LETTERS

Earmark those taxes 'Return to sender'

In recent weeks considerable attention has been given to a survey revealing that middle-income families are having financial problems making ends meet. The various media outlets cited the cost of home mortgages (or rents), medical costs, food, etc., as the culprits causing the dollar shortages. Not once did I read or hear about the costliest item in our budgets - taxes.
It used to be that we worked, on the average, approximately three months of each year to pay our taxes and the balance of the year for ourselves. Since the present administration created the largest tax increase in our nation's history, we now average working until sometime in the month of May to pay our taxes and the balance of the year for ourselves and our families. How can this huge expense be overlooked as a source of the personal financial drain?
Now we are faced with a purported, sizable surplus of money. While I question some of the projections (and they are just that, projections), if they are somewhat accurate, why not return some of the dollars from whence they came? Our taxes are the base source of this windfall of dollars which compounded due to recent market conditions. Most of the politicians, Democrats and Repub- licans, inside the Beltway seem to consider this their money when in fact it is ours, John Q. Public.

Tax cuts are currently being discussed in Washington. There has never been a better time in recent history to return sanity to taxation. I urge all to contact their elected officials and rightfully request that some of your money be returned in the form of a tax cut. If we don't, other commitments will be made of the money.
As a bumper sticker I recently read stated, "Clinton never saw a budget surplus he couldn't spend."

L. J. MICKEY JORDAN
Diamondhead

Will cost of living be equal for all of us?

Well, the so-called "representatives of the people" have done it again! First, they voted to approve a cost-of-living increase for members of Congress that gives them each a 3.4 percent raise in 2000. Then, they voted 334-82 to raise the president's pay in 2001 by 100 percent.
I want to congratulate the 82, including Reps. Gene Taylor and Ronnie Shows, who tried to block the presidential raise. They had the backbone to follow the wishes of most of the hard-working taxpayers who are tired of the "tax and spend" policies of Congress. As soon as the economy starts to improve, the first thing they think of is how to spend the surplus instead of giving some of it back to the people.
In January 1998, Social Security recipients received a 2.1 percent cost-of-living increase, and in January 1999, only a 1.3 percent increase! Will these so-called "representatives of the people" give Social Security recipients a 3.4 percent cost-of-living increase in January 2000 (the same increase they gave themselves)?
Many people would never know how our Congress votes on important issues if The Sun Herald didn't print it, and I never miss the Sunday "Roll Call" section where the voting results are printed, as it's most informative. I urge every voter to check it out so they can see for themselves how our representatives vote on issues that affect all of us.

BETTY CUEVAS
Saucier

Taxes aren't 'surplus' until debt is paid off

When Congress was creating the federal budget deficit by spending more money than the government was taking in, there was no mention of a tax increase to pay for the overspending.

Why then is Congress pushing for a tax decrease because we no longer have a deficit? Looks like they are trying to buy votes with our money. The debt is still there, and interest on that debt accounts for a significant part of the federal budget. When interest rates go back up (and they will), that debt will cost us even more in interest.

If individuals get in debt by overspending, they shouldn't start working less as soon as their spending is under control. They should first pay off their debt; then they can work less and live on less income.

So it should be with the federal government. Everyone wants less taxes, but we need to pay off the debt accumulated when Congress was overspending. Only then should income taxes be reduced.

RAY LENAZ
Biloxi

Dog was as 'worthy' as many human beings

In response to Stephany Page-Rager's Aug. 2 letter, "Animals don't belong in a public cemetery," I must state the obvious: As humans and as a society, we are still uncivilized by Ms. Page-Rager's standards.

Not every citizen born in this country is delivered by an obstetrician. And public mating and public urination do take place - Woodstock '99, for example. Are these people unworthy of a cemetery burial? How about the murderer who shot and killed two Long Beach police officers? Should he be removed? I personally would rather be buried next to a dog that helped keep our streets safer than next to a killer.

Ms. Rager said that Officer Reckon was merely "trained" to perform, but so is every other employee - from the McDonald's worker who is trained to take your order to NASA'S astronauts who train for important space missions.

She said "call it an officer, call it the Pope, call it anything you want, the fact remains it is a dog." Yes, he was a dog, but he was not an ordinary dog. He was not like Sally's pet goldfish or little Bobby's hamster. By using his inhuman abilities, he was able to fight against drugs in schools and criminals on the streets.

Why is it so appalling that 40 people should attend canine Officer Reckon's funeral? Officer Reckon not only served and protected his fellow officers but served the citizens of Harrison County as well. What Ms. Page-Rager finds embarrassing, others consider an honor.

Gulfport

Many owe their lives to those dumb animals

I wonder if Ms. Page-Rager would feel differently about the four-legged, "mates in public, licks itself clean, uses the bathroom in public" animal if she were trapped in the rubble of a building torn apart by a hurricane and found only because of that dumb animal.

N.E. WHITE
Long Beach

How many times will same issue resurface?

