Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE 4A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2008 Editor: Angela Gary Phone: 706-367-2490 E-mail: AngieEditor@aol.com Website: www.mainstreetnews.com Opinions “Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.” — Thomas Jefferson A rude awakening I got a letter in the mail the other day notifying me that the monthly cost of our trash pick-up was increasing, due to fuel costs. I can understand that necessity, from a business standpoint. Still, it’s another drop in the bucket of rising costs for all of us. Even stamp prices are on the rise, again. Just how many times have you found yourself tacking on a one- cent stamp in the past few years, trying to get some use out of the already outpriced stamps you bought in a roll? Prices in general are up and climbing. The economy is down and declin ing, so we hear. Word has it that 2009 and 2010 will bring a stronger recession. I talked with an older man - he’s in his 80s- not too long ago who said he believes “young people” are in for a rude awakening. It’s pos sible, he said, another Depression, or the likes, is before us. Still, he pondered, it might be good for “them” to tighten up their belts, to think about costs before spending, to ration. In other words, to live frugally, like our grandpar ents and our parents did. (Um, trash pick-up wasn’t an issue, for a very small example.) I’m one of the semi-young people who hasn’t had to stand in a bread line or to “make do” with rationing. Still, I do have some very vague recollection of see ing the long lines of cars on television during the oil embargo of the 1970s, or perhaps even being in our family car and waiting at the gas station. From what I’ve read, motorists with odd-numbered tags would buy gas on odd-numbered days and so forth. I do remember with clarity that there was a time when it cost me $8 — yes, $8 — to fill up my car with gas. Now it’s closer to $50 — up $20 in just a matter of months — and that’s low, in comparison to other, larger vehicles. There is some cost relativity, of course, as at that $8 time, the minimum wage was just over $3 an hour. I would have been in high school and early college, so I probably didn’t earn a lot more than minimum wage. But, in retrospect....$8! Now prices are inflated, but people’s income is not matching pace. Health insurance is going up, cost of living is going up, expenses in general are going up. All different messes, but they all pile up to expensive living. An article about how the economy is facing that “’70s feeling” again notes “some parallels between today and the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the oil-dependent U.S. economy saw double-digit infla tion largely because of an unexpected energy shock. Growth fell while inflation rose, creating stagflation - a stagnant economy and high inflation.” I can’t pretend to be an economist. I’m not sure of the exact differences between recession and Depression, and whether or not those terms may be used interchangeably. Still, I have to agree with my 80-plus friend. I believe we will all be tightening our belts sooner than later. jana a. mitcham Jana Adams Mitcham is features editor of The Jackson Herald, a sister publication of The Banks County News. E-mail comments about this column to jana@mainstreetnews.com. The Banks County News Founded 1968 The official legal organ of Banks County, Ga. Mike Buffington Co-Publisher (Editorial) Scott Buffington Co-Publisher (Advertising) Angela Gary Editor Chris Bridges Sports Editor Sharon Hogan Reporter Anelia Chambers Receptionist Suzanne Reed Church News Phones (all 706 area code): Angela Gary Phone 367-2490 Angela Gary Fax 367-9355 Homer Office Phone 677-3491 Homer Office Fax 677-3263 (SCED 547160) Published weekly by MainStreet Newspapers, Inc., P.O. Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549 Subscription in county $19.75 Subscription in state $38.85 Subscription out of state $44.20 Military with APO address $42.20 Senior citizens get a $2 discount Periodicals postage paid at Homer, Ga. Postmaster, send address changes to: Subscriptions, The Banks County News, P.O. Box 920, Homer, Ga. 30547 Member: Georgia Press Association Georgia Sports Writers Association National Newspaper Association Perdue, Republicans enjoy living life of luxury O ver the last several years, we’ve seen the politics at our state Capitol become more and more like the system that has afflicted Washington, D.C., since the Nixon administration. Members of the Republican govern ing majority, while certainly exhibiting increasing acrimony among themselves, still put the health of their partisan majority ahead of just about any other concern. Their focus is on building a culture that surrounds them and their supporters with the aura of government authority, and sustaining their domi nance with money and manpower. When Gov. Perdue took office, his then-chief of staff, Eric Tanenblatt, a former aide to the late Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell and close associate of the Bush political machine, introduced many of the trappings of political power to the Gold Dome culture. Gov. Perdue began to use state air craft to fly just about everywhere, including when he was traveling for personal or political reasons, rather than on official taxpayer business. The man he appointed “inspector general” issued an opinion justifying the use of state aircraft, citing “security reasons” to justify taxpayers footing the bill for the governor’s use of state aircraft, just as the president flies on Air Force One whether he’s on official gov ernment business or not. Tanenblatt also created a system where state troopers drive the governor’s official government vehicle ahead of his flights to be ready to pick him up on the runway when he lands, just like POTUS’ armored lim ousine. Sonny Perdue would have nothing of his predecessors’ habit of hitching a ride with a local state trooper or a sup porter. Only the official luxury SUV would do. We’ve also seen Republicans adding staff to executive and legislative offices. Perdue employs a chief operating officer and chief finan cial officer, with six-figure salaries commensurate with their lofty titles. Republican legislative leaders now have func tionaries running around under the Gold Dome sporting business cards that announce them as “chief of staff” — who of course, need a staff that they can chief. Don’t you wonder what a legislator’s staff does when the General Assembly adjourns in mid-April and doesn’t return until mid- January? Republican constitutional officers have followed suit — creating posi tions like “general counsel” and “inspector general,” even if they are redundant with existing state govern ment positions. Republicans may cam paign on “smaller government,” but now that they control the state, it’s fair to wonder what “smaller” refers to. Along with the expanding political ranks of government comes an