Letters to the Editors

Drought should require sacrifice from all of us

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 7, 2000

Re: No free water, editorial July 6.

No free water? The Southwest Florida Water Management District board continues to restrict our use of water, but no one pays attention to restricting the continued growth of population and water-consuming businesses.

I'm not going to deliberately increase my use of water, but I see no reason to inconvenience myself so that other people can destroy pine forests, orange groves and wildlife habitats by building new factories, malls and real-estate developments that put additional strain on our scarce water resources.
-- Nelson R. Eldred, Tampa

It's time to do something

When in danger or in DROUGHT, run in circles, scream and shout.

This slight variation of an old saw seems perfectly appropriate to the current freshwater dilemma in parts of Florida. The current thinking of Swiftmud and others seems to be less and less water for more and more people.

I find it incredible that those who are in a position to take decisive action, have done absolutely nothing, like imposing a moratorium on building, charging water impact fees or building desalination plants. Apparently they don't even enforce the current watering rules in parts of Citrus County. Never have so few in authority owed so much to so many.
-- George W. Wilde, Beverly Hills

Your tax dollars at work

I committed a crime. I watered my lawn on the wrong day. While I was out of the state, my electronic sprinklers went off at 2:53 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and a diligent Pinellas County employee charged me with this heinous crime. The county sent another dutiful employee to personally hand me my $60 criminal violation.

Rather than fight and argue, I paid the fine. Then, to my surprise, I received an arraignment notice to appear at the Criminal Justice Center where, should I fail to appear, it would result in my arrest. The authorities did find that I had paid, and so I hope I will not be arrested.

So that all the residents of Pinellas County can sleep better tonight, they should know that Pinellas County is all caught up with arresting and prosecuting violent felons. Isn't it wonderful that all that's left to do is track down taxpaying, law-abiding citizens who may have a faulty switch on their automatic sprinklers and nail them?

What an excellent way to spend our tax dollars -- ignore public safety, but nail those evil water criminals.
-- Thomas H. McSunas, Palm Harbor

A state that's too much changed

When I first came to Florida it was mostly:

Vast beautiful orchards.

Large cattle ranches.

Pristine beaches and water.

Open vistas.

No urban sprawl.

Little or no traffic congestion.

Friendly People.

No water problems.

Now Florida is mostly:

Orchards in crisis or being sold to developers.

Ranches in crisis or being sold to developers.

Crowded Beaches and polluted water.

High-rise condos blocking the views.

Urban sprawl as far as the eye can see.

Traffic congestion.

Angry People.

Water shortages caused by overdevelopment.

If I were not entrenched here with friends, relatives and associates and did not still love Florida, I would pack up and leave. The question I ask you: Is this progress?
-- Alan G. Nelson, St. Pete Beach

Insurer stands by its performance

I was disappointed with the Wall Street Journal's article on long-term care insurance that was republished in the St. Petersburg Times on June 23 (Long-term care policies prove costly). As a pioneer in the LTCI industry, and the second-largest writer of such coverage, Penn Treaty American Corp.'s success is attributable not to aggressive underwriting or pricing, but to our commitment to providing insurance products that help consumers afford the type of long-term care that best satisfies their medical and quality-of-life needs. We certainly would not have enjoyed new business growth that exceeds the industry average and policyholder persistency of nearly 90 percent were it not for a nearly three-decade-long track record of delivering innovative, quality products and meeting our obligations to policyholders. The fact is that our "persistency," the percentage of policyholders who choose to keep their policies in effect, has continually increased -- clear evidence that our consumers do not feel the premium increases are unwarranted.

It is also important to note that any premium increases are applied solely to cover claims on the subject classes of business, not to pay commissions or expenses. In any event, we believe our increases have been reasonable and were implemented only after making all proper regulatory filings.

Based on available information, we believe our insurance operations' capital and surplus currently meet or exceed the requirements in all jurisdictions in which they are licensed. We expect to continue to rely on internal sources, available lines of credit, use of financial reinsurance and access to capital markets to meet required levels of statutory surplus. The article noted our 1999 loss on a statutory basis, but under generally accepted accounting principles we had net income of $21.3-million.

We stand by our reputation as a leader in the LTCI industry. Reviews by A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's, Consumer Reports, LifePlans and industry analysts support the view that Penn Treaty has approached the sensitive issue of long-term care in a conscientious and above-board manner, offering our customers innovative products and competitive prices.
-- Irving Levit, chairman and CEO, Penn Treaty American Corp. Allentown, Pa.

