Military spending is shortchanging our communities Re: “MontCo lawmakers urge Congress to cut military spending,” Oct. 3
I find it reprehensible that your newspaper ridiculed a resolution introduced in Montgomery County which asked Congress to cut military spending and fund our local communities instead.
As you must know, the extraordinarily high level of military spending is bleeding our country dry. Meanwhile, our local communities are cutting back on services we need, such as libraries, schools, public health and infrastructure improvements. We want our federal elected officials to redirect our tax money from warfare and militarism back to our community.
I do not live in Montgomery County, but overspending for the military-industrial complex is pervasive throughout the country, including here in Howard County. How can you justify spending on the military when it is harming this country and not making it any safer?
Doris Rausch
Columbia, Md.
Criticism of Obama is not racism
Re: “Dim Bulb,” Sept. 30
So now Janeane Garofalo has earned a “Dim Bulb” for saying that Republicans like Herman Cain because he is black. This is just a few days after Morgan Freeman earned his own “Dim Bulb” for saying that people oppose President Obama because of racism.
While Garofalo’s remark was perhaps the slightly less idiotic of the two, both warrant dismissal as dim bulb remarks. Unfortunately, they reflect a more widespread and insidious phenomenon that needs to be addressed more seriously and vigorously.
I’m talking about the phenomenon in which I can carefully explain to a seemingly reasonable person why I oppose Obama and why I think he’s the most dangerous person we’ve ever elected president — all in terms that have nothing to do with race. This idea that if you’re a racist if you don’t like Obama must be called what it is: a kind of racism itself.
Stephen Kosciesza
Silver Spring
Cain’s 9-9-9 plan would increase tax burden
Republicans need to nominate a quality candidate who has a more equitable plan. Presidential candidate Herman Cain’s proposed 9-9-9 tax plan is fundamentally flawed. Charging a 9 percent corporate rate, a 9 percent individual rate, and a national 9 percent sales tax would help corporations, but would significantly hurt consumers.
For example, a national sales tax would create considerable geographic inequities. Five states have no state income tax, some have no sales tax (Alaska), and some have low property tax rates. Here in California, most Bay Area counties already have sales taxes that exceed 10 percent, so adding another 9 percent would be overbearing!
Coupled with high property taxes, high car registration fees, and other taxes and “fees” a 9 percent sales tax would put an undue strain on the middle class and stifle consumer spending. In addition, an analysis by the Christian Science Monitor indicated that under Cain’s plan, a family earning $50,000 would pay approximately 18 percent annually and those earning $300,000 only about 16 percent annually. Kurt Kleier
San Francisco
