Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2009
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
Lots of questions, few answers
WHAT DO I know
about the economy?
Zilch! I can’t even
balance my check
book. Thank God
for Mary, who did
it for me from July,
1947, to May, 1996,
and Shirley, who
has done it for me
since March, 1998.
Without them, my
finances would be
a bigger mess than
Wall Street’s fiasco, and I’d
probably be in jail.
I count it a blessing that I
am not motivated by money.
That probably explains why
the book I have been piddling
around with for 60-plus years
is still on the back burner.
Of course, if I didn’t have
any money, I might go out
and steal some; unless, of
course, Shirley and the kids
and my ever-loving govern
ment didn’t take care of me.
The fact that I am neither
motivated by nor particularly
interested in money may be
because I have everything I
need and almost everything
I want.
Which brings me to explain
that subject I know absolutely
nothing about: the econo
my. There are two of them.
One is for those of us who
have everything we need and
almost everything we want.
We have a job or are com
fortably retired. We own our
home. Our truck and car are
paid for. We pay our credit
card bill, in full, every month.
We don’t owe anybody any
thing. We have excellent
health care. We show up at
the nicest restaurants in town
at least twice a week.
We are the “haves.”
And then there are the
“have-nots.” They’ve
lost their jobs and
retirement is years
away. Their home is
in foreclosure. Their
truck and car are
being repossessed.
Credit card and other
debts are out of sight.
They’ve lost their
health insurance.
They eat hot dogs -
at home.
Feeling guilty,
like some of the “haves” are
doing, doesn’t help the “have-
nots” much.
Some shoppers are ask
ing high-end stores to put
their purchases in plain white
paper bags. Others want their
expensive clothes and jew
elry shipped home so they can
walk out of the store without
any bags at all. They also
come to the store dressed in
jeans and a T-shirt.
Why would they do a thing
like that? Is it because they
don’t want to offend the
“have-nots?” I’m guessing
it’s because they have a guilty
conscience.
Telling the down and out
to pull themselves up by
their boot straps won’t work,
either. If you had lost your
job and home through no fault
of your own, how would you
feel about this AJC Vent? “If
you buy something, pay for
it. If you borrow, pay it back.
If you work, saving a portion
of your income is not an out
dated idea. If you live beyond
your means, don’t expect me
to pay for your bailout.”
“Let us all be happy and
live within our means, even if
we have to borrow the money
to do it with.” - Artemus
Ward.
But remember, “The bor
rower is servant to the lend
er.” I believe that’s in the
Bible somewhere.
Ah, bailout! That’s what
the down and out need. They
aren’t likely to get one; bail
outs are reserved for the up
and coming CEOs of failed
financial institutions so they
can stay afloat and pay bonus
es to keep the good people
they have at the top. One
Venter suggested, “If you lost
billions last year, you don’t
have any good people at the
top.”
I don’t understand this
bailout-stimulus thing. And
from what I read and hear,
congressmen and women
don’t, either. A couple of
weeks ago, when they debat
ed the president’s proposal,
every Democrat voted for it
and every Republican voted
against it. So much for the end
of partisan politics. I would
have felt better if at least one
Democrat and one Republican
had switched sides.
I’ve read that the wealth of
a nation - or a business, bank
or individual - is its ability
to produce. I used to believe
that. Now I am not sure.
If you have ability and
don’t, won’t, or can’t use it,
what good is it? If you use
your ability to make your
self rich while your business
flounders, is your ability a
contribution or a detriment to
society?
They say U.S. workers are
the most productive in the
world. Why is it, then, that
when you go to Wal-Mart,
just about everything you
pick up is made in China?
Newsweek Magazine says
“the gap between rich and
poor is growing” and that
“class will likely constitute
the major dividing line in
our society - and the greatest
threat to America’s historic
aspirations.”
Is there anything we can do
to close the gap?
I would mention “share the
wealth” again, but I remem
ber how the far right con
servatives jumped down my
throat when I mentioned it
the first time. I’m not going
there again.
I’ll let Jill Howard Church
take the heat this time. “If we
all sacrificed a little, maybe
fewer people have to sacrifice
a lot.”
Writing in The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, she told
how Peachtree City employ
ees are being asked whether
they would take a 25 percent
pay cut to save the jobs of 23
of their fellow employees.
Then she got personal.
“Would you - or could you -
get by with a lower salary if
it meant saving the job of the
person you eat lunch with?”
