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Income tax is right solution, 12/21

Property tax fix? Double sales tax Dec. 16  

Doubling the sales tax is the worst possible solution to Florida's insurance crisis. Sales tax is a regressive tax that hurts the lower-income people and should not be considered.

The obvious solution is a state income tax. Have a 1 percent tax on gross incomes over $25,000 or $30,000, with no deductions for anything - no exceptions. Do not fall into the trap of the federal tax code and have a million loopholes.

It is about time that Florida sheds the "good ol' boy" image and makes everyone pay their fair share, including the well-connected wealthy and political people who buy the Legislature. Let us find out who has the people of Florida in mind when they try to find the money to solve the insurance problem.

Jerome Sullivan, Clearwater

Idea worth pursuing

A 13 percent sales tax? Okay. I can handle this. As long as I am not taxed on my property or perishables.

This could work for everyone. Give tourists an opportunity to prove nonresidency and maintain a 7 percent tax for these valuable visitors. I don't see everyone running to the Georgia border to buy nonperishables in the long run.

We need an opportunity to see if this program could work. I am sure it will need to be tweaked. But it's a start.

Michele Shriver, Palm Harbor

Property tax fix? Double the sales tax Dec. 16

Rein in spending

One thing I noticed about the recommendations to fix the tax problem was that none involved reining in government expenditures. It is amazing how the expenditures have kept pace with the amount of taxes collected.

There was no complaint about the Save Our Homes cap when annual appreciation on real estate was under 5 percent. The complaints only started when real estate became so overvalued that the perceived inequities appeared.

Think of the millions who would have had to give up their homes because they could not afford the ever-increasing tax bills.

On the other hand, studies show personal income has effectively decreased in the last 10 years, but, I have noticed, the compensation paid to elected and hired government employees has risen above the inflation rates.

John Edwards, Pinellas Park

Property tax fix? Double the sales tax Dec. 16

Sales tax shouldn't go up

I rent. The tax appraisal on the house I rent increased close to 25 percent. The tax increase was almost 20 percent. Insurance, well, you can guess. My rent increased this year by 50 percent.

I can't blame the landlord. The cost of business is passed on to the customer. No one in government seems to want to address the unfairness of the property tax system to renters, most of whom cannot afford to buy.

Now some in government want to consider a massive sales tax increase. More dumping on the not-so-well-off.

When I go out of state to visit family, I buy nothing because the sales tax where they live is 10 percent.

This tax is one way to negate the minimum wage increase as well as lose tourist dollars.

Dale Romano, St. Petersburg

Political stunts aren't tax reform Dec. 13, editorial

Don't blame tax breaks

Again, your paper is blaming Save Our Homes for the high taxes faced by recent home buyers.

Hello! It's the ridiculously inflated prices in the past three years and no change in the millage rate or the homestead exemption. Why wasn't this 3 percent cap been an issue before 2006?

Florida's counties were doing all right with their incomes five years ago; why suddenly do they need a 30 to 50 percent increase because the housing market went wild?

The homestead exemption must increase with inflation, not a fixed amount for 35 to 50 years.

This is not rocket science, just common sense.

Elinor Wencka, Tampa

House payroll soars under new speaker Dec. 6

Affront to taxpayers

A Democratic member of the state House recently commented that "These fiscal conservative Republicans are spending money like drunken sailors" by hiring 22 more staffers, some with salaries of $100,000 or more for what probably amount to part-time jobs. The big difference here is that sailors are spending their own money, not the taxpayers'!

I know competent employees should be paid well for their ability, knowledge and hard work, but this addition to the payroll is excessive.

New House Speaker Marco Rubio is thumbing his nose at the taxpayers of Florida, many of whom are having difficulty paying real estate taxes and home insurance, not to mention ever-increasing utility bills and (thanks to past legislation) higher phone bills.

Frank Degasperi, Beverly Hills

Put food safety at the top of the menu Dec. 18, editorial

Safe and cost-effective

The simple answer to preventing all bacterial food-borne illnesses is irradiation. It's completely safe, plus it's much cheaper and more effective than increasing government involvement that's already proven to be useless.

A. T. Barnard, Beverly Hills

A matter of taste Dec. 20, letter

Getting what we pay for

The letter writer suggests that we save grouper by substituting cheaper fish. After all, the customer "cannot tell the difference."

May I remind the letter writer that there is such a thing as "truth in advertising"? Would you pay $8,000 for a fake diamond ring? (Would you want your wife to know you paid that much for a fake diamond ring?)

Better yet, how about I make you a Big Mac from a veggie burger? (When the customer orders an all-beef patty, they're just "ordering the name.")

No one will know the difference ... and it'll save a lot of cows.

Elizabeth Hoff, St. Petersburg

Gov. Bush halts executions Dec. 16

34 minutes is just a blip

A convicted murderer may have suffered some pain during his execution for a murder he committed, and now all executions of convicted murderers have been halted while we undertake an investigation as to why a murderer suffered for his crime.

Where is the investigation into how the family and friends have suffered and will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives for the loss of a loved one, not just 34 minutes? Also, will halting executions halt murders as well?

Dan Herzog, Pinellas Park

Gov. Bush halts executions Dec. 16

Glazing over the truth

I wish to commend Gov. Jeb Bush for immediately suspending executions until we find a better and more reliable method of killing. His timely move will allow the debate to focus on how we kill, not the more troubling issue of why we kill.

This strategy, long used by the right-to-life movement, will have us debating survival time, the efficiency of the method used, and the degree of pain and suffering we believe to be experienced by the subject being killed. It thus allows well-meaning people to get emotionally and politically involved in those issues and ignore the fundamental truth that killing, regardless of the age or crime, is morally wrong.

John H. Mason, Clearwater

Murdering murderers

I was deeply saddened by Dec. 18 letters in favor of letting Angel Diaz suffer during his execution. Statements like "Who cares if he suffered for a few minutes?" and "Sounds like payback" are as shocking as the details relating to the execution itself.

While I am in favor harsh penalties for those who commit society's worst crimes, I do also realize the delicate balance involved with the need to make sure we do it in humane and ethical ways. Chemical scarring on Diaz's arms, although unintentional, is torture, and those in favor of "payback" have to walk a fine line to avoid becoming like the bloodthirsty convicted who are being executed.

I understand the need for victims' rights as well. But as a government, society, and a people, we have to make sure we are giving the appropriate justice for the right reasons, simply not murdering murderers.

Charles J. Dickens, St. Petersburg

An astonishing error

As an RN, I have administered medication into an IV many times. It astounds me how such an error could have been made by the Department of Corrections personnel. Generally, before putting medication through an IV, you flush normal saline through first. As you flush, you feel for resistance, look for signs of infiltration such as swelling around or near the IV site, or, if the patient is alert, they may well likely scream in pain if you accidentally force fluid into tissue. Far better to put some saltwater into tissue than caustic medication.

I know of no competent nurse who would "force" the plunger on a syringe. Judging by the length of the chemical burns on Angel Diaz, there must have been a lot of forcing. We put animals to sleep more humanely than human beings.

Mary Anne Martino, Palmetto

[Last modified December 21, 2006, 01:29:10]