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PAGE 4A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008 Editor: Angela Gary Phone: 706-367-2490 E-mail: AngieEditor@aol.com Website: www.banksnewsTODAY.com Opinion “Where the press is free and every tnan able to read, all is safe.” — Thomas Jefferson We don't need to be a plastic nation The quick swipe of plastic offers such a comforting lie. When we pay in cash, we immediately kiss that coveted green goodbye, but the credit card offers such a beauti ful illusion, a confirmation that life is to be lived for today, forget tomorrow. Somebody will have to pick up the bill eventually. And, yes, I know it will probably be me, since, of course, my name is on the card. But that's a future me, not the me of today. So let's splurge on the lobster. It’s so good, especially dipped in all that butter. We see now that the culture of reckless debt has infected our nation at every level. We foolishly bite off more than we can chew. And we’ve been promised that the world is truly a playground for those who live in the moment. Credit card companies have flooded our mailboxes for years, trying to sucker us into massive “put-it-on-my-tab” miseries. There’s so much profit to be made off reckless consumerism and the pileup of interest. And we’ve been too eager to join the crippling financial arrangement. If you really want a big flat screen, you can always find the smiling sales guy who informs you that true happiness is only visible in high def. Just swipe that plastic. And standing now in a dark alley, we can see that the bright road of American economic growth has been too dependent in recent years on impulsive flat screen purchases backed by plastic promises. We want so much more than we can cover. The housing market has also been corrupted by unhealthy credit arrangements. Folks wanted to live beyond their means. And they were encouraged to do so by those who stood to profit off their misguided deci sions. Our government has been just as guilty. The Bush Administration will leave office with the debt now at $10 trillion. That’s over $30,000 a person. Sadly, we owe a fortune to China, which now has a truly troubling financial grip on this nation. “Would we have bailed out Fannie Mae had we not been pressured by its Chinese investors?” asked Rudolph Penner of the Urban Institute's Tax Policy Center in his article, “The Debt Bomb.” That's a valid question. We’re so reliant now on foreign investment that we risk losing some of our autonomy. Call me crazy, and I'm sure you will, but I don’t under stand how the nation can afford tax cuts for anyone right now, not with two wars going, not with a massive bailout promised for Wall Street, not with an aging population that will require our care, not with our debt reaching absurd levels. How many zeros are in $10 trillion anyway? No doubt, I need a cut. I’m feeling a horrible pinch. Who isn't? These are tough times. But I view our national debt as a collective credit card bill that will surely come due. Running up more debt means we’re just adding to the bill, ensuring that the sober person who has to pick up the tax tab later will have an even bigger headache. Promising the world with tax cuts is not the fiscally responsible thing. I think we all recognize the truth in this, but we know, too, that political candidates can't win by expressing such truths. Both candidates plan to add to our debt. “Including interest costs, Obama’s tax plan would boost the debt by $3.5 trillion by 2018: McCain’s plan would increase the debt by $5 trillion on top of the $2.3 trillion increase that the Congressional Budget Office forecasts for the next decade,” read the executive summary on the candidate’s tax plans fom the non-partisan Urban- Brookings Tax Policy Center. I understand there’s truth in that old saying about hav ing to spend money to make money. For instance, it was a massive government expense to build an interstate net work, but there was certainly a payoff. Not all debt is bad, not when there is something valu able to gain in the long run. But our accumulation of debt in recent years has not been part of some great com munity development, like an interstate system. No, it’s been a crippling byproduct of live-for-today-and-forget- tomorrow politics. It truly hurts, but we need to recognize the deterioration of American power that will come if we choose to ignore our bills. We don’t need to be a plastic nation, not as individuals, not as a whole. Zacli Mitcham is editor of The Madison County Journal, a sister publication of The Banks County News. The Banks County News Founded 1968 The official legal organ of Banks County, Ga. Mike Buffington Co-Publisher Scott Buffington Co-Publisher Angela Gary Editor Chris Bridges Sports Editor Sharon Hogan Reporter Anelia Chambers Receptionist Suzanne Reed Church News (SCED 547160) Published weekly by MainStreet Newspapers, Inc., P.O. Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549 Periodicals postage paid at Homer, Ga. 30547 Postmaster, send address changes to: Subscriptions, The Banks County News, P.O. Box 920, Homer, Ga. 30547 111 7“ /' 1 (El —l 4 L — , 0-^ 1 f "I hate election years...we get more campaign literature than candy!" A letter for Obama Former Sen. Sam Nunn is leading a group of big hitters in the Atlanta business community in a campaign to recruit support and raise cash for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. They're asking for contribu tions of $5,000 to $30,000 from each for the Obama Victory Fund. Although Obama may not win Georgia, the guys on Nunn's list are not noted for backing losers. A two-page letter extolling Obama was mailed last week to an A-list of Georgia business leaders. In addition to Nunn and wife Colleen, signers of the missive included international developer Tom Cousins and his wife Ann, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and his wife Stephanie, high-tech entrepreneur John Imlay and wife Mary Ellen, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Gordon Giffin and wife Patti, media mogul Ted Turner, big-time developer Herman Russell and business magnate Carl Ware and wife Mary. The biggies wrote: “We see in Barack Obama an uncommon ability to restore America's credibility and moral authority and to get others to join us in tackling serious global problems that will determine our own well being and security. ... We need a president who has the temperament of a leader — a sharp, incisive mind, a rare capacity for self- criticism, and a willingness to hear contrary points of view.” The letter made no mention of GOP candi date John McCain or his running mate Sarah Palin. I don’t recall a group of such prominent fig ures putting their names on the line to support a Democratic presidential candidate who will almost certainly go down in flames in Georgia even if he wins the White House. The establishment support for Obama may complicate another Georgia race: the contest for U.S. Senate between incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin. A month ago Chambliss appeared a sure winner. He poured millions into TV ads brag ging about his long experience (eight years in the House and six in the Senate). He must have forgotten that many of his constituents are angry at “experienced” con- gresspersons for allowing a historic financial collapse, which they tried to shore up by vot ing a $700 billion injection of taxpayer money into Wall Street banks. That move wasn't very popular either, and so far, it hasn't worked. As soon as Chambliss heard murmurs of criticism, he changed strategy. He forgot his own long record in Washington and attacked Martin’s character, claiming Martin was fired as state welfare director for “a breach in public trust.” Martin, a Democrat, was asked to leave early in the administration of Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue. Everybody expected Martin to resign after his party lost the election. Even as Chambliss launched his personal attack, his popularity dipped in the media polls. National pundits said Chambliss was in deep trouble. “Saxby is in the fight of his life,” said Georgia GOP Chairman Sue Everhart. The Chambliss-Martin race went from “bright red” on the network maps to pink with an asterisk, meaning “leaner with upset possible.” Jokes about Chambliss' voting record in the Senate also made the rounds. “Somebody ought to buy Saxby a ten-gallon hat, so he’d look more like a Texan.” “He votes just like a Texan,” said one Democrat, referring to Chambliss’ loyal support for Big Oil and Gas, an important Texas industry. Georgia has no oil or gas wells. Even so, Chambliss has accepted more than $153,000 in campaign contributions from Big Oil and Gas. The industry has received more than its money’s worth in return. Consider: Chambliss twice voted against assessing Big Oil $29 billion to fund alternative energy sources. In 2005 Chambliss voted against cutting oil imports by 40 percent over the next 20 years to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Chambliss opposed measures to protect con sumers from gouging by oil companies, espe cially during emergencies such as Katrina. In 2005 the senator voted against a measure to impose a temporary windfall tax on crude oil and to rebate the tax to the American con sumer. Chambliss’ Washington romance with petro leum runs two more pages. With a voting record like that, one might understand why Sen. Chambliss is a favorite of the boys who hang out at Exxon-Mobil. In the end, our senior senator's record won’t matter much. We’ve said it before: Saxby looks like a senator elected by a committee of casting