Newspaper Page Text
4A
♦ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2006
Mansion Journal
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Going after bad debts
Some Houston Countians winced and
asked ’’why” when they read that the
county commissioners are writing off
more than $21,000 in bad debts.
Commissioner Tom McMichael was quick
to point out that the commissioners were
not giving up on the bad debts completely.
They are being turned over to private col
lection agencies in the hope that some of
the money can be recouped.
This is not an unusual procedure. Private
businesses, too, have bad debts and they
are written off periodically. Sometimes they
just give up and sometimes they use a col-
lection agency,
depending on
the circum
stances.
; The coun
ty’s bad debts
were accumu
lated by the
water system
and waste col
lection.
How, some
have asked,
,can these
debts accumu
■ late? It doesn’t
take long with
as many cus
tomers as the
county has. A
customer who takes off for other plaoes
without paying may not owe much, but
multiply this by hundreds of customers and
the amount can escalate.
Actually, the amount being written off by
the commissioners is minuscule compared
with $7.5 million in revenue that is col
lected each year.
The city of Warner Robins is sitting on
several times $21,000 in uncollected sewer
bills and apparently does not have a viable
way of collecting most of it.
Hundreds of customers who use county
water have run up bills with the city for
. sewer service. The city is not permitted to
cut off sewer service to customers who do
not pay. Water customers can be cut off.
' Many families have moved into this area,
signed up for city sewer service, used it for
months or years and moved away without
paying the city anything.
There are customers receiving city sewer
service today who never have paid anything
to the city.
Sending delinquent notices just don’t work
with these scofflaws.
The only alternative the city has is to go to
court to collect these delinquent bills. This
is what we recommend.
Service has been rendered. The city should
be paid. We encourage Warner Robins city
officials to go after these unpaid bills vigor
ously.
Letter to the Editor
What did they do for us?
For the next couple of months we will hear incumbent
politicians tell how hard they have been working on our
behalf, and how hard they will work in the future when
re-elected.
The question is: what did the incumbents do when they
were working so hard.
What issues did they speak-out on behalf of their con
stituents’?
Were their votes in agreement with their constituents’
views?
What is their stand on major issues such as illegal
aliens, border security, high energy costs, social security
issues, etc.?
In 2004 it was estimated that there were at least
228,000 illegal aliens in Georgia. How many have been
rounded up and sent home since Gov. (Sonny) Perdue
cracked down on them?
How many of the illegals were diseased and needed
medical attention when they crossed the border.
The vast majority of Americans want our borders
secure. Perhaps we can find out from some of our “hard
working” politicians what they have done to support our
wishes and when we can expect some results.
See LETTER, page §A
Foy S. Evans'
Editor Emeritus
How, some taxpayers
have asked, can these
debts accumulate? It
doesn't take long with
as many customers
as the county has. A
customer who takes
off for other places
without paying may not
owe much, but multi
ply this by hundreds of
customers and the
amount can escalate.
Sneaky addition not good news for Medicare
Senior citizens have had time to
assess Medicare Part 4 (prescrip
tion drugs) and not everyone is
happy with what is happening.
Part 4 was hailed by congress and
the president as a wonderful program
and, for some, it probably is.
However, already some seniors have
reached the so-called doughnut in cov
erage, which is the point where the
patient pays 100 percent of the cost of
prescriptions. For many of them, they
are finding that Part 4 is more costly
than the private insurance they aban
doned.
There were suspicions at the time
congress wrote this law that the drug
companies had a big hand in writing
it. Among the odorous parts of the
law is a provision that prevents the
government from negotiating with the
drug companies on the prices paid for
prescription drugs.
It is an open checkbook for the drug
companies.
It appears that enough seniors
already are complaining about various
aspects of Part D that it will be revis
ited by congress next year. Politicians
cannot afford to have too many senior
citizens breathing hard down their
necks.
Included in the law creating Part D
was something that, as far as I know,
has gone unnoticed or publicized, but
will be a hot topic when it is well
known.
There was a tax increase included
in the bill. Nothing was said about
this while the bill was being discussed
or when it became law with a lot of
hoopla. .
As many as 2 million beneficiaries
will begin paying higher Medicare pre
miums next year. At the present time
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Youp mama might not appreciate this
Skip Jones started it.
“Your mama is so fat, her blood
type is Ragu,” he directed at me
from the back of the B-team basketball
bus.
I shot back with “your mama’s so
fat, when she was born, she gave the
hospital stretch marks.”
And the battle was on.
Skip didn’t know my mama. I didn’t
know his.
Neither of us took offense. It’s just
what you did on the back of the bus
when you were ages 9-15, or 15-51.
You didn’t hurl “Your Daddy” insults
or “Your Sister” wisecracks or “Your
Dog” taunts.
For some reason, they weren’t as
funny.
