While I do understand Mr. Hyle's reaction in his recent letter to the idea of paying higher taxes, I would have been one of the audience members at the governor's budget meeting applauding the idea of raising taxes. I am retired, but on March 2, I voted for the Indian River School District referendum.
I don't have any children in school, but I believe that our young people are worth it. They are the future leaders of our country and a valuable resource. Ever since the presidency of Ronald Reagan, we have been told over and over again that government is the enemy, that we have to starve the beast. To me, it is not the government that is the enemy, but some politicians who don't seem to care about the common good.
Yes, there is waste in government, but must we take a meat cleaver to do the job where a surgeon's scalpel would do? There are so many public services that we need in order to live in a civilized society: we want to keep our streets safe, keep our houses from burning down, keep our food, water and air safe, provide playgrounds and parks, support our schools and libraries. And how about beach replenishment and rebuilding boardwalks after a hurricane?
If it weren't for our taxes paying for that, the businesses in our area would suffer. In order to attract more businesses, we need to build and maintain necessary infrastructure - education, transportation systems, healthcare systems. I could go on and on. We can come together on common sense ideas on how to better spend our tax money, but the answer is not always lower taxes.
If that is the case, we will not have Mr. Hyle's "golden goose" laying the "golden egg." She will be just leaving a few droppings here and there.
Joan Loewenstein
Frankford
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