This tax cut won't help most people

Re: Seniors celebrate intangible tax cut, June 24.

That should have read, "Extremely wealthy seniors... "

I would suggest that the overwhelming majority of the people in Florida earn below $50,000 per year. Some never heard of the "intangible" tax and, I'm sure, would be happy to pay $1.50 on each extra $1,000 they had in savings. I believe this "tax" does not happen until after the first $20,000. This is extra money, folks, not income.

Now, Jeb Bush tells you he is going to reduce it by 5 cents. I'm sure the average majority of working or retired people would say, "Stop the nickel-and-dime nonsense. Here are a few bucks to help."

Gov. Bush, who is going to benefit most from this legislation? The majority of Floridians? Was the majority even asked if they wanted it? What would happen if it were put on the ballot in November? Where will this $243-million shortfall come from?

Of course, in classic Republican fashion, this legislation quietly added on a tax break for businesses. As above, who is going to benefit most from this? Were the people asked? What would happen if this were on the ballot? Who is picking up this loss?

People, where are your heads? Every time you see legislation or proposals by the Republican-controlled House or Senate, it always favors the "upper 10 percent of the people who control 90 percent of the wealth." That last statement is a terrible testimonial to democracy and capitalism.

Ralph Nader and his party are the only ones not "bought and paid for" -- now. Let's hope they stay that way. Let's hope he will represent the benefit and welfare of the majority. That would be refreshing!
-- John C. Culkin, St. Petersburg

Green Party is far from mainstream

Re: Green Party isn't extreme, editorial, June 29.

My mother used to say you can take a chicken, dress it up to look like a duck, teach it to walk like a duck and quack like a duck, but in the end, it is still a chicken.

No matter how hard the Times editorial staff tries to dress the Green Party as a "mainstream" movement, it is still an extreme leftist organization far out of step with mainstream America.

Witness these excerpts from the Green Party Platform 2000:

"We call for immediate decommissioning of all nuclear power plants without passing the cost on to rate-payers." Wait! Let me get my flashlight so I can finish reading their position paper in the dark.

"We support permanent, above-ground, locally based storage sites for nuclear waste... " We'll just place them where those darn Florida tornadoes and hurricanes can't damage them!

"We advocate proportional representation for national, state and local elections." So much for one man, one vote.

"We will actively work for universal health care." Oops! Hillary already tried that.

And I haven't even mentioned their (non-) National Defense Policy which essentially states that "the United States surrenders to everybody!"

No matter how you look at it, the Green Party is just another name for the "Loony Left." Despite the Times' efforts, the Greens will never win the hearts (or votes) of mainstream America.
-- David Manning, Dunedin

Don't assume choice is limited

Re: Gallagher drops bid for Senate seat, June 15.

I found this article to be interesting because it leads one to believe there are only two choices for voters in the Florida Senate race in November.

I know the Democrats and the Republicans would love for the third parties to just disappear, but that just ain't gonna happen.

There are other choices in the race. Joel Deckard, a two term congressman who has been a member of the Reform Party for some time, is also running for the Florida Senate seat. Heck, anyone can even go to his Web site: www.Joeldeckard.com.

It's time Florida voters get all the facts before they go to the polls in November and vote for the lesser of the two evils. It appears the Times has been remiss in not reporting about all the candidates.
-- Janice Miller, Oldsmar

Too much campaign news isn't reported

Re: Third parties... , July 3.

There you go again. Harry Browne is nominated for president by the Libertarian Party and the sole extraction from his speech, printed in your newspaper, is Browne's "admission" that he doesn't have a realistic chance of winning the presidency.

Well, I guess not -- if that's all you are willing to print.

Please don't lecture us about the importance of weighing issues carefully and of our duty to become informed voters when all you ever seem to do is print nonsense about the "major" candidates, meaningless polls and that stupid GRAHAM-O-METER!

How about reporting what all the candidates are doing and saying?
-- Jeffrey M. Letter, Pinellas Park

Share your opinions

We invite readers to write to us. Letters for publication should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. They can be sent by e-mail to letters@sptimes.com or by fax to (727) 893-8675.

They should be brief and must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Please include a handwritten signature when possible.

Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length. We regret that not all letters can be published.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.