Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 132, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 17, 2011 Page: 4 of 20
twenty pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Viewpoints
Page A4 ■ Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sweetwater Reporter
DEDICATED TO PROUDLYDEUVERIN® LOCAL NEWS SI NTH 1881
T—\ Sweetwatei A
Reporter
1EMBER
| * 1 2010
P.O. Box 750/112 W. Third
TEXAS PRESS
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
ASSOCIATION
325/236-6677
Fax: 325/235-4967
Website:
www.sweetwaterreporter.com
E-mail addresses:
publisher@sweetwaterreporter.com
business@sweetwaterreporter.com
advertising@sweetwaterreporter.com
editor@sweetwaterreporter.com
composing@sweetwaterreporter.com
EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial section of the newspaper is a forum for
expression of a variety of viewpoints. All articles except
those labeled "Editorials" reflect the opinions of the writ-
ers and not those of the Sweetwater Reporter.
Chavez
GUEST COLUMN
Spare us the hypocrisy,
Mr. President
President Obama offered few concrete suggestions for
spending cuts this week in his much-anticipated speech
on reducing the federal debt, but he had lots to say about
raising taxes.
"As a country that values fairness, wealthier individu-
als have traditionally borne a greater share of this burden
than the middle class or those less fortunate. Everybody
pays, but the wealthier have borne a little more," the presi-
dent said. So he wants to raise the top marginal tax rate to
39.6 percent and eliminate itemized deductions for the top
2 percent of earners.
What the president didn't say is that he has taken full
advantage of each and every tax deduction available to him
in order to lower his taxes on his more than $5 million per
year income. No one forces Obama to take these deduc-
tions, which he objects to so strenuously for everyone else
in his income bracket. So let's take a look at the deductions
he took last year (the president's 2009 return and that of
Vice President Joe Biden are available online):
In 2009, Obama took itemized deductions of $514,819,
a foreign tax credit of 859,372, and a deduction for inter-
est on his home of $52,195. He was also able to take a
deduction for $49,000 he contributed to his self-employed
retirement fund. If he had not taken
these deductions, he would have paid
taxes on an additional $675,386,
which in his income bracket would
have meant he owed somewhere in
the neighborhood of $200,000 more
in taxes at the top marginal tax rate of
35 percent.
Furthermore, he instructed the
Nobel committee to donate his entire
$1.4 million Nobel Prize directly to 10
charities, thereby avoiding the neces-
■ snf|Q sity of declaring the money as income
on which he would have owed an addi-
tional $490,000 in taxes.
If the president is so appalled at the
rich and their ability to hire accoun-
tants to take advantage of each and every deduction, why
doesn't he simply take the standard deduction on his tax
return, like most Americans? In 2009, he could have
claimed an $11,400 standard deduction for married cou-
ples, as well as an additional $7,300 for his two daughters.
Admittedly, that's a loss of more than $650,000 in deduc-
tions — but at least he could avoid looking like a hypocrite
by advocating one thing for everyone else and doing quite
another himself.
Obama might even get a few of his liberal millionaire
and billionaire friends to go along if he leads by example.
Obama supporter Warren Buffett is famous for declar-
ing his taxes are too low. Maybe Buffett would be willing
to forego filing all those additional schedules on his tax
return and simply take the standard deduction instead.
Last year, Buffett claimed he paid an effective rate of
17.7 percent on the $46 million he earned, or roughly $8
million. But if he'd simply taken the standard deduction,
he would have paid almost twice that in taxes. No one
stopped him from doing so.
And then there's Obama's good friend Jeffrey Immelt,
General Electric CEO and chairman of the White House
Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Mr. Immelt's firm
will pay no federal income taxes on the more than $5 bil-
lion it earned in the U.S. in 2010. It's all perfectly legal.
The company can take net operating losses to offset its
tax liabilities, including certain carryovers from previous
years. What's more, Immelt has a fiduciary responsibility
to shareholders to take advantage of all tax deductions the
company is entitled to.
But there's nothing that stops Immelt from paying
additional taxes on his personal income if he chooses
to forego deductions. According to GE's annual filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, GE paid
Immelt $7.3 million in cash and perquisites worth almost
$400,000, in addition to stock currently worth $7.4 mil-
lion, which vests over time.
Perhaps Obama should ask Immelt to skip his itemized
deductions for the year and fork over $5 million to Uncle
Sam. Somehow I don't see that happening. Like most
limousine liberals — who fly private jets to global warm-
ing conferences and live in 10,000 square-foot houses
— President Obama talks a great line but lives very differ-
ently.
When the president voluntarily gives up his deductions
and asks his wealthy donors to do the same, he'll have
some moral authority to argue, as he tried to in his speech,
that he wants a tax code that "is fair and simple — so that
the amount of taxes you pay isn't determined by what kind
of accountant you can afford." Until then, spare us the
hypocrisy, Mr. President.