directors. Poor Jim Martin looks like a Presbyterian preacher chosen by a panel of puritans. In a contest like that with the star-quality candidate having more gold than Midas, who do you think will win? You can reach Bill Shipp at P.O. Box 2520, Kennesaw, GA 30156, e-mail: shippl@bell- south.net, or Web address: billshipponline. com. Comments on gas situation Dear Editor: It took a couple of hurricanes to interrupt our gasoline supply and remind us about our over dependence on cars. Just think how our local economy could thrive if we had local people working on solar panels and wind farms. A wind farm could be up and running in just a year and cost lots less than oil drilling or a nuclear plant, without all that radioactive waste and spilled oil. If the oil companies could put their rich bank accounts behind clean energy we could all enjoy the results. Would a surtax on excess profits get their attention? How about a penalty for moth balling their refineries? How about all the royal ties they have neglected paying for the drilling? Isn't it amazing how suddenly gas prices could fall? I wonder if that has anything to do with the campaigns? Are you listening Saxby Chambliss? Jim Martin? Paul Broun? Bobby Saxon? Sincerely, Adele Kushner Alto Letters to the editor policy given The Banks County News has established a policy on printing Letters to the editor. We must have an original copy of all letters that are submitted to us for publica tion. 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. Could our state possibly be contested? More items from the political notebook as the Nov. 4 election approaches: •There has been more talk in recent weeks about how close the vote will be between John McCain and Barack Obama in Georgia early next month. All polls indi cate Georgia will remain red and go in McCain’s col umn, although it will likely be as close as it has been in some time. Two polls I looked at recently had McCain holding six and eight percent leads respectively. Not exactly the landslide wins of recent presidential elections for the Republican candidate, but not close enough yet for the experts to start talking about Georgia “being in play.” It should be known that once polls show a candidate within five percent of the leader, then it is often called a statistical tie and is really considered a toss-up, but I would still put my money on McCain at this point in Georgia. Early turnout of voters has been somewhat heavy and I believe we could see some long lines on Tuesday, Nov. 4. It will be interest ing to see how the voting precincts across our state handle the expected flood of voters in less than two weeks. •Georgia's Secretary of State Karen Handel continues to use her office as a launching board for high er office. Speculation abounds that she will run for Governor in 2010 and her actions in recent months point toward that. Handel's insistence on pushing the voter ID law through — despite the fact Georgia has one of the lowest number of documented cases of voter fraud in the nation — has political tactic written all over it. In addition, one has to wonder whether Handel has some sort of personal vendetta against Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell. The Democratic candidate has already won several court battles against Handel over his residency requirement to run for a seat on the PSC. (Note, PSC candidates are elected state-wide but must live in a certain district. This requirement was passed a few years back in an attempt to keep long-time PSC member and former chairman Mac Barber from running again.) Several court decisions have all favored Powell, who as of now is on the Nov. 4 ballot, but Handel will not let the issue go and continues to try and disqualify him. One has to really wonder why as this appears to go even beyond partisan politics. Handel's actions in office border on scary and remind me of another Republican Secretary of State from a few years ago who gained national fame. Her name was Katherine Harris of Florida. •The wild-card in the U.S. Senate race could be Libertarian Allen Buckley. With Democrat Jim Martin inching closer to Republican Saxby Chambliss in the polls with each passing day, Buckley may very well hold the key to whether Martin pulls the upset or whether there is a runoff. Buckley, who has polled as much as 10 percent in some counts, is expected to draw votes away from Chambliss, as the Libertarian has taken aim as the Republican incum bent for his out-of-control pork barrel habits. If enough voters who typical ly cast their ballots for Republicans can break that habit and move to Buckley’s camp, it could get interest ing in this race which at one time was not even close. chris bridges Chris Bridges is a reporter for The Banks County News. E-mail comments about this column to chris@mainstreet- news.com.