OpinionJanuary 22, 2008
Speak Out 1/22/08
Hoover hogs; Right to be heard; Privilege to vote; Alternative education; A good investment; Getting the word out; Have no choice; Ethanol subsidies; No quick bailouts; Snooping public; Capitalism, socialism; Crossing the road; Soak the rich; Big drug companies; Avoiding sales taxes; Paying teachers
Hoover hogs
I'D LIKE to know if depression and recession are the same thing. When I was a young buck back in the late 1920s, they called it a depression, and we lived on Hoover hogs and turnips. Need I say more?
Right to be heard
I DO not believe in bad seeds. I think people can be reformed. A bad man may be evil, but he has the right to be proven not guilty by the courts. This is the way of punishment and reformation, not revenge or an eye for an eye. This way may change the offender's heart, spirit or soul. We all deserve a chance to win. Bad things in the media or bad people we see or hear or talk about in the media deserve to tell their side of the story. These people are our role models.
Privilege to vote
THE PEOPLE of the United States have the greatest governing and legal system granted to any people in the world. Throughout history, men have fought and died for this system. Let us not let it slip away. Let us act. Understand your privilege, your right and your civic duty. We can change things, but only if each citizen does his part. To retain our honored privilege to participate in our own governance, we must each and every one of us vote.
Alternative education
STUDENT CANDACE Moore said it best: "This school is a blessing." Thank you, Southeast Missourian, for the excellent article on the Alternative Education Center. And thank you, teachers, for the important work you do.
A good investment
AFTER READING more about the proposed sales-tax increase for our parks and to build an aquatic recreation facility, I changed my mind and will likely vote yes in April. I, too, am worried about public overspending, but I recognize a good investment when I see one. This will be good for the area, not only for Cape Girardeau residents. It will make the city more attractive and a better place to live for all of us.
Getting the word out
IN RESPONSE to the woman whose son has autism and heard folks making rude comments regarding her son: I know it hurts. People don't understand what is going on in his life and speak because they don't have the proper information. Education is the key, and you are a great mom for getting the information out. Your child deserves the very best, as do all children.
Have no choice
UNBORN CHILDREN commit no crimes, do nothing wrong and don't have a choice. Over 40 million children have been killed since abortion was legalized. How many criminals have received the death penalty?
Ethanol subsidies
ETHANOL PLANTS aren't getting much subsidy. Most of the subsidy is a blender tax credit given to the oil companies to encourage blending ethanol. And 10 percent ethanol is currently selling for less than regular gas. Ask at you gas station if it the gas it has labeled as regular has 10 percent ethanol in it. I'll bet it does, because ethanol is cheaper than regular. Regarding subsidies: What does it cost to protect an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf?
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No quick bailouts
AS THE stock market continues to lose points every other day, we seem to be in a recession. What will the Fed do? Probably lower rates more, giving money out practically for free. This isn't the way to cure a recession. It's more likely to become a depression with that attitude. People are not being responsible for bad loans they took out. I don't want a socialist policy of bailing out people who made bad decisions.
Snooping public
ALL PRAISE to the Cape Gir-ardeau School Board for keeping the public and media noses out of their business of hiring a new superintendent. Maybe by not seeking community input and keeping the media at bay the system has a chance to hire a superintendent who will get things back on track and keep it there.
Capitalism, socialism
IT SEEMS the government likes to force things on the American people. We are losing our rights as a democratic country. We can't smoke in public in Illinois, and we are mandated by our government to utilize a insufficient fuel called ethanol in Missouri. Does this seem like a free country?
Crossing the road
WALKING TO and from class across SEMO's campus, I begin to wonder what these white lines are painted across the roads. I would assume they were crosswalks for pedestrians, but as I step forward, I almost always come close to being plowed down by a motorist. Do people not realize that crosswalks are for people to walk across?
Soak the rich
I HEAR a lot of presidential candidates complaining about the economy. OK, it's not the best it has ever been. But overall growth, though slow, continues. Some want to improve the economy by taxing upper-income earners into oblivion. Sounds good, doesn't it? Hit the rich where they live. After all, it's just not fair they became rich through their own drive to succeed and their hard work, while I lazied my way through life and barely made a living. Tax them into the poor house with the rest of us. Of course, if we do that, there will be no one to pay my wages so I can afford my cable TV and three cars and cell phones and Xboxes and big-screen TV. I'm trying to remember the last time a poor man was able to hire me for a job and pay me. Who cares. If we're all poor, the government will take care of us. Life will be good. I will have to give up all my freedoms, but who cares? We'll all be poor together and ever.
Big drug companies
I SO agree with Dr. Khonda Andrews' Jan. 17 column. How many people do you know, especially the elderly, who are on multiple medications? I worked in a pharmacy for many years and saw the phases doctors go through with so-called illnesses. It is just too much of a coincidence that so many patients would have the same ailments at the same time. Health care in this country has turned into a get-rich-quick scheme between the doctors and big drug companies. And we suffer for it. Ask questions when the doctor reaches for his prescription pad, such as the side effects and what will happen if you don't take it as opposed to what will happen if you do. Educate yourselves.
Avoiding sales taxes
I DON'T know about you, but with the high sales tax in Cape Girardeau, I go out of my way to buy on the Internet and avoid sales tax. If this new sales tax for the aquatic center goes into effect, more people will join me, and I will try even harder to avoid sales taxes on more items.
Paying teachers
THERE IS a big misconception about teachers and their pay. Teachers only work for nine months of the year, but they also only get paid for those nine months. They experience forced unemployment when school ends in May. Anyone in the work force could work for only nine months and have their paychecks spread out over 12 like teachers do. However, when those people saw how little pay they would actually receive, they'd quickly go back to the 12-month work. Also, teachers do not get paid for the days they are not working. For instance, they do not get paid for Christmas break, spring break, or any other holidays they are forced to take off. Others in the work force get weeks off with pay depending on the job and years they have put in. Many, if not most, teachers have two jobs just to make it month to month. They either teach during the week and take on any duty that pays, or they teach all day then tutor, coach or teach in other capacities until well into the evening or night. Others have part-time jobs outside of the school that take their nights, weekends and school breaks. Taking these things into consideration, you should see that teaching does not pay so well.
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