Letters 04-27-2015

April 26, 2015

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Benishek’s Costly Tax

Representative Dan Benishek announced in his latest bulletin a vote to repeal the "Death Tax." I wish to take the strongest possible exception to his grotesque mischaracterization of the Estate Tax. The Estate Tax is a transfer tax, no different than a sales tax or taxes we pay when we sell a home. It rarely impacts small family farms or businesses as the Representative claims. Neither of these entities regularly approach the minimum valuation levels which would subject them to the Estate Tax.

This tax was implemented by wise men who understood the destructive tendencies of oligarchies. Where wealth accrued through a host of tax exemptions and taxpayer support could be passed on without repaying any of the obligations with which that wealth was generated. Rep. Benishek’s Estate Tax vote will cost his constituents $290 billion in lost revenue over the next decade. Yet Republicans continue to complain about Washington’s fiscal irresponsibility.

It rankles when I see the likes of Mitt Romney (only because he is such a well known example) paying a 14-20% tax rate on millions earned through investments. Yet in our Congressional district, people who spend 40-80 hours per week working are paying 24-33% income tax rates on their labor. Plus they pay another 6-13% in Social Security taxes, which the wealthy are absolved from paying beyond their first $113k.

Look at how the middle class in our country has declined and how earnings haven’t even kept pace with inflation over the past 30 years. Rep. Benishek is supporting these disparities. The Congressman and his political party are hurting his constituents and my country.

John Gerty, Williamsburg

Unsafe In The Lanes

As I drive a lot each workday, it is common to see a car carrier truck setting in the center turn lane in front of Fox Motors on US-31. The drivers unload cars for the dealerships along the road. This to me seems to be a very dangerous place to unload vehicles. It seams the dealerships should make room for the trucks on their own lots and not put the drivers and public in danger! Having a semi truck setting in the turn lane with a person walking around it unloading cars is not cool. This needs to be fixed before someone gets hurt.

Anthony Paul Andrus, Traverse City

Message From Mother Earth

At over 4 billion years old, I’ve been feeling my age. My lungs hurt, probably due to destruction of my forests, which act as my lungs. Why are you doing this? The forests everywhere are vital, not only for clean air, but for keeping soil in place, and keeping erosion at bay. Please precious children, replant and love my forests.

Not only are my lungs suffering. So too is the draining of my blood. Every decade you suck up ever more of my blood (oil/gas) and go deeper into my body. At the same time you find new ways to gather up this blood...the latest pains are coming from cracking my body (fracking). Do you not feel my quaking in pain?

For your energy needs you have the sun, wind, and power of my ocean waves. Use them.

My oceans are polluted with chemicals and garbage from pole to pole. This kills the creatures of the seas. The rarest and most important waters (fresh water) I collected over billions of years are also being polluted and squandered. Children, what are you thinking? Without water you will perish!

My heart breaks as innocent creatures die before my eyes. So many gone forever. Why?

I’ve given you all you need: water, food, air. Don’t squander it.

I know you celebrate Earth Day April 22. Please love me all year long. Please be good stewards of this world. Protect me, make me well again. I cannot protect you from selfdestruction; only you can do that.

Love, Mother

Karen Martin, Cheboygan

Benishek And Income Disparity

I wrote a letter to Rep. Dan Benishek regarding economics and middle-class income stagnation and asked, "What are you going to do about this inequality that is stymying the general welfare of our citizens?"

In the letter, I quoted Dr. Emanuel Saez, a renowned economic authority who stated that the richest 10% of Americans increased their share of total pretax income from about 33% in the late 1970’s to 50% by 2012. The top one percent now captures more than 29% of total income, double what they received before the Reagan years. Current public policy has become less redistributive. The marginal rate on the top income tax bracket, which was 70% during the 1970’s, has been reduced below 40%. In the same period most workers’ wages have stopped growing with productivity. Between 1973 and 2011, productivity increased 80%, but median hourly compensation rose only 11%.

His reply thanked me for my interest in "federal tax issues." It then went on to state, "I wholeheartedly share your concern about the need to reduce federal spending. When the government is borrowing $.40 for every dollar it spends, Members of Congress should focus on cutting federal outlays rather than raising revenues through taxation. In my view, it is not fair to penalize prosperity. I believe real fairness comes from rewarding merit, and allowing Northern Michigan families to keep more of their hardearned money. It is my belief that Americas’ free-enterprise system fundamentally rewards hard work, innovation, healthy ambition and personal responsibility. America should remain a nation of aspiration and achievement, and not become one of redistribution and envy.

This response certainly verifies whose interests Rep. Benishek is championing. It ain’t the "hard-working folks" of Northern Michigan.

Charlie Weaver, Kalkaska

The Value Of Unions

As a retired, 40-year member of Sheet Metal Workers 80, a building trades union, I truly appreciated Stephen Tuttle’s "How Ironic" column. He hit the nail on the head on several points that the general public is unaware of. Most people have no appreciation for -- or awareness of -- how unions have contributed to our quality of life. Unions are the only things that separate us from Third World countries in regard to working conditions. Union numbers have been dwindling since the 80’s. Is it only coincidence that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer? I think not. This trend will continue until the working class stands up and says "enough is enough."

Union building trades present career opportunities. They not only train you on the job site and in the classroom, including safety training, but pay you while training. No books to buy or tuition to pay. Due to pride in their work, union building tradesmen spend millions annually to properly train their new members. No taxpayers’ money, just taxpaying citizens investing in their own.

As Mr. Tuttle mentioned, it would be quite ironic for Governor Snyder to fill this current need via unionized building trades. His approach is to diminish union existence so that workers can be easily exploited resulting in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. There are many more working-class citizens than rich ones. Wake up America, before it’s too late!

Lee Astrauckas, Mancelona