I believe the Auto Workers
Union refused to take a pay
cut when the Automobile
industry and Congress were
discussing how to save GM,
Ford and Chrysler. And the
retired teachers-educators of
Georgia (of which I am one)
didn’t take kindly to the gov
ernor’s request that we give
up the cost of living increase
in our pensions. The econo
my touches close to home,
doesn’t it?
I told you I don’t know
anything about it, and I prob
ably shouldn’t be writing this
stuff, seeing as how I have
a lot more questions than
answers.
Virgil Adams is a former
owner/editor of The Jackson
Herald.
virgil
adams
Offers thanks to health dept.
Dear Editor:
I would like to say thank you to the
people of the Jefferson office of the Jackson
County Health Department. Like so many
people, my husband got laid off and we
lost our health insurance. I heard about the
BreasTest Program at the health department
so I went there for my exam and referral
for a mammogram. Within a week I had
an appointment at St. Mary’s Hospital in
Athens.
The very day I went I was diagnosed
with breast cancer. The people at the health
department and St. Mary’s said don’t worry
about it. We will take care of it. Within two
weeks I had surgery and financial aid. I’m
in treatment now and will be alright. The
health department acted really quick on my
behalf. And for that I am grateful. Thank
you Stephanie and Eileen, especially. By the
way, thank you too, St. Mary’s Hospital.
Thanks again,
Connie West
Jefferson
— See more letters to the editor on page 10A —
BOE responds to editorial
and salary publication
Dear Editor:
We are writing in response to
your article and editorial in The
Jackson Herald concerning local
school systems’ salaries. While
your article correctly reflects
the actual salary information, it
seems to suggest that local boards
have the authority to begin slash
ing salaries in response to our
current economic crisis.
Nothing is further from the
truth as all certified teaching sal
aries are established by the state.
We do pay a small local supple
ment, averaging five percent
of the state salary and ours in
Jackson County are in line with
all other systems across the state.
We use local funds to enhance
and enrich our children’s educa
tional experience through music,
art, physical education, coaches,
extracurricular programs, para-
professionals, support personnel
and special programs. Our com
munity has continually expressed
support for these programs and
activities as well as the desire
that they continue.
We believe that we are elected
to work toward providing the
very best school system pos
sible for the students of Jackson
County, working within the
framework of the Georgia State
Department of Education. We
also know that we have some of
the finest teachers, administra
tors and employees in the state.
Our superintendent and admin
istrators have worked long and
hard putting together the very
best team available.
Our philosophy is that if you
demand and expect accountabil
ity from teachers and adminis
trators, they must be compen
sated for their efforts. It pays
dividends in the classrooms and
our entire county benefits. We
are extremely proud and appre
ciative of the faculty and staff
of Jackson County Schools and
our increasing academic results
attest to their dedication and
commitment to the children of
our school system.
It is unfortunate that education
is always the political football
during state budget discussions.
If the state needs money, the pre
vailing idea is to take it from edu
cation and children. Our children
are the most precious resource
the state and counties have and if
properly educated, they will pro
vide tremendous benefits to our
communities and economies.
We continually hear how we
need to improve our education
systems, yet those same systems
are criticized for spending local
taxpayer funds in an effort to
improve and to provide what is
required by the state. You can’t
have it both ways, we either need
to get behind our schools, make
the commitment and truly work
toward excellence, or scrap the
whole system and start over at
the state level. Often times, the
old adage is true, “you get what
you pay for.”
During these tough econom
ic times, we are looking at our
budget and thinking of every
conceivable way we can save
local taxpayer funds, even as our
state funds continue to be cut,
year after year. Until a statewide
change is made in the education
al funding system and mandates,
local systems will be caught in
the middle between parents and
communities who expect and
demand excellence in education
for their children and taxpayers
who want to pay less.
Now is the time to come
together and be part of the solu
tion and not part of the problem.
It is disappointing that our local
paper implies that our board of
education is wasteful with local
tax revenue and that our faculty
and staff are overpaid. While it
is easy to place blame during
though times, it is also important
to know the whole story.
The Jackson County Board
of Education has worked hard
to be good stewards of local
money, to provide an excellent
educational program as well as
up-to-date facilities. Certainly,
we have more improvements
planned and tough budget deci
sions to make but we will con
tinue to work toward achieving
our goals. We will not lose focus
and will remain “committed to
the relentless pursuit of educa
tion excellence” for every child
in the Jackson County School
System.
Sincerely,
The Jackson County
Board of Education
Kathy Wilbanks, Chairman
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