Newspaper Page Text
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.