Stop tax breaks for the powerful, elite
Every politician promises "I'll be different," yet many are soon corrupted by the powerful and influential. They soon forget "We The People" and fall right in line.
The PILOT program was established to give tax breaks to the likes of Volkswagen and other companies in exchange for bringing jobs to Hamilton County. It has been totally corrupted.
A past mayor will surely be voted a huge tax abatement for his apartment development by our Hamilton County Commission at its Wednesday meeting -- over the objections of the people. These disgraceful tax gifts continually shift the tax burden to you and me -- "the folks."
Your next tax increase (and it is coming) will reflect that both mayors, City Council members and county commissioners don't care what you think about this corruption. (Sabrena Turner Smedley, Chester Bankston and Tim Boyd the exceptions).
Call 423-209-7200 and tell commissioners enough is enough. Go to the commission meeting on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the county courthouse. Your voice matters.
Bill Reesor, Ooltewah
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'Chalking' protest expression of outrage
As a working mom, married to one who worked two to three jobs for 18 years, always having to choose among rent, food and medicine, I am supportive of the activists who recently "chalked" Sen. Gardenhire.
You see, Gardenhire must be completely insensitive to struggle; otherwise he surely would've voted to cover 280,000 Tenneesseeans who are suffering and dying yearly without insurance.
Whosoever was brave enough to illustrate our cause with Crayola outside Gardenhire's place of employment, the Morgan Stanley financial building, I thank you. Without you, my class has no voice.
Yesterday, though, Gardenhire was quoted saying that the activists "might as well be in Nazi Germany, using tactics like this." Now, if I were one of Gardenhire's Jewish constituents, which I'm not, I would be doubly disgusted and disgraced.
How could the use of chalk to exercise political protest (a constitutional and patriotic obligation when one feels morally compelled) be any way likened to the onslaught of the Nazi holocaust?
In my mind, far more comparable is his vote to deny health care to the 45 percent of Hamilton and Bradley residents without it.
Kevin Carpenter, Ooltewah
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Teachers' unions want more failure
I am stunned to read the opinions that oppose a proposal in Tennessee to give parents of kids in failing schools who are in the low-income category a chance to go to another public school or private school that's not failing. Really?
The only schools where these opportunity scholarships would be available have had years of failure without improvements, and the teachers' union wants more money dumped into them to harm more kids. Unbelievable!
The teachers' union always claims to work on behalf of the children and what's best for public schools. We now see clearly that teachers' unions want to protect failing schools, keep kids stuck with no hope to achieve and ignore parents' pleas to see their children have a chance at a quality education.
Don't listen to the teachers' unions and their allies. It's time to give parents and children a chance to escape failure!
Valerie Morris, Harrison