Linda Chavez is the author of "An Unlikely Conservative:
The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal" To find out more
about Linda Chavez, visit the Creators Syndicate web
page at www.creators.com.
GUEST COLUMN
Earth Day 2011
Friday will be the day
formally declared as
"Earth Day", a time des-
ignated several years ago
as one for the inhabitants
of our world, from what-
ever nation, to contem-
plate our impact on the
globe, environmentally
as well as in other
ways. Started in
the mid 1970's, at
a time when rabid
environmentalism
and peace marches
were the order of
the day. Earth Day
celebrations have
settled down -
almost into obliv-
ion,
Earth Day, as
recognized by the
United Nations, is
celebrated during
the spring equinox.
Even more than its corol-
lary in the fall, the spring
equinox has been cel-
ebrated throughout time
Many old calendars actu-
ally number the months
from March, using prefix-
es such as "sept" (seven),
"oct" (eight), "nov" (nine)
and "dec" (ten, as in deci-
mal) to number months
from the start of the year
- March. Spring calls t<
us to honor the renewal of
life, new growth, and new
hope. What better time to
contemplate the renewal
of our earth, and our stew-
ardship of its resources?
Many communities and
organizations celebrate
Earth Day with the plant-
ing of trees and shrubs, or
the general beautification
of the area. Given the
current water shortage in
our area, and the amount
of water needed by young
plants, that is probably
not practical for us! There
are other things we can
do, not just for today, but
to make lifestyle chang-
es that are more "earth
friendly".
I can remember my
grandparents home. They
had a large, concrete
incinerator out in the
back yard as did most of
their neighbors. Garbage
from the house was taken
out there and poured in
through an opening in the
top, len at !ast once a
week, Granddaddy would
light it. It would burn for
several hours, depending
on the trash, emitting a
noxious odor the entire
time. At least annually,
he would open the door on
the bottom, then proceed
to shovel out the ashes and
unburned refuse for burial.
For countless years, our
societies have disposed
of waste in this manner.
Looking at it from today's
perspective, however, it
GUEST COLUMN
Usa
Peterson
really is rather wasteful.
The fumes and ash pollute
our air, long after we can
no longer smell them. It
is quite likely that some of
the items that were buried
are toxic, not to mention
spoiling ground for other,
future purposes.
There is some-
thing in even the
most energetic of
us that seems to be
basically lazy. We
know that it only
takes a moment to
separate our trash
into glass, metal,
paper and other,
yet very few in our
community are
willing to bother.
It is really not a
problem to place
a container in a
common spot in
an office, and designate
it a receptacle for recycla-
ble paper. With the blue
dumpsters placed strate-
gically about town, it is a
simple matter to properly
dispose of newspapers,
catalogs, junk mail, shred-
ded documents and other
paper goods.
Recycling metal and
glass take a little longer,
but most of us do not
generate as much of that
type refuse as we do the
other! They can be taken
to the "drop off center" on
Broadway, and placed in
the appropriate container.
However - even the most
avid cooks will probably
find that these materials
do not accumulate rap-
idly.
In many metropolitan
areas, garbage disposal is
a serious problem. Land
that meets EPA standards
for landfills is expensive
- and it does fill rapid-
ly. Most other alterna-
tives are expensive, or are
impractical when working
with large quantities of
trash. These communities
have imposed mandatory'
recycling, enforcing it with
large fines or even a sus-
pension of trash service.
Recycling is like any other
habit. It requires a week
or two of thought, then
becomes second nature.
The United States uses
more energy per person
than any other nation
The graphic of the world
from space showing ener-
gy consumption has been
seen by most of us - our
nation is brilliant with
lights, while most others
are much dimmer. Most
of the power generated in
this country has serious
side effects for the land,
air and water. Any time
a substance is burned,
such as oil, coal or wood,
pollutants are sent into
the air; hydro-electric
power requires a change
n the topography oi e
area, often a change that
is regretted many years
later. Americans are not
going to move willingly to
a more austere lifestyle,
but we can make little
changes. The old rec-
ommendations from the
Jimmy Carter era are still
good. If I remember cor-
rectly, they included such
basics as turning off appli-
ances and lights (com-
puters? Video games?)
when finished With them,
adjusting thermostats
to a moderate tempera-
ture, then wearing more
or fewer clothes, as the
situation warranted, not
pre-heating ovens when
cooking, and so forth.
