No sympathy for wealthy paying taxes

5/17/2008

Horrors. Sen. John McCain says millions of people will see higher taxes if the Democrats get into power. If that's the "super wealthy" millions, great.

There are more than 300 million Americans. The top 1 percent is the 3 million rich Americans who got a trillion-dollar tax break under President Bush that Mr. McCain wants to continue.

Three million upper-class Americans control America's wealth and are bleeding you dry. They are pocketing your pension funds, benefiting from high energy and gas prices, costly health care and prescription drugs, expensive food, and low wages. You name it, their profits are up.

Reciting the mantra "free trade," they get tax breaks for taking American industry to foreign countries, communist countries to boot. Companies built up with the ideas, improvements, and the hard work of Americans. The newly values-oriented, patriotic owners have decided that you, the American worker, can no longer compete with a third-world worker making a dollar a day.

For the last seven years under Republican control, America has been open to be looted, its worth devalued and converted from its lucrative manufacturing base.

Consider America's recent fiscal deficit created to grant tax breaks to the wealthy few and fund unnecessary and very costly wars. It is going to take the future money your children and grandchildren will earn to pay off the debt from cash they are transferring to themselves today. Think about crumbling infrastructure, tangible and social?

I'm supposed to worry about these millions of wealthy people paying more taxes?

I take some comfort that my vote, if counted, cancels the vote of the president of Exxon, that is if he is an American and can vote in the upcoming election.

W. F. Hoffmann

Elmore

Dear Senator Obama: Enough already about your message of change. We have lots of that. Let's hear something about your plans for the dollars.

Marian G. Elfring

Swanton

No matter who wins in November, the United States will begin to reclaim its once-great reputation. It's good to elect a new king (or queen) every four years - this time more than ever.

Hal Simon

Maumee

The Blade s excellent May 13 editorial, Resisting library snoops, refers to the case of the Internet Archive as what is believed to be the fi rst challenge to a national security letter served upon a library.

That is incorrect.

Four brave librarians from Connecticut, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, successfully challenged a national security letter served on the Library Connection, a Connecticut library consortium. On April 11, 2007, one of the four, George Christian, was able to speak publicly about their ordeal to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Judith Platt

Director, Freedom to Read

Association of American Publishers

Washington