ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 3, 1996 TAG: 9601030034
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
THE DEC. 29 editorial, "A call to spend less on arms," refers to an international campaign on synchronized reductions in military expenditures. Legislation introduced during the last session of Congress already addresses one of the good ideas proposed in the campaign.
Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Calif., and Sen. Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., have introduced legislation to establish criteria for international arms sales. The United States is currently the top supplier of weapons to the nations of the world. Many nations neglect pressing domestic needs to buy these weapons. Many of these nations are ruled by brutal dictators. Ironically, U.S. troops, when called to intervene as peacekeepers in civil conflicts (e.g., Somalia, Panama and Haiti), have faced hostile forces armed with U.S. weapons.
Under current law, the president issues an annual list of countries that are eligible to buy weapons from the United States. The Code of Conduct for Arms Transfers would specify new eligibility criteria for that list. The bill would prohibit arms sales to foreign governments that: are undemocratic; do not adequately protect human rights; are engaged in acts of armed aggression; or are not fully participating in the U.N. Register of Conventional Weapons.
The McKinney-Hatfield bill deserves wider attention, debate and support than it has received thus far. If the world arms trade continues unchecked, we can expect a succession of devastating armed conflicts such as that which has plagued Bosnia.
ELIZABETH FETTER
ROANOKE
More like Goode are needed
THANK GOD there are still men like Virgil Goode in our state government. He doesn't serve the party, but the people.
We are so fortunate in Franklin County to have public servants like Goode and Del. Allen Dudley who work together for the good of the people - not to feather their own nests. Washington could learn a lesson from them.
GERRY LOVE
ROCKY MOUNT
Lake residents are tax-leery, too
I READ with interest the Dec. 20 letter (``Lake residents can pay their own way'') by Andrew T. Cundiff of Rocky Mount concerning Smith Mountain Lake residents and the possibility of future water-and-sewage treatment plants around the lake and taxes to pay for them. The letter was prompted by a survey taken recently.
I understand that 10,700 questionnaires were sent to people in three counties - not just lake residents - and that fewer than 2,000 were returned. That certainly does not seem to be a reliable survey.
From the replies, it was concluded that lake residents have an average annual salary of $65,000, because many respondents checked that box. Just how much truth can be found in that method? Yes, there are a number of very large and expensive homes at the lake, and no doubt their owners have sizeable incomes. However, the majority of homes are much less costly - the same as can be found in most town and city subdivisions. I believe a more accurate accounting would reveal that the homeowners' annual salaries, on average, are considerably lower than $65,000. The term "Rich Man's Pond," coined by the media, is inaccurate.
Concerning water plants: The counties are looking at the lake as a water source for expansion of areas away from the lake. As to sewage plants, the current lake residents already have sewage systems in operation, and new home construction must meet building codes. With compliance with codes and the possibility of ordinances for inspection and proper maintenance of the home systems, the need for sewage plants for lake residents is questionable.
I agree with Mr. Cundiff that taxpayers and voters should decide what they are willing to be taxed for. The people who are pushing the construction of treatment plants are the same people who were involved with the survey. They are the developers and builders who would derive the greatest benefits from such construction. There are many ordinary people with limited incomes living around the lake who share Cundiff's concerns about taxes.
BOB WILHELMS
HUDDLESTON
LENGTH: Medium: 78 linesby CNB