Republican doth protest too much
In response to Ty Cobb’s letter (Jan. 19), I must have missed his numerous letters to the Post, criticizing the Republican administration and Congress for the past eight years about their profligate spending and deficits. Or perhaps his speeches were reported in the Post and I simply missed them.
Or could it be that now that Democrats are in control of both Congress and the White House, Cobb suddenly sees problems for our grandchildren? In 2000 we had a federal surplus and about $4 trillion in national debt. In 2008 we had a deficit of around $400 million a year and an $8 trillion national debt, all before the current recession. Where were Mr. Cobb and other conservatives?
Let’s be honest. Irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthy and unfunded spending on the war caused these deficits, on the Republican’s watch, and none of them complained. Now is not the time to start. Instead, let’s support President Obama in his efforts to turn this around. Perhaps in eight years he will be able to do what President Clinton did, turn over a surplus to his successor!
ó John P. Burke
Salisbury
Decision flawed
Regarding the tourism board’s unanimous vote to double the hotel tax rate, I hope the county commissioners do more than give head nods to this poorly thought-out proposal. For one, these are tumultuous times when even the wealthy watch their pennies. Consequently, we should be touting our low hotel tax rate and other reasonable priced accommodations. It helps that we are centrally located and only an hour away from Charlotte or Greensboro. Gas is far more reasonable and we have our own local attractions that are well worth visiting.
The other concern I have is that it is very difficult to discern effective advertising. I would even question the 3 percent hotel tax’s effectiveness and whether some of that money ought to be returned to the taxpayer. There are other entities like downtown Salisbury and the Spencer Shops already advertising as well. Are those expenses being considered in the overall equation?
Finally, I hope the commissioners would question the composition of the Tourism Board, as it appears there is not a diversity of opinions that lead to better ideas. It’s just hard for me to believe that someone did not raise this very valid point.
ó Mike Jones
Granite Quarry
Moose hits 1,000
I’m one of the biggest high school athletics sports fans ever. I graduated from Kannapolis in 1983 and married a South Rowan girl a few years later, which made for some interesting times. I’ve been going to football and basketball games ever since. I haven’t missed many. My son graduated from Carson last year and my daughter is a freshman this year. I go to all of the Cougar basketball games.
I don’t know Darius Moose personally. I do however see the way he carries himself on and off the court. He seems to me to be a fine young man with a good attitude. It was great to see him score his 1,000th point. I’ve seen a lot of good ball players over the years. As far as an all around player, Moose is right there near the top.
He could have easily scored more than 20 on that Friday night, but no, not Moose. He was also dishing out assists, ripping down rebounds and yes, taking charges. Oh, yeah, he handles the ball pretty well, too.
Keep playing hard, Moose. I see lots of wins in the future.
Thank you to all the players, coaches and cheerleaders, JV and varsity. By the way, I see some good talent on that Lady Cougar team, also. You guys keep playing hard. The wins are coming, and I mean soon. Thanks again, Moose.
Too bad there wasn’t a newspaper photographer there that night. You sure missed a great game. Go Cougars!
ó Greg Story
China Grove.