On Dec. 3, 1991, the Gulfport City Council unanimously approved a resolution that stated:

"... the City of Gulfport will prohibit any such dockside gaming operation from locating in the Small Craft Harbor area of Bert Jones Park." Based on this, I'm confused as to why the subject of locating a casino in the harbor has again reared its ugly head.
Oh, wait ... I get it. We're going to have a complete reprisal of the scenario as it played out in 1993:

First, Marine Life will begin taking out ads in The Sun Herald describing how terrible business is, and stating that if the city doesn't lease the land to (fill in the blank), they'll have to close their doors and relocate to another community. (Note 1: I noticed yesterday that their doors are still open. I guess business here in Gulfport wasn't so bad after all.)
Second, in response to pressure from their constituents, and perhaps just common sense, the City Council will vote unanimously to not lease the land to (fill in the blank, again).
Finally, four days later, the council president will call a special meeting, and four of the five council members will reverse their votes and approve the motion to lease land to (fill in the blank). (Note 2: Six years later, I still don't understand how four grown men could suddenly decide that their initial votes were wrong.)
Since the four previously mentioned councilmen (Jenkins, Rose, Savant and Dombrowski) are still in office, I suppose we can expect mayhem to follow in the months to come, as they swing first one way, then another.

Personally, I am against allowing a casino or any other type of commercial enterprise in Jones Park. All I ask, however, is that they show some consistency: Take a stand and stick to it.
But since the resolution was passed in 1991, isn't this a moot point anyway?

ROBIN LAMBERT
Gulfport

In this gridlock, only boats can move

Closing I-110 for 11 days for work crews to complete repairs to the damaged support beam on the bridge, the Mississippi Department of Transportation will reroute traffic to various other roads.

One of the most heavily traveled roads in Biloxi is Popp's Ferry. We all hope that MDOT has the insight to restrict the opening of Popp's Ferry bridge during that time frame. With the bridge open, traffic would be backed up as far north as I-10 and as far south as U.S. 90.

RICH FRYER
Biloxi

Last one in Biloxi, please turn off the lights

The outcome of the vote on the Biloxi school bond issue is a fait accompli. By separating the initial bond issue into two parts, and removing the more contentious part from the voter's consideration, the school board has cleverly diffused the issue. The vote in September is a mere formality.
The voter is asked to simply put his stamp of approval on the building of two new elementary schools and additional improve- ments. The merit of having these new schools and improvements never has been in question. The Biloxi voters voted against the initial bond issue not because they were too parsimonious, but because, among other things, moving the high school across the bay is just another nail in the coffin of Biloxi proper.

It is sad to see that the appointed school board has taken even this last vestige of the democratic process from the voters. Perhaps a passing Machiavellian inspired them to such a clever move. In most places, school boards are the most local expressions of democracy, but here the voters are simply asked to pass the plate. One will quickly claim that there has been tremendous citizen input in all these decisions, but manufactured consent may have ignored some vital alternatives.

Although one cannot fault the school board for wanting to build new schools, one might question the method. To say the new high school could be constructed with no tax increase is technically correct, but no one can claim the school is being built for free.

But aside from the shell game being played, it is too bad that they are leaving behind the heart and soul of the city. Next time a barge hits the I-110 bridge, we - or those of us still left here in Biloxi - shall have to travel through Ocean Springs for our next PTA meeting.

DIETER MILLER
Biloxi

Clinton-loving press was too easy on Hillary

Hillary Clinton finally "spoke out" about her husband's "inappropriate relationship" with Monica Lewinsky. Of course, it was only after she was questioned by a gutsy reporter regarding her "vast right-wing conspiracy" theory which uncovered the Lewinsky "affair."

Her response (non-response) was to ignore the question when it was asked at a press conference in New York. However, I am sure her campaign advisors decided that it was in her best interest to deal with the issue early (so she can say, "I already addressed that" in future interviews).

True to the Clinton form to which we have become accustomed, she dealt with the issue in the most cowardly way imaginable: through the print media in a controlled interview. I would wager a month's pay on the odds that one of her conditions to do the interview was the right to edit the final copy.

When I heard the idiotic story she told as an excuse for the president's adulterous behavior, I thought that even liberal CNN (Clinton News Network) and "Good Morning, America" would slam her. Regretfully, I was wrong, and I was amazed that the media embraced such a goofy explana- tion, especially Diane Sawyer, who interviewed Mrs. Clinton's inter- viewer in a sugar-coated fashion reminiscent of an infomercial. Ain't showbiz wonderful!

BRENT BICKHAM
Ocean Springs

Interesting analysis, but wrong TV show

As if on cue, the media has begun to psychoanalyze away, ad nauseam, Bill's irresponsible and downright sordid behavior in an effort to corroborate Hillary's in-depth "Clintonalysis."

Our nation's psycho- intelligentsia entered from the wings from which they are forever close at hand and were marched before the cameras to educate the masses as to the whys and wherefores for Bill's maternally induced abhorrent behavior, taking pains to suggest that any blame lay far from the subject.

Granted, the psychoanalytical ploy is a masterful one, but wouldn't Jerry Springer be the authority of eminence in the matter?

ARMOND 'SI' SIMMONS
Pell City, Ala.