Sen. Rhoades has the worst tax proposal yet

Regarding "Pa. Tax Plan Shifts Burden to Consumers, Wage Earners" (Sept. 27): State Sen. James J. Rhoades' tax plan is yet the most ludicrous presented. Does he get an award for making Pennsylvania the highest-taxed state in the union?

Pennsylvania is already known for its high taxes, and this will just put the frosting on the cake. First we need to quit building Taj Mahals, as they don't make children smarter and better students -- good teachers do. School districts today build and then worry about where the money is going to come from to pay for it. Of course, their answer is to just pass it on to the homeowners.

Why not just create a "school tax" and deduct it from everybody's paycheck? Make it a percentage of wages, but something within reason. This would apply to everybody who works and earns a paycheck, whether you own or rent. An age limitation should apply: from age 21 to age 62.

Before anybody starts yelling about renters paying and the landlords paying for the same piece of property -- this would not occur since all working people would pay toward the schools and not just property owners, so the landlord would pay school tax on his income, not the property.

Those who make a lot of money would pay more and those who make less would pay less. This would also take some burden off the senior citizens who are on fixed incomes and allow them to keep their homes. Sound ludicrous? Not any more ludicrous than the proposal from Sen. Rhoades.

PATTY KISTLER
Upper St. Clair

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Bad policy

As a homeowner living in Allegheny County, I share the frustrations of others who feel that the current use of property taxes to fund schools is implemented unfairly and who feel the taxes are too high. The proposals mentioned in "Pa. Tax Plan Shifts Burden to Consumers, Wage Earners" (Sept. 27) by both Republicans and Democrats should cause those of us eager to have our property taxes reduced or eliminated to stop and consider the impact on others, though.

While I have no issue with increasing sales taxes to offset property taxes, income taxes by their very nature are more burdensome to low- and middle-wage earners. Increasing taxes by any amount on the wages of those least likely to benefit from property tax relief is unfair, to say the least. Young families and the working poor who are already struggling to save for things like the purchase of their first home should not be asked to pay more so those who already enjoy the numerous benefits and tax breaks of homeownership can gain additional benefits.

If southwestern Pennsylvania ever hopes to reverse the population trends of the past decades and once again become a place where those just starting out would choose to live, we should stop looking for ways to punish them for working and stop erecting barriers to saving, like taking even more of their lower-than-average incomes for the benefit of current residents and property owners.

Property tax reform funded with sales taxes and other levies on consumption I support. Reform funded with increased income taxes is very shortsighted and bad policy, as are income taxes in general.

PAUL S. GALVANEK
Shaler

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Real troop support

Your Sept. 28 editorial "Cash and Carnage: Congress Must Say No to War Funding Request" is right on target. If Congress really wants to support the troops and help make America safer, it will fund only one-way tickets back to the United States for all troops and "consultants" or "contractors."

Of course, holding accountable the war profiteers and those whose lies got us into this mess is more of a dream, but it would go a long way toward improving not only the public image of Congress but also the world's image of the United States.

JEANNE SVITESIC CECIL
West View

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Think conservation

Heather Sage, in her letter "Necessary Power" (Sept. 24), makes a cogent argument for the benefits of wind power by providing electricity without mining, blowing off forested mountains and burying streams or creating pollution that is deadly to people, birds and fish.

Another way to realize these benefits is through conservation. For instance, the subway system in Hamburg, Germany, uses motion detectors to activate the escalators. As long as passengers trigger the switch, the escalators continue to operate. When there are no passengers approaching, they shut down, saving a considerable amount of electricity.

Imagine if all the escalators in the Pittsburgh area operating in government buildings, department stores, the convention center and university and hospital buildings were equipped with motion-detecting switches. Those organizations and businesses would not only save a considerable amount of money on their electric bills each year, but the escalators also would last longer and need less costly repairs and maintenance.

ROBERT PODURGIEL
Scott

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Relieve us of gridlock

I am praying to the patron saint of traffic management, "Saint Efficiency," to inspire the city of Pittsburgh to deal efficiently with the closing of a portion of Stanwix Street. Traffic lights at Stanwix and Fort Duquesne, the Clemente Bridge and Fort Duquesne, and Sixth Street at Penn need to be retimed to keep traffic moving.

Endless flow through Stanwix and Fort Duquesne and an ill-timed light at Sixth and Penn multiplied by cars exiting from public garages are creating a mess. Don't put policemen at these critical intersections who can't communicate with each other. Time the lights to keep the flow moving.

I know that someone will respond with a "we are doing everything we can" comment. Please know right now, I don't buy it. We are not dealing with Times Square at rush hour. It can be improved.

MARY T. KNIGHT
Kennedy

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Inappropriate ads

While watching a recent Steelers game with my family, I found it infuriating that I had to sit through yet another inappropriate commercial for erectile dysfunction. While I'm sure there is a real need for a product like this, there is also a more appropriate time slot to air these types of commercials. A Sunday afternoon football game is not one of them!

While watching the embarrassment on my 11-year-old's face, I thought, "When is the pharmaceutical industry going to stop? When are these ridiculous commercials going to be restricted to after 10 p.m.?" It's bad enough that every other ad is a beer commercial, now we have to worry that our kids will begin to view sex as "a recreational sport."

Clearly pharmaceutical companies are going to continue to push the envelope until policy-makers or big TV executives decide enough is enough. Also, as parents we need to voice our concerns and keep the pressure on -- this is not OK!

RENEE GEORGI
Hampton

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We must put more resources toward a future without cancer

When one speaks of accomplishing a seemingly insurmountable task, it is usually compared to getting "a man on the moon." In the 13 years of NASA's Apollo program, an estimated $29 billion of today's dollars were spent per year to get that man on the moon. According to the National Cancer Institute's Web site, NCI's budget request for fiscal year 2007 was approximately $5 billion.

In his Sept. 19 Perspectives piece, Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, rightly charged Americans with the task of urging Congress to increase funding for the NCI ("Funding Cuts Hamper Cancer Research"). If we believe that it is indeed reasonable to envision a future without cancer, we must accept this charge.

It was sadly ironic that Dr. Herberman's piece appeared in the same issue as Mark Roth's story about Professor Randy Pausch's struggle with pancreatic cancer ("CMU Prof Gives His Last Lesson on Life"). In the article, Dr. Pausch spoke about his family thusly: "And I hope they will remember me as a man who loved them, and did everything he could for them." We owe it to Dr. Pausch's family, and to every family that has watched a loved one struggle against cancer, to do everything we can for them, too, by demanding increased federal funding for research. In upcoming elections, place your votes for candidates who will fund important research and subsequently improve, or save, the lives of those who battle cancer.

We know what the moon looks like. Let's fight to see what a future without cancer looks like as well.

JEANNE BASSE
Mt. Lebanon

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