Speak Out 4/27/11

Prisoners' work

I just heard on the news that a state has got their prisoners out to work cleaning up the debris from the storms. Why in the world don't we do that in every state? I'm sure some of those young boys that are in there would love to get out and get fresh air and work.

Unions' problem

I read in Speak Out someone said that he would have no rights with big companies. We've got unions, but the problem is we haven't got any big companies. The companies tend to move away when you have unions.

Tax brackets

RECENTLY in Speak Out I read a couple of retirees complaining because they pay almost 25 percent of their income in income tax. They must be rich, because I also saw a few days earlier that President Obama made $1.7 million last year and he paid 25.6 percent in taxes, or $436,000. Isn't it funny they always say we want to tax the rich, but then President Obama's paying the same rate as a retired couple in Southeast Missouri? Doesn't make much financial sense to me.

Great decision

I'VE known Mr. Welker for quite some time. I feel like Cape Girardeau has a wonderful superintendent. He has the best interests of our school system at heart and also our students. I'm glad to see that after he retires, within a month he's coming back and going to be the superintendent again. I think that's a wise decision by the school board to have him return him if that's what he wishes to do.

Storm warnings

REGARDING the coverage we had on our storms recently, Bob Reeves and the other meteorologist that was with him both did an excellent job of informing the public of the storms that were approaching us. I know they work long, hard hours, but I thought they did a superb job. I'd like to congratulate them and KFVS12 for getting the reports out to us as soon as they could.

Flying around

I believe that if you want to balance the United States' budget, we need to furlough government employees one day a month at a minimum and ground Obama's plane. You don't see other presidents of countries running all over the place when they are in financial disarray.

Plenty of jobs

IN response to a recent Speak Out comment: Jay Nixon is doing a good job of reining in too much spending, and also he's thoughtful about the way he goes about it. I don't think we're going to be in the poorhouse anymore than any other state. There seem to be enough jobs. There are jobs listed in the help-wanted section of the paper if you want one.

Weatherman

I want to say thank you to the weathermen for being on top of the weather recently. You guys are really appreciated. Thank you so much.

Not fair

I wholeheartedly agree with the people who say let Jim Welker, the superintendent of the Cape Girardeau School District, retire and stay retired. It's not fair what he's doing.

VA care

MY husband was told by VA doctors to go to the nearest hospital in an emergency. He had a medical problem and was taken to the nearest hospital by ambulance. The VA was notified by me and the hospital. The claim was denied. The VA laws are ridiculous. A veteran should not have to drive two or three hours to a VA hospital in an emergency.

Pet obesity

IT'S good to see we're getting serious about the obesity crisis. In 2010, $25 million was spent of on pet obesity.

'Feel wealthy'

FORTY percent of millionaires say they don't "feel wealthy" and would need about $7.5 million to feel well healed.

Wages down

WAY to go, working men and women. It's sad you haven't been compensated appropriately. Since 1972, labor productivity has risen 114 percent while wages have dropped 6 percent. No wonder you're upset.

Voting 'present'

IT has been noted on several occasions that President Obama is not a quick and decisive decision maker. Should this come as a surprise to anyone based on his lackluster voting record while an Illinois state senator? What was it, 120 "present" votes? It's pretty obvious that he avoided votes on many issues so that his votes couldn't be held against him in some future election.

Mean-spirited action

PRESIDENT Obama has once again shown himself to be a mean-spirited and vindictive person. There is no doubt that denying the Houston Space Center one of the space shuttles and instead giving them two seats from the shuttle is a direct slap at predecessor George W. Bush. Obama is thumbing his nose at the entire state of Texas and all of the people who have devoted their lives to the space shuttle project just to feed his massive ego and his insatiable desire for some kind of revenge.

Clearing the street

PUT a bike trail on my street and get the street cleared. We have one house with eight cars and another with four cars. We have boats, campers, utility trailers. Everyone has a two-car garage and driveways that they don't use. I wish I owned the vacant lot on the street. I would make it a parking lot.

Reverse action

THOSE against implementing bike lanes have clearly demonstrated that they are self-centered, irrational and totally misinformed. Their reaction to this proposal has been nothing short of an embarrassment to the people of this city. Hopefully the city will now realize that the naysayers' concerns are invalid and will reverse their decision and implement the bike lanes on Perryville Road, Lexington Avenue and Cape Rock Drive for the good of all residents of Cape Girardeau.

Blaming others

WHY should people who make more money be taxed more? This is not communism or socialism. This is capitalism. If you want more money, then work for it. People seem to always blame someone else for their own problems.

Blaming Bush

WHEN Bush was in office and gas prices went up, all we heard was the huge outcry from the Democrats about how the Bush family was to blame and caused them to be raised on purpose. Now that they are even higher we hear the Democrats say it is not Obama's fault. They come up with a multitude of other reasons.