Effective use of taxes
Re: the Jan. 18 letter “Individual and corporate taxes.”
The letter writer’s take on taxes left out half the story and gave the impression taxes are a bad thing. Taxes don’t “punish” as the letter writer stated, they pay for goods that benefit everyone, including him. Public goods that none of us want to live without, such as police and fire protection, roads and schools. In this week’s Economist, there was an article on how Latin American mayors are transforming former slums into prosperous suburbs through the effective use of taxes. Keep in mind the countries that are at the very top of the “Happiest Countries” list are all high-tax countries.
DJ Bertagnoli
West side
Paying our debts
It seems Republican lawmakers in Phoenix have the same lack of understanding as their colleagues in the U.S. Congress. Republican House Representatives ignore the fact that the debt ceiling is for money already allocated or spent. The time for “negotiations” has passed, and there is no excuse for failing to pay our debts. Likewise, our state representatives seem to have forgotten that they allocated $1.3 million for public schools but failed to waive the Aggregate Expenditure Limit so districts could actually spend those funds.
The failure to pay one’s debts is a serious example of unethical behavior. After monies have been allocated or spent is not the time to try to turn back the clock or tack on conditions that weren’t part of the original appropriations. Just as taxpayers are expected to pay our bills, we expect our representatives to be responsible and to pay our collective debts.
Judi Moreillon
Northeast side
What, a drag?
An open letter to state Sen. Justine Wadsack:
I’ve been personally concerned about the introduction of your recent bill to make appearing publicly in drag a felony. Having attended a Catholic girl’s high school where I was the tallest and thinnest student, I found myself often playing the male role in class projects. Among these was Romeo, in the balcony scene from “Romeo and Juliet.”
Frankly, I’m worried. Does your bill have a statute of limitations or could I be prosecuted for dressing in male drag 50 years ago? Would it matter that this crime was committed in Florida rather than Arizona? Would Sister Jonathan who taught Senior English be prosecuted as an accessory or a groomer? I’d be very grateful for clarification on all this, as well as your opinion on whether wearing red lipstick neutralizes a tasteful fedora I enjoy wearing. What do you think, err on the side of caution and leave it in the closet?
Becky Masterman,
District 17
Catalina
Republicans’ nuclear war
So, Republican Paul Gosar wants to investigate Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calling him a “traitor.” Gen. Milley called China’s military equivalent on Oct. 30, 2020, to reassure China that the U.S. did not have any intentions of militarily striking China. Milley then called on Jan. 8, 2021, to reassure China that the United States was not politically unsteady after the Jan. 6 attempted coup by President Donald Trump.
Since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the concern of those countries with nuclear weapons has been to not cause an accidental use of nuclear weapons. Since 1963, the United States, and now Russia, have continued to use the “hotline,” now an email, to reassure each other of the intentions of the politics in each country. According to Wikipedia, since 2007 Beijing has had such a “hotline” with both the United States and Russia.
I guess the official Republican foreign policy includes allowing the accidental use of nuclear weapons to destroy the world.
Matt Somers
Midtown
Death penalty
I am, and always will be, against the death penalty, especially of those who are mentally ill.
More than a third of the execution attempts in 2022 were mishandled. I find the seven visibly botched executions that took place in three states shocking. Once again, executions were concentrated in the South. Texas and Oklahoma each executed five inmates, while Alabama put two inmates to death and Mississippi executed one. Arizona executed three inmates in 2022, while Missouri executed two. The National Association of Mental Health has estimated that 5-10% of those on death row have a serious mental illness.
The execution of the insane violates the U.S. Constitution.
Constitutional protections for those with other forms of mental illness are minimal, however, dozens of prisoners have been executed despite suffering from serious mental illness.
Two of the three persons executed in Arizona had serious mental problems. I can only hope that Arizona will see the light and do away with the death penalty.
Tom McGorray
Northwest side
School vouchers
As I read about the conflicting views on school vouchers I think back to my education in Michigan in the 50’s and 60’s. I went to Catholic schools for 13 years that were subsidized by the individual parishes from donations. Our town had six Catholic, one Lutheran and one school for the deaf high schools. No one thought about vouchers to pay for this private education. All these teachers had to be certified by the state.
This brings me to the current situation. I am against the voucher system because there is no accountability by these private schools. These schools don’t need to have state-certified teachers, no approval of their curriculum and no budget overview.
The loss of the money to the local school districts effectively reduces the money available for quality education to the students.
Vouchers are subsidizing religious schools against the Constitution.
James McLin
East side
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