OpinionMay 3, 1998
SPEAKOUT
THE FEDERAL government took 21.2 percent out of the economy in taxes last year. In 1992, the figure was 17.7 percent. I received that information just recently from the Heritage Foundation. That means that under Clinton there has been an increase of taxes taken out of our economy of 3.5 percentage points. He's quite a spender in addition to being- quite a tax ripoff artist...
Tax bite has increased under Clinton
THE FEDERAL government took 21.2 percent out of the economy in taxes last year. In 1992, the figure was 17.7 percent. I received that information just recently from the Heritage Foundation. That means that under Clinton there has been an increase of taxes taken out of our economy of 3.5 percentage points. He's quite a spender in addition to being- quite a tax ripoff artist.
Classifieds are easier to read
I DON'T know what is different about the want ads that you're doing now, but it's so much clearer to read. I really appreciate what you've done.
Respect for Reggie White
I AGREE with every word that came out of Reggie White's mouth. I admire and respect him for speaking the truth and sticking to his guns.
You are what you defend
I AM greatly pleased to see that Peter Kinder is backing the tobacco companies. He and Kenneth Starr are on my list of people who should be backing the tobacco companies. The tobacco companies, as we know, are some of the slimiest, sleaziest liars. They're killing tens of hundreds of thousands per year and walking around very smugly while they're doing it. When I see people like that defending somebody, I'm reminded what my old professor said: He who defends a dirty S.O.B. is a dirty S.O.B.
Use more discretion in news stories
I OFTEN wish for the old courtesy of the South when men did not speak indelicately in front of women, a time when you could pick up the newspaper and there would not be unnecessary references to sex slaves. It seems like the articles that come through over the AP are meant to titillate versus inform. I would think you could have edited out the words "sex slaves" quite a few times on that piece about the Japanese women. I also think that it could give some perverts out there ideas. I ask that our local paper, if the national news services don't have sense enough, to edit things out, to make this area a better place to raise our daughters.
Band deserves more news coverage
I WANT to congratulate the Central High School Band on the great jazz performance. They should get an award for their great performance, and they should also get more news coverage. So come on, KFVS and Southeast Missourian, get with it and be there for our bands.
Your lucky day! More vacuum attachments
THE LADY who purchased the floor and carpet cleaner from the First Presbyterian Church's yard sale last Saturday can come by the church office for additional brushes that went with the cleaner.
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
Frequent writers should use street corners
I REALLY think there ought to be a limit on the letters to the editor, especially from the repeats from the same people, because it cuts way down on the space for Speak Out. If these people want to get up and lecture, let them go to a street corner.
A tale of two hospitals
ONCE UPON a time there were two local hospitals. They decided to have a canoe race on the Current River. Both teams practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, Hospital A won by a mile. Hospital B became very discouraged and depressed. The management of Hospital B decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found. A measurement team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was that Hospital A had eight people rowing and one person steering, while Hospital B had one person rowing and eight people steering. So the management of Hospital B hired a consulting company and paid it incredible amounts of money. The consulting company advised that too many people were steering the boat and not enough people were rowing. To prevent losing to Hospital A again next year, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to four steering supervisors, three area steering superintendents, and one assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the one person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the Rowing Team Quality First Program with meetings, dinners, and free pens for the rower. "We must give the rower empowerment and enrichment through this quality program." The next year, Hospital A won by two miles. Humiliated, the management of Hospital B laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles and cancelled all capital investments for new equipment. They then used the money saved to give a high-performance award to the steering managers and distributed the rest of the money as bonuses to the senior executives. The end.
Other ideas for Red Star neighborhood
I THOROUGHLY disagree with the suggestion recently made in the Southeast Missourian regarding the buyout in the flood area of the Red Star neighborhood. It was along this line: that the land cleared be used for recreational vehicles and to develop a community garden area. I am not in favor of an RV park. I fail to see the advantage of the garden. Residents in our area have garden plots. And the disadvantage of people coming from other areas are is that they are not close enough to keep an eye on their garden. There is always a temptation to run a bicycle through these planted areas or help yourself when no one is around when or if the vegetables gets a chance to mature. I suggest the area be made into a playground or a baseball or softball diamond, put up a basketball court and develop a suitable place a play. How about a football field and playground equipment for younger children? There is enough acreage for all of these ideas. There would have to be supervision to develop these areas. I have a plan for that too. Use our jail inmates as manpower. I'm sure a number of parents would help too just to have a place closer to home for their children to play instead of in the streets or a much-too-small back yard. Please, let's not have an RV park in the north end of town. I'd like for our new councilman to suggest these ideas to the City Council.
Just a Republican scare tactic
WELL, THE pseudo-claim that Social Security was going broke was just like the energy crisis scare in 1973, an excuse to raise the prices way high. Then we got plenty of gas. They got their way by raising the prices. This Social Security crisis is just a Republican scare to raise retirement age and to privatize Social Security. The Republicans are just jealous of it because it was Roosevelt's plan.
Let contractor fix broken sewer
AFTER READING the article about the Perryville Road problem with the contractor severing a lateral line from somebody's septic tank and the city's going to do preliminary proposal on a sewer district for those people: What's wrong with the contractor? This company broke the line. It should just fix it. It was perfectly good before the contractor came in and disturbed it. I guess nobody wants to own up to their own actions anymore.
Don't cut special education funding
I LIVE in Cape Girardeau on South Sprigg. Regarding an article your paper ran not long ago about special education teachers and behavioral disorder teachers that Cape Girardeau is considering continuing to budget for: I have a child who is autistic, and he goes to May Greene School. I really think that this would be a very, very bad idea. Children with those type of disorders need special education and special attention. They need one-on-one training. The school board should take into account the children's benefit, not just the dollars and cents.
Teddy had the perfect answer
I THINK Theodore Roosevelt had the perfect answer to Peter Kinder. He said he'd been called a mediocre man, but this was an unwarranted flattery. He's a politician of monumental little.
Story Tags
Advertisement
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.
Related
Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
