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About The Commerce news. (Commerce, Ga.) 1???-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2007)
PAGE 4A -- THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2007 mion Editorial Views Some Changes Warranted In Georgia’s Tax Policy This space last week was devoted to criticism of Rep. Glenn Richardson's idea of how Georgians should be taxed. House Resolution 900 would be a disaster for Georgia's low and middle classes and to public school systems. But that doesn't mean changes aren't warranted in state tax policy. The basic problem with Richardson's approach is that he and his like detest all taxes to the point that they do not recognize the necessity of taxation to provide for the public good. The fact is, neither this nation nor this state could exist without taxes to fund roads, water and sewer systems, police and fire protection, schools and hospitals, and a myriad of other necessities. The rest of the world would wel come the tax burden Americans complain about in exchange for living in America. The dilemma for government is twofold: determin ing how much money to spend and how to tax to get it. Both are subject to varying opinions in phi losophy and neither can be resolved with one simple solution, as Richardson proposes. There's a good reason why taxes are levied by so many different means — it spreads the tax bur den over all classes of people, sometimes based, as Richardson prefers, on consumption, sometimes by use and other times according to wealth. Rich people pay more property taxes, to which the poor contrib ute through their rent, but property taxes are a use ful component in a balanced taxation strategy. If Richardson wants to see local property taxes go down, the first thing he should do is insist that the General Assembly restore the austerity cuts Gov. Perdue made in education spending, which forced local school boards to raise taxes. The second part of the solution would be to make the General Assembly fund education fully at the level required by the Quality Basic Education (QBE) Act passed by the legislature, and the third would be to reach a bipartisan consensus on nonessential spending or programs that can be cut. Part of the strategy in fully funding education might well be another penny or two of state sales taxes, but property taxes, which are levied by school boards, cities and counties, must remain part of the mix to retain that balance. The tax requirements of Jackson County are likely to be different than those of Rabun County, the needs of Commerce dissimilar to those of Marietta. Suggesting a sales tax increase as an alternative to all property taxes not only ignores the differences among communities, but also vests the state with total financial control over local schools. Does any one believe that is desirable? As long as public schools exist and the population of Georgia grows, the amount of tax revenue needed can only go up. It's a discomforting reality, but it is a reality nonetheless. We can tinker with the tax mix and, hopefully, find new efficiencies, but no class of taxpayers should expect to be relieved of a share of the burden. Celebrating Christmas Christmas, America's favorite holiday, is upon us. Like it or not, it's a Christian celebration. You might not know that by looking at some greet ing cards, decorations or advertising, but Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ, the son of God, who came to earth to die for the sins of man kind, and who was resurrected. Many non-believers observe Christmas too, join ing the consumer spree and enjoying the seasonal decorations if not the religious observations, but for Christians, Christmas is so much more than exchanging gifts, gathering family and taking time off work. They alone fully understand why and what we celebrate, and they have more to celebrate. Editorials, unless otherwise noted, are written by Mark Beardsley. He can be reached by e-mail at mark@main- streetnews.com. The Commerce News ESTABLISHED IN 1875 USPS 125-320 1672 South Broad Street Commerce, Georgia 30529 MIKE BUFFINGTON Co-Publisher SCOTT BUFFINGTON Co-Publisher MARK BEARDSFEY Editor/General Manager BRANDON REED Sports Editor TERESA MARSHAFF Office Manager MERRIFF BAGWEFF Cartoonist THE COMMERCE NEWS is the legal organ of the city of Commerce and is published every Wednesday by MainStreet Newspapers Inc. Periodical postage paid at Commerce, Georgia 30529. Subscription Rates Per Year: Jackson, Banks and Madison counties, $19.75; State of Georgia, $38.85; out-of-state, $44.50. Most rates dis counted $2 for senior citizens. POSTMASTER send address changes to THE COMMERCE NEWS, P.O. Box 908, Jefferson, GA 30549. do e & V o I wish people would quit trying to read my mind, and just give me cash for Christmas* Mysteries, Miracles & Commerce Scientists have been puzzled for years by a phenomenon which some call "mountain music.” Those of you who are old enough to remember when radio ruled the airwaves may also remember that you could find exotic and wonderful sta tions on your radio, especially on winter nights, because of atmospheric conditions (which also account for the dazzling phenomenon of northern lights.) Mountain music is in that same general category. It's comprised of infrasound waves, which have a wave length nearly four miles long and can't be heard by the human ear. These infrasound waves are picked up by micro barometers, which "hear” the waves as pressure. Scientists know that infra sound waves are generated by earthquakes, volcanic erup tions, nuclear explosions, the impact of a large meteorite, and even ocean waves in severe storms. What they don't know is why these infrasound waves show up each winter, usually at night, traveling all the way from the Pacific Northwest to Washington, DC, and lasting for hours at a time. They got as far as figuring out that mountain music usu ally occurred when winds at high altitude blew across the A Few Facts, A Lot Of Gossip 2 BY SUSAN HARPER Pacific mountain ranges at speeds of 40 knots or more. Then they ran out of fund ing. Their best guess was that the mountains act like a giant "aeolian harp” — a musical instrument played by the wind, rather than by human hands. Winds whirling around and through the mountains at high speed create throbs of sound that can be "heard” thousands of miles away. That's just a guess, though. The mystery remains, which suits me just fine — I love a good mystery. I was in a group of people recently who were talking about the mystery of Commerce. What is it, exactly, that makes this such an extraordinary place? Why — just to take one example — would a little town like this produce a whole roster of award-winning journalists and