Don't blame tax laws for the difficulties that face the poor
Michael Olesker's rampage against further tax cuts for middle-class people, upper-class people and large corporations is another testament to the skewed viewpoint that liberals in this country have on issues of work, business, family and children ("Tax break an empty package for those making little money," Nov. 27).
Instead of chastising a woman who has seven children she obviously can't afford, Mr. Olesker chooses to point the finger of blame at Congress and big business.
Just once, it would be refreshing to see a Sun editorial or one of its columnists call to task those irresponsible people who choose to have children they can't possibly care for, chastise teen-age girls who get pregnant and thereby relegate themselves to a life of poverty or admit that big business and middle- and upper-class workers are an integral part of getting America's economy back on track.
Every paycheck that I receive has less money in it than it should have because I am bailing out some teen-age or single mother and her seven children. And I, for one, am sick of being blamed by Mr. Olesker for not doing enough.
Michael DeCicco
Severn
Michael Olesker accuses "those people in Washington" of being "utterly clueless" about the working poor. However, this time it is Mr. Olesker who is clueless.
He wants to give tax breaks to people who make minimum wage or less. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely any of these people pay income taxes. In fact, they are probably entitled to an "earned income tax credit" that gives them a tax "refund" even if they don't owe any taxes.
In contrast, "the big-money guys" he complains about pay as much as 46 percent of their income in federal and Maryland income taxes. Without tax relief, those people face a real disincentive to work, which hurts the economy.
I agree that the working poor deserve help, but it is nonsense to suggest they are treated unfairly under the tax law.
Bertold Bodenheimer
Stevenson
Free-spending Democrats squandered state's surplus
I must be one of many Marylanders scratching his or her head over the great disappearing Maryland surplus. How could Maryland turn a huge surplus into a projected $1.7 billion deficit next year?
To put it bluntly, the Democrats in our state legislature went on a spending spree. Democrats even spent $557 million in reserve funds designed to shield Maryland during times when money was tight.
Now, Democrats in Annapolis are considering delaying income tax cuts to make up the difference. That means taxpayers once again would foot the bill for legislators who spend like drunken sailors.
This big-spending mentality will continue until Marylanders finally realize it is time for a change.
Carole N. Wiseman
Baltimore
Juvenile justice reporting detours into personal attacks
One must wonder about the political motives behind David Nitkin's quantum leaps in his reporting about the juvenile justice system. To characterize House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr.'s statement "no one condones corporal punishment... but this is not corporal punishment" as really the "attitude that bad kids probably deserve what they get" is so outrageous that it borders on libelous ("When kids get hit, a candidate is bruised," Dec. 2).
Is Mr. Nitkin fighting to improve juvenile justice or to enhance certain local political careers by attacking others?
Rich Sliwinski
Baltimore
Sun just keeps printing those troubling images
I read with interest the letters "Defending sacrilegious image offends faithful" (Nov. 29). And I personally was very offended by the photograph on Page One Nov. 27 showing Northern Alliance soldiers beating a suspected Taliban fighter.
Where does The Sun get off consistently printing newsworthy images and offending readers right and left? Why not just print some Teletubby images on the front page of each section every day?
Mary K. Skeen
Baltimore
Who cares about rights of those who attack us?
Isn't it a shame we have lamebrains in Congress who do not recognize that when you're at war, half-measures against the enemy do not work ("Senators launch critical look at security measures," Nov. 29).
We do not have to protect any rights of the foreign agents who attacked us as they did on Sept 11. What happened on Sept. 11 was not a criminal act but an act of foreign sabotage and killing of innocent civilians.
Who could care if such evil individuals have civil rights? Let them be tried in camera, then receive their just punishment, just like those tried by tribunals during the Civil War and at Nuremberg after World War II.
Otto C. Beyer
Ellicott City
Civil liberties remain key part of our strength
The assertion in the letter "We need military tribunals as a defense against terror" (Nov. 28) that military tribunals and other curtailments of civil liberties during wartime are necessary for the protection of the nation's citizens is incorrect.