increase in the numbers of those paid to influ ence our representatives on behalf of their clients. In fact, the whole system that Gold Dome Republicans are creat ing requires an inflation of the ranks of political aides and the lobbyist corps. There’s more money to be raised if there are more lobbyists cruising around with their meters running. Lobbyist spending on freebies for elected officials (up to and including the governor, despite his “gift ban”) has soared. Those same lobbyists know that big donations to the GOP are expected, and their clients dare not appear on Democrats’ campaign finance reports. The lobbyists need more people to schmooze, so more aides are hired. To close the circle, people hired in these newly created positions ultimately move on, so more lobbyist jobs are cre ated to give erstwhile lackeys a place to land. They leave the government payroll to return as Republican lobbyists who serve their special-interest clients by providing access; their elected former bosses are graced with campaign cash and perks like trips, restaurant meals and event tickets. During the last six years, the revolv ing door has been spinning faster and faster than Linda Blair’s head in “The Exorcist.” Tanenblatt went back to lob bying after leaving Perdue’s employ. Robert Highsmith, once deputy execu tive counsel in Perdue’s office, now collects retainers from all sorts of special interests to lobby his former boss. Another Perdue staff lawyer, Jud Turner, just left to enter the world of special-interest flacks, and the man who replaced him came from a well- connected lobbying operation. Perdue’s current chief of staff, Ed Holcombe, is a former lobbyist for Georgia Power, and will certainly return to the lobbyist ranks some day. Perdue and his fellow Republicans like to talk about how they are modern izing state government. That appears to be true. Unfortunately for the taxpayers who shoulder the bill for Republican staffs and for individuals who can’t compete with the army of special- interest lobbyists, updates to the Gold Dome political scene should bring on a case of nostalgia — and not the warm, fuzzy kind. You can reach Bill Shipp at P. O. Box 2520, Kennesaw, GA 30156, e-mail: shipp1@bellsouth.net, or Web address: billshipponline.com. bill shipp Letters to the editor policy given The Banks County News has estab lished a policy on printing Letters to the Editor. We must have an original copy of all letters that are submitted to us for publication. Members of our staff will not type out or hand-write letters for people who stop by the office and ask them to do so. Letters to the Editor must also be signed with the address and phone number of the person who wrote them. The address and phone number will be for our verification purposes only and will not be printed unless the writer requests it. Mail to, The Banks County News, P.O. Box 920, Homer, Ga. 30547. E-mailed letters will be accepted, but we must have a contact phone number and address. Letters that are libelous will not be printed. Letters may also be edited to meet space requirements. Anyone with questions on the policy is asked to contact editor Angela Gary at AngieEditor@aol.com or by calling 706-367-2490. News department contact numbers Anyone with general story ideas, complaints or comments about the news department is asked to call edi tor Angela Gary at 706-367-2490. She can also be reached by e-mail at AngieEditor@aol.com. Anyone with comments, questions or suggestions relating to the coun ty board of commissioners, county government, county board of educa tion and crime and courts is asked to contact staff reporter Chris Bridges at 706-367-2745 or by e-mail at chris@mainstreetnews.com. Bridges also is sports edi tor of the paper and covers local high school, middle school and recreation sports. Anyone with comments, ques tions or suggestions relating to Alto, Lula, Baldwin and Gillsville, should contact Sharon Hogan at 706-367-5233 or by e-mail at sharon@mainstreetnews.com. Calls for information about the church page should go to Suzanne Reed at 706-677-3491. Church news may also be e-mailed to churchnews@mainstreetnews.com. The Banks County News website is updated each Thursday and can be accessed on the Internet at www.mainstreetnews.com. How do you honor your father? W hat do you get for the man who doesn’t com pletely realize he’s a father? My husband has been a great father to our little girl — but it still doesn’t “click” with him at times that’s a daddy. And it still slips his mind that I’m a mommy, too. Let me be clear: We know we’re parents. It’s just when Mother’s Day or Father’s Day roll around, we think about our own parents. We get them cards. We try to give them a gift or take them out for a special dinner. But we have forgotten that we, too, are parents to our daughter for the special occa sions. On Mother’s Day, my husband was preparing to take his mom out for lunch. I had to work later that afternoon and couldn’t join them. It wasn’t until later in the afternoon that it suddenly “clicked” for my hus band. “Oh! Hey, babe! Happy Mother’s Day,” he said in the middle of another task. I was just happy that he remem bered — and I didn’t have to say a word to remind him about myself now being included in Mother’s Day. While I know that Father’s Day is approaching this weekend, I don’t know how to celebrate a man that’s been a terrific daddy for his little girl. The Census Bureau provides some interesting information about where to shop for Father’s Day. I could buy a shirt or tie at one of more than 8,685 men’s clothing stores around the country. I could buy some tools at one of the nation’s 14,257 hardware stores or 5,925 home cen ters. Or, I could buy a football at one of 23,195 sporting goods stores in the country. There are an estimated 64.3 million fathers in this country, according to the Census Bureau. About 26.5 mil lion men are fathers who are part of married-couple families with children younger than 18, as of 2006. Father’s Day started after a Spokane, Wash., woman listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. She wanted a special day to honor her father, a wid owed Civil War veteran who raised his six children. Spokane’s mayor selected Father’s Day with a June celebration because that’s when the Civil War veteran was born. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966, when President Lyndon B. Johnson named the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day, according to the Census Bureau. Father’s Day has been celebrated every year since 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent. So, how do you honor a man that’s been a great father? The answer to that question shouldn’t come just one day a year. kerri testement Kerri Testement is the news editor of The Braselton News, a sister pub lication of The Banks County News. E-mail comments about this column to kerri@mainstreetnews.com. Letters to the Editor Page 5A in today’s edition