writers? Olive Ann Burns is the name most people think of first, these days, because of the ongoing and growing fame of her novel, "Cold Sassy Tree,” which has been made into a movie and, more recently, a highly successful opera. But the list also includes Harold Martin, Thomas Dozier, Philip Gailey, Bill Rogers, and Randall Savage — and that's the short list. We obviously have a long, strong heritage of gifted and dedicated English teachers, but is that the whole story? To take another example, why can you hear such magnifi cent music at our First Baptist Church that you would be hard-pressed to find its equal outside the great music capitals of Europe? Are we just super lucky that Todd Chandler grew up in this corner of the world, or did he get something special in the process? My best clue to the overall mystery of Commerce comes from the final scene of a 1947 movie called "The Bishop's Wife,” when the bishop says that all we really need to cure the world's ills is for people to have warm hearts, loving kind ness, and "the outstretched hand of tolerance.” I believe that's the secret behind the mystery of Commerce. Call it a Christmas guess. Susan Harper is director of the Commerce Public Library. What To Make Of A Scandal What now? How should we react to former Sen. George Mitchell's recent report on performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball? The 20-month, multi-million dollar investigation yielded 409 pages of player and management misconduct, resulting in seven MVPs and 31 All-stars, one for every position, being accused of using illegal drugs. With everyone from AM radio hosts to President Bush chiming in on how to treat the report, I decided it was time to share my generation's opinion. Of course, I cannot realisti cally expect my comments to represent everyone in my gen eration, but after a few days of conversation with my friends, here it goes ... Did we need to spend that much money (reportedly $20 million) on a report that was only going to reinforce what every sports fan already knows? The simple answer is no. After being asked again if he thought he spent too much Views In Rotation BY HASCO CRAVER money on the report, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig stated that "there was a higher cost in not doing this ... I didn't want someone some day to say 'What were they hiding?'” Not too many Major League Commissioners would spend that much money to inflict so much humiliation on their own sport, so I will give him credit for the courage it took to plow ahead through the investigation, but I stand by my original assertion that the Mitchell Report did not uncov er something my generation, let alone all of America, didn't already know. Unfortunately, my generation generally doesn't watch much baseball anymore. With the player strikes of the early-mid nineties, rising ticket prices, an absurdly too-powerful and secretive players' union and a two-team league, why should I watch? And now, if we didn't already know it before, many of them use performance enhancing drugs. I beg you to walk into a cof fee shop filled with twenty- somethings glued to their lap tops and cell phones and ask, "Who won the MLB MVP in 1996?” This is my grandfather and father's game. I under stand the concerns the Mitchell Report raises to previous gen erations. This is the game they played after school and during the summer. This is the game that made them spend their allowances on trading cards. This is the game their fathers taught them to play. This is the Please Turn To Page 5A It's Gospel According To Mark BY MARK BEARDSLEY Just Kidding About World Peace, Santa Dear Santa: Okay, I know you're aware I'm writing this on time stolen from my company. Another check on the "naughty” side of my ledger, I'm sure. But since you've always been pretty generous, I'm hoping that even with behavior that is, well, not my best effort, I can still count on your largess. Yeah, I know this is late. Less than a week to go, in fact, but I figure any one who can deliver gifts worldwide on one night and fit everything from the latest dolls to countless ponies in one reindeer-powered sleigh (not to mention down unnumbered chim neys), isn't going to be panicked by a last-minute request. I truly admire your organizational skills — and to do it all with such good humor. Now, let's cut to the chase. Here's my request for your consideration: • a Bluetooth device: Sure, some explanation is in order, since I don't even have a cell phone. Having that blue metallic slug-looking thing attached to your ear identifies you as cool, and it allows you to talk loudly to yourself in public places without people thinking you're insane. I'll come across as rude but folks will think I'm connected. • a new spell checking program for my computer: Microsoft Word does a good job of picking out misspelled words, but I want a program that not only catches those, but also the times when I type the wrong word — though I spell it correctly. I want a program that can sense what I'm getting at and makes sure the words are appropriate. Bring something that knows the differences between bear and bare; their and there, and knows when you've typed the wrong conso nant in "ship.” That will save some headaches in this office. • a camellia bush that the deer won't eat: C'mon, this shouldn't be so hard. Several of my neighbors have such bushes that right now have a profusion of flowers, while the local deer herd killed my camellia. Hopefully, your nursery division has a drought-hardy variety. •world peace: Gotcha, didn't I? Try selling that in the Middle East. Just kidding. I'd settle for peace in local government, but something tells me even two million elves working overtime couldn't produce that by Christmas. It doesn't hurt to ask. • a new president: The one we've got has been broken for about seven years, and the backup (vice president) is scary. Come to think of it, I'm not wild about very many of the people running for the job, but any of them will be better than what we've got. • a big bag of pecans: I like to throw in something easy now and then. Even Santa needs a break. Besides, the local crop is off again, and I'm trying to restock the freezer. •a boat ramp for Bear Creek Reservoir: I figure you're my best chance of getting that during 2008, because the governing authority is apparently waiting for the lake to dry up first. It's waiting for something, that's for sure. • El Nino. I'm not sure weather is your department, but it's evil twin, La Nina, is behind our drought. El Nino could bring too much rain, but right now, that sounds pretty good. Well, that's it. That wasn't so bad, was it? Mark Beardsley is editor of The Commerce News. He can be reached at mark@mainstreetnews.com.
