary, it's a virtual guarantee they will be among the first to lose Social Security benefits - in spite of having paid into that phantom trust fund during their entire working lives. This is called a ``means test.'' In Bedford County, we have another phrase for that.
RAYMOND L. WILKERSON
EVINGTON
City life is good - for tax increases
I HEARD a radio news report recently that said Roanoke will elect four City Council members and a mayor on May 3. The report said things were good in the city, and it implied that no conditions existed to provoke much of a challenge to the incumbents.
Did you receive another real-estate assessment this year, which results in another tax increase - just like last year and the year before? See how much your taxes have increased since the 1994 election. Have any of the incumbents attempted to lower the tax rates to offset these assessment increases?
Roanoke County residents should also check out their tax increases, and renters should check to see how much their rent has increased. They may not know it, but a large part of most rent increases is to offset real-estate tax increases.
Now maybe things are so bad that those good city officials we elected just can't possibly do without another $1.3 million to be generated by the new city assessments. I don't know about you, but my income hasn't gone up much in the past few years. It would be nice if these officials would consider that before deciding to strip another $1.3 million from us this year.
THOMAS E. SCARCE
ROANOKE
Daily deeds don't nullify a sin
IN RESPONSE to Mark Martin's Jan. 29 letter to the editor, ``Gays, too, have morals and families'':
He says he's a gay man. He outlines his activities - going to work, church, jogging, etc. The trouble is he missed the basic point by a mile.
The Pharisees in the Bible did the right things, like going to church and going about their daily business. Yet Jesus condemned them. They looked good on the outside, but were rotten on the inside, and God looks at the heart.
Homosexuality is a sin.
JOHN KLUCK
LAFAYETTE
Cranwell's outrages keep on coming
AFTER PONDERING Del. Dick Cranwell's involvement with Trigon while crafting insurance-industry legislation, I wonder just how many of his outrages are required to sufficiently embarrass Vinton's voters. This isn't the first time he has been caught basking in a lucrative conflict of interest. So, why do the good people of Vinton insist on shaming themselves by voting for him?
Indeed, Cranwell represents the very worst in American politics - a career politician who enriches himself on legislation he crafts; a shifty power broker who makes sure that ethics laws have large loopholes; a pompous trickster who uses taxpayers' money to buy favor with voters; a profane autocrat who shamelessly wields dictatorial power in the legislature; and a slick campaigner who smiles while misleading voters on his positions. When it comes to influence peddling, Cranwell clearly floats to the top. Now he wants the right to sue his political opponents for saying bad things about him, forcing them to appear before judges that he appointed. How drunk with power can one guy be?
SAMUEL J. WALLIN
ROANOKE
Surely Mrs. Clinton is joking
HILLARY Clinton's tongue-in-cheek book about the need for the whole ``village" to take an interest in raising each child slyly ignores the fact that more than half the population has been systematically locked out of the "village" for more than 30 years.
Men, especially white men, have been portrayed as mostly uncaring, abusive, unknowing, bigoted, self-serving religious fanatics who cannot be trusted to raise or educate their own children properly without the enlightened help of government and countless special-interest groups.
But now that the system has helped bring the family to near extinction, Ms. Clinton is asking the "whole village" to re-educate this generation in the parenting skills and/or processes our generation wasn't allowed to be a part of.
Yes, kids are dying, but not from laughter. Her big joke isn't funny.
JEROME C. WATKINS
SALEM
Cruelty label is not deserved
I AM SICKENED by the hateful message in Philip Rosdol's Jan. 31 letter to the editor, ``Republicans believe in charity for none.''
I consider myself a liberal Republican, and have been a dues-paying, participating member of the Republican Party of Virginia. In 1994, I was a delegate for Jim Miller at the statewide convention. I bring this to Rosdol's attention since not all Republicans believe in charity for none. I can't think of a single person - unless they're mean-spirited, selfish and cruel - who would favor tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of heat for the homes of our communities' senior citizens. When I was a Boy Scout, I helped an old lady across the street.
MARTY GLOSS
BLACKSBURG
Deal with snow as New England does
I FOUND Joel Turner's Feb. 8 article (``Should buses go in snow?'') very insightful. He quoted School Board member John Saunders as saying, ``Schools stay open in colder climates. We need to see if there is anything we can do to stay open more.''
He discussed chains on buses, and having parents take their children to school. Being from New England where there's more snow and much colder temperatures, I know they don't have the problems we do here.
In New England, they repeatedly plow, sand and salt the streets until only bare pavement is showing. In our Southwest County neighborhood, the main hill was still completely snow-covered five days after the snow stopped falling. There was no salt, sand or gravel - only snow and ice. One plow went through on a Saturday night, and hasn't been back since.
We shouldn't need to attack the symptom of children missing school by putting chains on buses, risking the lives of children and bus drivers by sending buses out or forcing parents to risk their lives and their vehicles driving their children to school. I've seen too many cars scratched and scraped recently. This makes us all pay higher insurance premiums.
We need to fix the problem - the poor condition of roadways after a snowfall. This responsibility falls to the management of our highway departments. Road crews need to put down salt, sand and/or gravel before the first flake falls, and then continue to work on the roads after the snow falls until they're safe for travel. Then, our children will not miss much school, and all of us who must be on the roads (including bus drivers) will be much safer.
SKIP LARRINGTON
ROANOKE
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