Kokomo Tribune; Kokomo, Indiana

July 15, 2009

Letters to the editor - Wednesday, july 15, 2009


Student drivers add to global warming

I see where changing the open-campus lunch program at Kokomo High School is being considered by the school board. Let me offer the no-brainer answer: Eliminate the program. While safety issues are a concern to some, the overriding determinant is global warming. Closing the campus will eliminate needless carbon emissions. In fact, considering the sobering warnings issued by global warming alarmists leads me to suggest that no students should be driving to school at all when there is ample public transportation called school buses available. In light of the alarms being raised by Professor Al Gore and others, this, too, is a no-brainer decision.

“Wait a minute!” I can hear readers exclaim. “They can’t tell me what to do!” I beg to differ. If we allow our senators to pass the cap-and-trade bill that has already made it through the House, we are inviting our federal government to tell us: what cars to drive, where to set our thermostats, when to run our heat and a.c., what energy sources to use, what food to eat and how to cook it, and other areas of our lives I have yet to contemplate or that they have yet to add to this growing bill. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has let Americans know that “every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory” in order to combat global warming. Based on their promises, I would say that telling us what to do is exactly what our government has in mind.

By the way, KHS students, I doubt that any of you will be considered elitist enough to be allowed to escape the consequences of cap and trade and other global warming legislation. This isn’t Hollywood, you know.

Charles A. Layne

Bunker Hill

Government looks out for companies

I’m having trouble figuring this out and need a little help understanding it.

A homeowner doesn’t pay his property taxes, the sheriff’s office comes in and auctions it off to cover the unpaid taxes, right? Now comes my problem. A company such as Chrysler files bankruptcy, says we don’t have to pay property taxes. We are a new company. We’re going to use the some property, buildings, build the same type of product using the same machinery and, for the most part, the same employees.

Why can’t the city say, New Company, we have some property you may be interested in buying or leasing to cover the owed taxes?

The city can borrow money from the state’s rainy day fund to cover the lost property taxes owed by Chrysler. Now it is being said if the city has to pay it back, it will come from higher property taxes for homeowners.

Now is this a government for the people by the people, or a government for the companies by the people?

Folks, we need to start voting and take back our great country.

We need to make a stand sometime, or all will be lost. Many are losing everything now. Pay attention to what the politicians are doing and vote them out if they aren’t looking after the citizens more than they are for the companies.

Terry Nay

Kokomo