ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 28, 1995 TAG: 9512290012
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
THE HISTORIC Vermeer exhibit at Washington D.C.'s National Gallery and the lodges at Peaks of Otter and Yosemite are dark, while Congress is off for the Christmas vacation.
Have its junior members read the Constitution recently? It is America's "contract," under which the president has power (and duty) to veto legislation he cannot accept, and Congress has power (and duty) to pass a budget meeting one of two requirements: Either it must be one the president can sign or the congressional leadership must have the votes lined up to pass it over his veto. There is no in-between.
What is there to negotiate? A budget was due on the president's desk Oct. 1; Congress' first effort reached him one-and-a-half months late. Let Congress buckle down and do its job according to the contract!
ARTHUR M. SQUIRES
BLACKSBURG
Hidden taxes also provide benefits
I feel I must reduce the confusion that Tom W. Johnson of Christiansburg expressed in his Dec. 12 letter ("Hidden taxes must figure in calculation'') rebutting my tax calculations in my earlier letter (Nov. 26, ``Getting value from taxes paid'').
When I said I had calculated ``all taxes,'' I did mean all taxes that my family directly paid - so-called hidden taxes notwithstanding.
I can assure Mr. Johnson that this was a thorough examination based on my 1994 receipts. I track expenses, including taxes, by computer, and perform a year-end balance-sheet analysis. Does he track his expenses that closely? Do the millions of other citizens who accept the overtaxed claptrap from so-called conservative politicians who aspire to make their living on the public dole?
So-called hidden taxes to businesses from which I buy are difficult, if not impossible, to calculate. You see, if I attempt to determine all of these hidden taxes, then, in the balance, I would have to subtract the benefits to these businesses that are paid for with taxes.
Those benefits, of course, include roads on which to transport goods and services, educated workers to produce goods and services, potable water, sewage control, power (to the extent it is government subsidized), police and emergency services, and a very intangible quantity: the capitalistic business system promoted and supported by our form of government.
I do not assert that taxes are all wisely spent or that there is not substantial waste. I do assert, however, that substantial lessening of tax-provided services and assets would adversely impact the lives and livelihoods of most Americans.
If you think you pay "too much" in taxes, compile the information for yourself. Then, assess how much less income you would have if it were not for the things that your taxes buy. For example, ask yourself if you could afford to pave the road between your home and your place of employment on the taxes you pay.
EDWARD ROBERTS JR.
BLACKSBURG
Wise Men weren't looking for a brew
I TAKE EXCEPTION to the advertisement Mill Mountain Brewing ran in The Roanoke Times on Sunday Dec. 17.
The star did not, as the ad depicted, lead the Three Wise Men to a bottle of beer. In fact, it led them to the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ.
It is far past time that we put the true meaning of Christmas back into Christmas.
BOB MASON
ROANOKE
A better solution than term limits
IN THE Dec. 10 Associated Press article, ``Activists vow to make term limits a major issue in '96,'' supporters of term limits vowed to redouble their efforts to pass a constitutional amendment limiting the number of terms a member of Congress can serve.
Their motives are admirable. Members of Congress amass enormous power based upon seniority, especially within the majority party. The longer they hold office, the more power they accrue. If they serve long enough (usually several decades), they may land a plum assignment as a committee chairman. The pressure for most senior legislators to remain in office is enormous.
Limiting congressional office to 12 years through term limits, however, isn't the answer. Competent and knowledgeable legislators who have served their constituents well shouldn't be forced to retire if voters continue to support them.
A better solution to problems associated with ``career politicians'' involves nothing as radical as a constitutional amendment. Congress need only pass a bill to change the seniority system so that those serving beyond 12 years end up having less power than freshman legislators. Seniority would peak at 12 years. Beyond that, a legislator's length of service would become more a liability than a plus.
Unlike a constitutional amendment, passage of such a bill would require only a simple majority. It could become law as early as next year. (Perhaps Reps. Rich Boucher and Bob Goodlatte could co-sponsor such a measure.)
If enacted, only the most effective legislators would serve beyond 12 years. Voters would keep them in office despite their lengthy tenure, not because of it.
DAVID NOVA
ROANOKE
Vietnam's lessons forgotten
REGARDING the Dec. 15 letter by Philip Collins Ferguson, ``GIs know the dangers they face'':
When I read letters like his, I wonder if this country learned anything from the 58,000 men who gave their lives in Vietnam.
There's a reciprocal agreement that the nation not throw away its soldiers' lives for personal gain by its politicians.
You sent us off to war with the belief that we were fighting for our country, much like our fathers and grandfathers before us. However, it didn't take long for you to change your mind and forget you sent us. It was easier to blame us for your inadequacies.
Yes, we were ``GIs, well-trained, with a name, rank and serial number.'' And, yes, many of us did die. But we trusted you to challenge the politicians who sent us off so easily while you sat in college or in Canada or some other distant location.
Yes, you and I are responsible for sending those young men and women off to die for a political cause. Yes, I'm angry, and cannot forget how you treated me in the '60s and '70s.
Thank God for the professional soldier of today. He knows what he's signing up for, but he trusts (as I did) the American people not to send him off to die needlessly.
That's why Vietnam veterans will not stand by quietly while history attempts to repeat itself, with your blind help.
DAN TURNER
ROANOKE
Good-bye to good friends
FOR THE PAST few years, I have started each and every new day with The Roanoke Times, my morning coffee, and Calvin and Hobbes.
I find it very sad that Bill Watterson has decided to retire the comic strip ending with this month.
However, I can also understand just how difficult it may be to come up with a new and fresh idea each and every day, year in and year out. I know I could never do it.
We thank you, Roanoke Times and Bill Watterson, for helping us to start our days with a smile so many times in the past.
Good-bye, Calvin and Hobbes. We all loved you.
RON PENLAND
WYTHEVILLE
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