OpinionJanuary 4, 2007
Speak Out 1/4/07
Getting help; Music for charity; Late information; What you're worth; Bikes in alley; Interpreting laws; Stingy city; Thanks for help; Swift execution; Closed post offices; Second-worst roads; Medication caution; Be self-reliant; Reason to rejoice
Getting help
TO THE veteran who is caught in the trap of disability, my heart goes out to you. I'm sorry that you have to suffer more at the hands of red tape while those who know how to use the system slide through without problems. It is the abusers that make life difficult for the truly needy. I hope you are in contact with our federal legislators to get their help in this process. I also hope that you are using every accessible program to benefit your family. I also hope that those in positions to help you do their part in helping as many times I have heard that those in a position to help are far from helpful.
Music for charity
I think it was a wonderful idea for the John Hale Band to play on New Year's Eve and donate money to charity. I had a great time. I hope this will become an annual event.
Late information
A recent Speak Out contributor must have missed the original Dec. 14 article about the DWI drug law. No where in that article did it state that over-the-counter or prescribed drugs would be exempt. I and the many others who read the article could not have all misread the same thing. It was not until this latest article that it stated that prescribed and over-the-counter drugs would be exempt.
What you're worth
Some of the comments about minimum wage seem rather one-sided. We have a small business and have had many employees over the years. We pay twice the minimum wage for a job that only requires simple common sense and no previous experience or training. We still can't find decent help. The minimum wage is not the main problem. People are the problem. I always thought my dad, who was self-employed for 45 years, was wrong that pay is not a motivator. Guess what? He was absolutely right. Very few people are forced to work for minimum wage. Most are too lazy to make themselves worth more to an employer. Making yourself worth more is your job, not the employer's job. If the only job that your skills qualify you for pays minimum wage, then that is all I believe you should be paid. I do realize that a college education is not for everyone, but there is nothing stopping a person from learning a skill or a trade.
Bikes in alley
My wife reported a couple of bicycles that were left in an alley to the Cape Girardeau Police Department Saturday. Several days later, they are still there. No wonder when a bike is stolen the owner never gets it back.
Interpreting laws
Here we go again. First Cape Girardeau interprets the laws the way it wants and taxes restaurants. Now Cape is interpreting the Missouri minimum-wage law to apply to everyone but city employees. Who is running our city government and interpreting these laws? In the long run, the city will get nailed for disobeying our state laws. But who will it hurt? It will hurt our city. Think of that the next time Election Day rolls around.
Stingy city
YOU HAVE to love our local government. Missouri citizens voted to raise the minimum wage. That vote carried overwhelmingly locally. But the city says our voices should not be heard. The city says it would cost an additional $110,000 to give minimum-wage employees a raise. That's money that would be spent locally and would help local businesses. What a bunch of cheap-minded, uncaring people we have in charge here. I might put a sign in my yard protesting this, but I don't remember if it's legal to do so.
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Thanks for help
I WANT to thank the people who helped me with my wreck on I-55 at Exit 96 on Nov. 27. Thanks again for stopping and helping me.
Swift execution
IT BURNS me up that the U.S, can help Iraq carry out a swift execution for Saddam Hussein, which is the right thing to do. But here in the U.S., how many do we have sitting on death row and the taxpayers are feeding them? We need to carry out those executions swiftly.
Closed post offices
I NOTICED the flag was halfway down when I was in Cape Girardeau, and I had to think for a minute, "Why's that flag halfway down? Oh, yeah, President Ford died." And the post offices were closed for his funeral as well as for New Year's Day. It was a great inconvenience for me. President Ford lived a full life. He was happy to serve our nation, and I think it's enough that his body laid in state. Do we really need the post offices closed too?
Second-worst roads
WE HAVE the second-worst roads in the country, and our highway death rate is high. If we had the same per-capita death rate as Illinois, there would be 750 more Missourians alive today from this past year.
Medication caution
I OVERDOSED last night. I'm a diabetic, and I take a lot of medicine. I mixed a prescription drug with a non-prescription drug. I also had a sugar low at the same time, which is dangerous. Please alert people to read the labels and consult their doctors.
Be self-reliant
I DISAGREE that it's the government's job to support anyone's family. Early in our lives we had to sell off things when my spouse was going through college. Things are tough, and it's up to your to get out there and get a job. That is true service to America: to be as self-reliant as you can and to stop blaming the government. I don't understand how some people think the government can do everything for everybody.
Reason to rejoice
IN AN article in the Word and Way, which is the Missouri Baptist Association newspaper, I read where there were 1.5 million babies born last year to unmarried women. Most of the increase was in the age range of 25 to 29. But the great thing I noticed in this article was the births to unmarried teens dropped. In 1970, 50 percent of the unmarried teens had births, it had gone down to 24 percent last year. That is better than 50 percent decrease. That calls for a hallelujah.
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