And we rarely veered too far from
four types of “Your Mama” put-downs:
“Your mama’s so ug1y...,” “Your mama’s
so fat...,” “Your mama’s so 01d...,” and
“Your mama’s so stupid....”
With that in mind, and my memory
refreshed by caffeine, here are some of
my favorite “Your Mama” zingers from
yesteryear:
■ Your mama’s so fat, she uses diet
shampoo.
■ Your mama’s so ugly that your
daddy takes her to work just so he
won’t have to kiss her goodbye.
■ Your mama’s so ugly, when she
goes to the beach, the tide refuses to
OPINION
they pay $88.50 a month.
Individuals with annual incomes
of SBO,OOO and married couples with
incomes of $160,000 will see their
Medicare premiums soar. Hundreds
, of families in Houston County will be
affected.
By 2009 they will be paying four
times as much for Medicare insurance
as they do today. An increase in the
premium goes into effect next year and
will climb until 2009 under the pres
ent law.
Lawmakers sneaked this big increase
in the premium, which pays for
Medicare Part B, through without the
slightest hint that might have aroused
opposition.
Part B of Medicare is voluntary.
There is concern among those who are
aware of the big increase in the pre
mium that many Medicare recipients
will no longer participate in Part B and
seek private insurance.
If this should happen, with the more
affluent participants in Medicare get
ting out, the program would become a
welfare program, rather than a univer
sal social program, it has been pointed
out.
More affluent seniors already are
targeted for taxation on 85 percent of
the Medicare payments they receive.
Income tax on Social Security pay-
come in.
■ Your mama’s so stupid she took a
ruler to bed to see how long she slept.
■ Your mama’s so ugly that after
she was born, her mother said, “What
a treasure,” and her daddy said, “Can
we bury it?”
■ Your mama’s so fat, she got hit by
a bus and she asked, “Who threw that
penny at me?”
■ Your mama’s so stupid she sold her
car for gasoline money.
■ Your mama’s so ugly that when
she applied for an ugly contest, they
told her, “No professionals.”
■ Your mama’s so old, she left her
purse on Noah’s Ark.
■ Your mama’s so stupid, it takes her
5 hours to watch “60 Minutes.”
■ Your mama’s so fat, she was float
ing in the ocean and Spain claimed her
as the new world.
■ Your mama’s so ugly, your grand
ma had to be drunk to breast-feed her.
■ Your mama’s so fat, she was born
Foy
Evans
Columnist
toyevansl9@cox.net
L.
Len
Robbins
Columnist
airpub@planttel.net
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
ments begins at $25,000. Through
$34,000 a single taxpayer pays income
taxes on one-half of Social Security
income. Above $35,000 single taxpay
ers are taxed on 85 percent of their
Social security income.
Married couples pay income taxes
on 50 percent of their Social Security
income if they are in the $32,000-
$44,000 bracket. If their income is
above $44,000 the tax is on 85 percent
of Social Security benefits.
These taxes on Social Security ben
efits affect a millions of taxpaying
Americans.
This tax on benefits that previously
had been tax free was a gift from
President Bill Clinton’s administra
tion. Recipients of Social Security ben
efits are angry about this tax.
But that’s just the way it is. Congress
passes laws that seem to benefit their
constituents and then sneak in tax
increases under the radar.
This is not an isolated instance. It
happens all the time, which brings me
to the conclusion we would be better
off if we fire the whole crowd every few
years.
After all, our Founding Fathers did
not envision a full time congress. They
saw members of congress as hometown
legislators who would go to Washington
for a few weeks each year to deal with
the country’s business.
Somewhere along the way the job
became full time and members of con
gress became indebted to lobbyists
while telling the folks back home what
they wanted to hear and doing as they
please.
And because it is almost impossible
to replace an incumbent that is what
we are stuck with.
with a silver shovel in her mouth.
■ Your mama’s so old she co-wrote
the 4th Commandment.
■ Your mama’s so fat, she has to
keep pesos in one pocket and yen in
the other.
■ Your mama’s so ugly, the doctor
that delivered her still stops by once a
year to slap your grandparents.
■ Your mama’s so fat, her left leg is
a congressional district.
■ I saw a picture of your mama in a
magazine yesterday - on pages 10, 11,
12, 13, and 14.
■ Your mama’s so old, when Moses
parted the Red Sea, she lost her fish
ing pole.
■ Your mama’s so fat, she stood in
front of that Hollywood sign, and it
said H d.
■ Your mama’s so stupid she sits on
the TV and watches the couch.
■ Your mama’s so fat, when she
steps on a scale, she sees her social
security number.
■ Your mama’s so old, she remem
bers when the Grand Canyon was a
ditch.
■ Your mama ain’t so bad. She’ll give
you the hair off her back.
Feel free to use these “Your Mama”
jokes next time you are in the back of
the bus, or at church. Just don’t let
any mamas hear you. They might not
get it.