Applied in one home,
none of these sugges-
tions will make a major
difference in the health
of our planet. However,
we influence more people
than we know. A visitor
to your office, seeing the
"recycle box" may decide
to start one for his office,
also. A visitor in your
home, seeing you deposit
a soft drink can into a
separate trash can, may
realize how simple it is,
and start recycling, also
Despite my fiel of study
as an undergraduate, and
periodic association (not
normally by choice) with
the Sierra Club, I am not
ready to advocate the
closing down or imped-
ing ' the industries that
keep us alive in the hopes
that we can curtail pol
lution. What I can and
do advocate is that each
of us make a point to do
what we can to help the
situation. There is an old
belief that, where there
is no vision, people per-
ish; where there is vision,
people prosper. We can
each do our part towards
a more stable environ-
ment for our planet, and,
with each doing a little,
the vision of a clean planet
may one day be a reality.
Lisa Peterson is the
County Attorney for
Nolan County. Comments
about this column may
be e-mailed to editor@
sweetwaterreporter.com.
I
Celebrating Volunteers
In recognition of
National Volunteer
Appreciation Week (April
10-16), the employees of
the Attorney General's
Child Support Division
would like to than! its vol-
unteers for their
service and dedi-
cation to the chil-
dren of Texas.
Each year, vol-
unteers across
the state help
the Office of the
Attorney General
serve Texas fami-
lies and children
more efficiently
and effectively.
Volunteering can
be beneficial to
people from differ-
ent walks of life,
including individ-
uals seeking new job skills;
student-interns seeking
to satisfy course require-
ments; retirees and other
Texans who simply wish
to give back to their com-
munities.
Child support volun-
teers perform a variety
of duties, including data
entry, filing, and assisting
attorneys and child sup-
Greg
Abbott
neys
port officers. The time and
skills volunteers contrib-
ute help each office oper-
ate more efficiently.
Not only do volunteers
make an impact on chil-
dren, but they positively
impact taxpayers as well.
The Attorney General's
Office saved taxpayers
$1.36 million last year
through the use of 629 vol-
unteers statewide.
These dedicated
Texans are vital to
the success of the
child support pro-
gram. By gracious-
ly donating their
time, volunteers
are helping the
Attorney General's
Office provide chil-
dren with critically
important finan
cial and medical
resources. Thanks
to these individu-
als. the Office of the
Attorney General
can help ensure
that young Texans have
the resources they need to
grow healthy and strong.
Child Support volunteers
share a passion and genu-
ine desire to help the chil-
dren of Texas. 3en Lang,
88, has faithfully volun-
teered in the Nacogdoches
child support office since
1996. He began his rela-
tionship with the office
through a senior employ-
ment program. Although
the program ended n
2008, Mr. Lang's commit-
ment did not.
Students in Arnold
£
h
Wilson's Life Skills class at
Austin High School have
assemble: case folders
for the Austin North child
support office for 23 years.
It's a safe bet that over the
ears, Mr. Wilson's classes
ave assembled tens of
thousands of folders.
These citizens are just
a few examples of the
outstanding volunteers
that the OAG is lucky to
have. Their dedication and
hard work helps the Child
Support Division make
an impact and serve the
greater needs of Texans.
Thank you to each volun-
teer who has left a mark on
the Child Support Division
— many lives have now
been enriched.
Individuals interested
in volunteering Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. should contact
tl ir ocal child support
office. Contact informa-
tion can be found on the
Community Services/
Volunteer Program section
of the Attorney General's
Child Support website at
wwwvtexasattorneygen-
eral.gov.
Greg Abbott is the
Attorney General of Texas.
Comments about this col-
umn may be e-mailed to
editor @sweetwaterre-
porter.com.
The swi rrwMt r reporter
rpWS 5300-8SGS is published daily
except Saturdays and holidays by HPC
of Texas Inc. (Periodical Postage Paid)
112 W. 3rd, Sweetwater, Texas 79556
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
SWEETWATER REPORTER
P.O. BOX 750.
SWEETWATER, TX 79556
City Delivery $9.00 per month, $90.00
per year, 6-months $50.00, 3-months
$26.00. By mail In-County Rates
3-months $36.00, 6-months $65.00,
12-months $115.00. Out-Of-County
Rates 3-months $50.00, 6-months
$88.00, 12-months $140.00.
Correction Policy
Editorial:
As a matter of policy, the
Sweetwater Reporter will
publish corrections of errors
in fact that have been print-
ed in the newspaper.
The corrections will be
made as soon as possible
after the error has been
brought to the attention of
the newspaper's editor at
236-6677.
Advertising:
Publisher reserves the right
to reject, edit or cancel any
advertising at any time with-
out liability. Publisher's liabil-
ity for error is limited to the
amount paid for advertising.
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881
V
__ Sweetwater
Reporter
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 132, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 17, 2011, newspaper, April 17, 2011; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229448/m1/4/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.