Letters to the Editor for Thursday, February 18, 2010

Budget crisis demands leadership
A stressed economy forces painful decisions for many groups. After previously spending whatever we could on whatever we wanted, now, sadly, average citizens will pay for our fiscal party as we see a drop in tax revenues.

Can our leadership seek to soften the blows and more quickly return the economy to a healthy state?

It’s a good time to remember when we demanded ever increasing spending during our prosperous years. We should remember those who criticized officials for what they considered an underfunding of reasonable needs. Now that we’re facing more challenging times, we’ve moved beyond trying to meet reasonable needs and are left with trying to spend for basic.

We’re all expected to reassess priorities and reallocate funds during difficult times, and why should the government be exempt? To his credit, Gov. Bob McDonnell is cutting his salary.

Some may call for a mere 1 percent tax increase for one year to help soften the blow to our schools during difficult times. That’s quite reasonable, but what if it delays recovery back to a time when a more robust economy offers greater taxes to the state?

Also, why ignore the needs of police and fire officials or VDOT?

I don’t know the answer for the education budget, but I’m guessing the solution isn’t as simple as the Republicans’ “No new taxes — not now — not ever” “plan.” Nor are the potential consequences not as tragic as those portrayed by people fearing a new blight of illiteracy due to what are, hopefully, only temporary funding cuts.
MIKE COBB
Lynchburg

Localities in a bind
Why would we take away the jobs of our neighbors who teach our children and provide us with city and county services when they could keep working if we accepted modest increases in our taxes?

It is a mean frugality that deprives friends and neighbors of needed work and ourselves of the benefits of civil society in order to avoid taxes.

Since the state government is going to be derelict in its duty, local governments must have the common sense and human decency to ask us to pay our share for the common good of all.
JOHN JUSTICE
Lynchburg

Big Business
I just don’t understand the governor. He is going to lay off thousands of people to help balance the budget: teachers, police officers, firemen, health inspectors, public health nurses, bridge inspectors, road workers, snow plow drivers, people who help us with all the business we have to do with the state, like DMV. Good, middle class jobs, people who pay taxes and support the economy.

But then, he is going to cut the corporate income tax in half! Why, because they might create new jobs.

If he is so worried about Virginians’ jobs, why lay off all those state workers? If the state budget is in such dire straits, why would he decrease state income?

Oh, I know why, because the GOP is no longer the government of the people. They are now GOBB, “Government of Big Business.”
CURTIS BERONT
Lynchburg