Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 16, 1995 TAG: 9501260014
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The first is that for the past 40 years, while Congress has been Democratically controlled, the American people haven't ``owned,'' or been in charge of, their country. Though it should be obvious, let me state it nonetheless: The only reason Democrats controlled Congress for the past 40 years is because they were elected. In blunter terms, the majority of Americans wanted Democrats as their representatives in Congress.
The second idea is that the country started to fall apart due to liberal ideas and problems that began in the '60s. Not quite.
Drug use began in the early 1900s, loose attitudes toward sex in the '20s, inner-city poverty with the industrial revolution. Government regulation began in the early 1900s due to industry's refusal to regulate itself, resulting in unfair business practices and hazards to all Americans.
Our attitudes toward the poor began changing in the '30s, when average, hard-working Americans found they, too, could become poverty's victims. The women's-rights movement achieved one of its biggest goals in the '20s, when a constitutional amendment guaranteed women the right to vote. And as far as ``standing against their government in a treasonous manner,'' there were riots when the Union proposed the first draft in the middle of the Civil War.
As long as our country is democratic and split between ideas on how it should be governed, neither conservative nor liberal will be fully satisfied with government. We'll end up with a compromise, as the framers of the Constitution intended.
JEROME GUYNN
CHRISTIANSBURG
Consider a fairer fix for Social Security
YOUR JAN. 1 editorial (``Resolve this year to fix entitlements'') was concerned about entitlements, especially Social Security and Medicare. You predict that unless entitlements are somehow curtailed, we'll see sharply increasing deficits in a few years.
Who are these selfish, greedy recipients of Social Security? I was raised in the Great Depression, working 60 hours a week for such munificent wages as $10 or $15. We carried this burden for years while resisting the siren calls of fascism and communism. We served our country during World War II. When the war ended, we returned to civilian life, and carried our share of the burden to make America greater and better than ever. All in all, we old-timers paid our dues to America. It's time to pass the burden to those who have done nothing but take in a greedy and avaricious manner - Wall Street manipulators, bankers and many in government.
I believe there's a solution that won't harm any one person or group. Social Security and Medicare are considered by many to be the main problems in efforts to balance the budget and reduce the deficit. Your answer is to make the poor and middle class pay by raising the retirement age to 70 and/or cutting Social Security and Medicare payments. The most practical and fairest way is to remove the cap on payments into Social Security.
It's incomprehensible that those earning $20,000 to $25,000 yearly, with two or three children, must pay taxes into Social Security on their total income while those earning much more pay on a mere pittance of their massive incomes! It's hard for any thoughtful and fair-minded person to accept and respect this kind if reasoning.
Legislators and the media have ignored the tax pattern I've suggested. Someone or some group with courage, integrity and an invincible sense of justice must force the issue into the open for all to examine and pass judgement on.
JOE LIPTON
ROANOKE
Mixing it up at the Texas Tavern
IN MY opinion, this newspaper hit an unprecedented low with Kathleen Wilson's Jan. 3 Mingling column entitled ``The eatery that never sleeps.'' The credit given to Matt Bullington, owner and operator of the Texas Tavern, and to his crew was right on target. But she should have stopped right there.
The rest of her column dealt with descriptions of unsavory characters and disgusting dialogue. The Texas Tavern has been a revered institution in my family for three generations. I even crossed the country several years ago clutching a half-gallon of T.T. chili as a (mother has come for an extended visit) gift for my eldest. The elite, the venerable, the pride of Roanoke have all walked through those hallowed Tavern doors. I don't recall any of them being quoted.
Perhaps, while the Tavern was having a ``sleepless night in Roanoke,'' and bringing the New Year in on track, it would have pleased some of us if Wilson had been asleep at the switch.
ELIZABETH CONNELLY HOBBIE
ROANOKE
by CNB