Editorial voices from elsewhere

Editorial voices from newspapers around the United States as compiled by the Associated Press:
When taxes are created they don’t always stand the test of time.
For example in Pennsylvania, a business tax that pre-dated the Civil War and in modern times pumped hundreds of millions of dollars a year into state coffers has been swept away by the new year.
The 171-year-old capital stock and franchise tax expired Dec. 31 as 2015 ended.
Gene Barr, president and chief executive of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, said the tax was unfair because it forced businesses to pay the tax on their assets even if they did not turn a profit.
It makes sense to phase out taxes that are not based on new income for businesses. Pennsylvania-based businesses subject to the tax paid it on their capital stock value while corporations organized in other states paid the franchise tax portion on the value of their capital stock attributable to Pennsylvania, according to the Revenue Department website.
The unfortunate part is that the state will now have to figure out what to do with the loss. In the budget year that ended June 30, the last full year the tax was in effect, it provided $242 million in revenue, but had generated several times that much in previous years, the department said.
It will be interesting to see how the legislators balance the budget without this money in 2016. The reality is there will probably be less money for community services or another new tax will be created.
The decision by a Cuyahoga County grand jury not to indict two Cleveland police officers in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice is a wake-up call about inadequacies in our criminal justice system and the need for broad reforms to address fairness and equity issues and meaningful police reform in use-of-force cases.
The outcome should be challenged – in a peaceful way that aims at systemic change.
The Tamir Rice case underscores the urgency of equipping all Cleveland police officers with body cams and all police vehicles with dash cams so there is a real-time video of their actions – without the need to rely on grainy surveillance video …
These are issues that force real change, the change Samaria Rice, Tamir’s mother, and all Clevelanders want and deserve.
Even better, they honor Tamir as an agent of positive change.
In a Christmas video, a Wisconsin lawmaker passed a message on to constituents and the public. Freshman Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, stood in front of a Christmas tree and invited the public to “consider the hope offered by the Prince of Peace.”
He didn’t demand everyone convert or threaten or discriminate. It was a heartfelt message.
Yet, the Freedom From Religion Foundation wasn’t happy and tried to make this into a political issue, questioning if public resources were used and citing the Constitution as a reason the video should not have been made.
But that makes no sense. The First Amendment of the Constitution states, in part: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
It doesn’t say people cannot share their beliefs.
If you go back centuries, it was commonplace for our forefathers to share their faith publicly.
In 1798, John Adams declared a national day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer. Humility was referring to being humble before God.
In 1861, Abraham Lincoln stated in a similar proclamation, “When our beloved country … is now afflicted with faction and civil war, it is peculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God.”
He encouraged people around the nation to unite in prayer to bring blessings upon the country.
In this day and age, some people worry about offending others. But they shouldn’t be so worried that they stop expressing their beliefs.
Yes, that means people of all faiths should be able to express their beliefs, whatever those beliefs are.