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Raise Pa. sales tax instead
Too many people can't afford to go shopping after paying for these and are just keeping their heads above water. It's hard enough without taking more of their take-home pay away from them.
Look at all the half-million-dollar homes going up all around us. These people can afford to go shopping for the luxuries they need to complete them. The second, third and fourth car, a new boat, a vacation home or even taking vacations year after year. This money is what should be taxed.
The money shouldn't be taken off the person who needs a new pair of shoes but can't afford them, but the people who could afford to go out and buy a pair to match every new outfit they are buying because they can.
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Marsha Harter
Prosperity
Front-page story
just isn't enough
On June 6, Clarksville celebrated its 100 years as a borough. In addition, the borough dedicated a monument honoring veterans of the 15322 zip code area for their service to our country.
At a time when there should have been media exposure, we found no one from this newspaper in attendance. A story was done earlier and received front-page exposure, for which we are appreciative. However, the beautiful monument was not uncovered until June 6 and your readers did not get an opportunity to see it. There should have been someone from the press in attendance to photograph the monument and observe the number of persons in attendance.
At a time when this nation is engaged in two wars, there cannot be too much exposure given to thanking the American veteran for his/her service to our nation.
There are over 850 names of Clarksville area veterans on this monument, including veterans of the Civil War. More veterans' names will be added in the near future.
We only wish the media would give the deserving exposure to events such as this on the date when the event is scheduled.
Tom Shumaker, Chairman
Clarksville
The writer is area Veterans' Monument Committee chairman.
Questions about laws
of man and nature
A couple of issues are very perplexing to me. First, I caught the end of a newscast the other day, and one man was saying that another man had killed a pregnant woman, so therefore he would be held accountable for two deaths, for the life of the mother and for the life of her unborn child. But, if this self-same woman had taken this self-same unborn child, of her own free will, to an abortionist, and asked him to murder the living child inside of her, would not both of them be called murderers, and be held accountable?
Second, all these gay parades, protests and marches are so unnecessary. All the colors in the rainbow cannot hide, or alter, one basic, unchangeable, permanent fact: Homosexuality, by any other name, goes against the natural law, the law of nature. Yes, scientists are now able to alter these laws, but at what cost? "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature," and, dare I say it, without fear of being arrested, "It's not nice to fool with Father God."
Tenny Maley
Fredericktown
Are we enabling
animal abusers?
I'm writing about your article on the woman who kept dozens of malnourished and dead horses on a farm in South Franklin Township. I'm appalled that the Humane Society would be in favor of letting this woman have any contact or supervision to care for any animal. She should not be around any type of animal, period.
We are guilty of enabling these people to continue to have contact with and own other animals; one time is too many.
Nancy Kennel
Finleyville
WHY? : 6/23/2009
If the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer ask yourself why instead of spouting such mindless drivel. Maybe it is because the rich keep working harder and the poor keep getting lazier because of the government checks you insist the rich pay to these folks. Class envy is the sin of the stupid. Would it make you happy and America prosperous if every one had exactly the same level of poverty, like Cuba.
Raise Taxes - No : 6/23/2009
Don't raise taxes, live within the budget of dollars you have like the rest of us!! My mother always said - I can't give you what I don't have. We need smaller government and less government control at all levels
RAISE TAXES? : 6/23/2009
Are you nuts? Why raise taxes of any kind? How about CUT taxes and increase consumer confidence and in return they will spend more? Now is NOT THE TIME TO RAISE TAXES PEOPLE!
Marsha : 6/23/2009
Since you want taxes to go up, and you seem to have some money, why don't you volunteer more of you paycheck and send it to Rendell. I am sure he would accept it the crook he is...
nancy kennel : 6/23/2009
What are you worried about? You are a socialist and so is your President. He keeps taking what the rich have and giving it to you. You need to check and see what programs you qualify for. I will keep busting my hump 70 plus hours a week. I will keep risking everything I own to finance my business, oh and I will make sure I employ lots of people. Then, you and the rest of your entitled lot can stand in line to get a piece of what I had the vision, the planning, the goals, and the will to accomplish. Oh and by the way. Maybe the Steelers who worked very hard to win 6 Super Bowls should give a couple of their trophies and franchise success to the Cleveland Browns. After all, they never got one and don't they deserve one too,.
Michael : 6/23/2009
What was the point of that? Nancy wrote a letter about dead horses...
Tenny Maley : 6/23/2009
The hatred you spout is hardly "fact". Your comments disgust me & I thank God that such beliefs are no longer tolerated in mainstream society.
Taxes : 6/23/2009
I'm sure nobody thinks now is a time for more taxes, but like it or not Fast Eddie is going to get it. Marsha mentions a sales tax increase as an alternative to more income taxing and shes everything from lazy to a socialist. There is no mention of her wanting any hand outs or any of your money. She only wants to keep more of what she works for. So she can accomplish her vision and goals. Remember it's the Marsha's that are working for you Michael that keeps your buisness running. I hope you have more respect for your employees. You seem to believe that the working class is beneath you. Since 2000 the whole state has become poorer. Median household income is down and the poverty level is up. That's not from people being lazy, that's from all the taxes PA is famous for. They keep taking and taking putting our elderly out of their homes, do you believe that happens because they are lazy. A sales tax increase INSTEAD of an income tax increase is a good idea. Let's get some of the tax evaders and drug dealers money too and stop taking away peoples income.
