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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 1 > |/2 litE,,G£S '; \ //bioioJA J J%y y/ id \r) #n yyyi 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.