too many : 6/23/2009
people are ready for a hand out. but also, the system of working and taxes is very unfair to the wage earner. American wage earners are the most taxed segment of the population. we can't afford people trying living off the dole. but, we need some kind of social conscience in our society. there will always be more indians than chiefs. every indian who is willing to work for the tribe should have a minimum of security. the affluent are not all hard working true blue patriots. many seek to exploit and game the system to ensure their continued affluence. How many times have you heard small business types mention a widget to write off their day of golf? we need to legislate some fairness. but the fact will always remain... you gotta put in the effort to succeed... unless your a trustfunder. then you just need to pay more taxes!! it's not class envy. it's a just society
CLARKSVILLE EVENT : 6/23/2009
I agree with Tom Shumaker about no reporting of the Clarksville Centennial and dedication of the new veteran's monument on June 6, 2009. The few of us that worked on this event where overwelmed by the crowd that attended the event. So many people returned to the small community they where raised in and would have appreciated a news article about the days events to take back home with them as a memory. I must say the Observer-Reporter could have sold many newspapers the following day if the event had some coverage.
Sales tax : 6/24/2009
Marsha, your wish was granted yesterday with Gov Rendell's new proposal for a 1% increase in sales tax. Each day, the Governor produces a new taxing proposal, and yesterday, it was an increase in sales tax. Oh yes, the proposal includes a bogus notion that some of the money will return to the muncipality for property tax relief. But, in the end, most of the money from the increase would remain in control of the state. Does this man think that the citizens of PA just fell off the turnip truck? What new taxing proposal will emerge today?
Sales Tax : 6/24/2009
I don't get a lot of people's reasoning. Do you want your bridges fixed? Do you want your roads fixed? Are willing to go to work on a horse and buggy? Do you want research that cures cancer, diabetes? Do you want energy research? Why do so many people want to hold this nation back intellectually, economically, and socially? The last thing we need is to stand still on the infrastructure this Nation needs to compete globally. Sorry folks but big business is not the answer to your prayers. Corporations exist to make money for the board of directors through compensation, then the CEO, and then whatever is left is spread out among the stockholders, which are just mere crumbs.
Lucky : 6/24/2009
We are lucky to have a governor with the guts to propose taxes increases to pay for services. After Reagan s**t in the pool of American politics, reasonable government is rare.
Big business/big government : 6/26/2009
cih -- For clarification, none of us rejecting the tax increase are against fixing bridges, roads fixed, etc. What creates the rejection is the lack of restraint on the part of the government. You say, "Sorry folks but big business is not the answer to your prayers. " What you don't say, but imply, is that big government is the answer. While businesses throughout the nation, including locally, have done recently is to cut back with expenses, incluidng employees. They are living within the means provided through the sale of products or services. Not so with the PA government. After the hiring freeze, 1,000 jobs have been added. Salary increases have been given to government workers. Only a few in the Harrisburg group are wanting to curtail services. Frankel, in an interview a couple of days ago, attempts to justify his support of Gov Rendell's proposal of 0.5% PIT. His words were, "... we don't want to do anything that will impact the lives of Pennsylvanians." Say what? People's lives have been impacted in many ways over the r ecent months, and why should government be exempt? His real message seemed to be, "...I don't want to be on the hook for creating any cuts of governement entitlement programs because it will hurt my reelection." cih, I don't know if your pension plans, or retirment monies are invested in the financial markets. If so, you have seen the value of those funds increase over the past ten years. Why? Because they were invested in companies who made money, whose value rose. The dramatic increase in the value of investments over the past 15-20 years is hardly the "crumbs" of which you speak. You may not like businesses to make money, but they are the ones who create jobs, and create wealth for your pension and retirement funds.
R : 6/27/2009
the last 10 - 20 years have been a huge bust for working Americans. nobody minds a company making money. just not to the detriment of society as a whole. the vast majority of most peoples income is in the form of WAGES. 401k's are a pittance and a sham of an excuse for retirement security. with most companies cutting or eliminating the matching funds, it's essentially just a savings account containing my own damn money. NO REAL PENSION. trying to link the interests of the working man to that of the investor IS FUNDAMENTALLY DISHONEST. Wall St. and Main St. have no intersections. our American system has been hijacked by the privileged few. the whole system is built on shifting sands of corruption. it's rooted in campaign financing. if you want government at any level to do the bidding of the people or to "live within their means" as institutions, then we'll have to get the media and every voter to call out the perks, campaign contributions, free trips, etc. for what they are. BRIBERY!!! public campaign financing and term limits are my suggestions. every primary... vote for the new guy. if every party incumbent gets shot down for a few election cycles, perhaps we the people can get our public servant's attention. VOTE 'EM OUT
r : 6/27/2009
one more observation for the day: the income of working people has not increased by 300 fold in roughly twenty years.... but, it has for executives and wall st. types. that is the key to the falacy of free markets and globalization... workers are as productive as ever or more so. the american worker is still the most productive on the planet... the change is in the laws. laws that allow fewer and fewer to keep more and more of our nations wealth. jeff immelt, CEO GE, gave a speech that made a working guy take notice in a good way for a change. the man stood onstage in Detroit and basically admitted how the outsourcing / off shoring wave that marked the years of conservative power got out of hand driven by greed in the short term. he acknowledged the policies have made the nation poorer and weaker. he went on to talk about GE beginning initiatives to in source and on shore work. perhaps the big picture is coming into view even for the few who have profitted mightily in these recent dark ages of human civilization. i disagree with your right wing trickle down economic views to my core! the only thing that ever trickled down was wiped off reagan's leg by a nurse! you righties always miss the fact that the nation has been most prosperous when the privileged few have made a return (through strict regulation and oversight) on the shared investment in our society.
