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6A – Daily News – Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Opinion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Republican majority Editor: Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 I just read an online news article, "Republicans block child nutrition bill," by Mary Clare Jalonik for The Associat- ed Press on Dec. 1. It seems that the newly Republican majority in the House of Representatives, using a procedural maneuver, has shown us all what their true pri- orities are. These are the same people who are passionately arguing to extend major tax cuts, which are losses to the treasury, in the tens of billions of dollars for the wealthiest Americans. The Republicans have "tem- porarily blocked legislation to feed school meals to thousands more hungry children." The Senate has already approved the bill which, if passed by the House, would go to President Obama for his sig- nature. Republicans said the bill is too costly at $5.4 billion and is government overreach. Michelle Obama has lob- bied for the bill as part of her campaign to combat childhood obesity. Republican darling, Sarah Palin, cookies in hand, speaking at a school in Penn- sylvania, weighed in by deri- sively calling the First lady's campaign the "nanny-state run amok." The bill would provide healthier meals, meals for after school students and more money for schools in needy areas. It would be refreshing if the new Republican majority in the House had the same priorities. But, as usual, their altruism only extends to the to the wealthiest Americans, while they demo- nize the poorest Americans as lazy welfare cheats. And this is the party that promised to bring morality back to government in America. My, my, what will they think of next? Larry Gray, Red Bluff Jobs myth Editor: There is a huge myth that the rich should not have to pay higher taxes because they provide jobs that keep our economy going. Jobs don’t automatically appear because some rich dude says, “let there be jobs.” Jobs are created when some- one creates a need for a par- ticular product or service, then goes about providing that need to as many as possi- ble. In other words it is cus- tomers that provide jobs and most customers are far from being rich. To illustrate Tiffany and Co., which offers expensive merchandise, employs a little over 8,000 people worldwide. Walmart which caters to the poorer classes employs 2.1 million “associates” in the US alone. In 1946 when the highest tax rate was 91 percent, the US economy was booming and the unemployment rate was a mere 3.9 percent in spite of approximately 9 mil- lion recently dis- charged soldiers. Today with the top rate of 35 percent our economy is in sham- bles. What happened to all those good jobs the rich were supposed to bless us with? In 2009, the top 25 hedge fund managers took in $25.3 billion which is more than the combined earnings of all of New York city’s teachers, firemen and policemen. Those hedge fund specialists paid a mere 15 percent of that in capital gains tax while NY teachers, firemen and police officers had to fork over 40 percent of their take home pay. Speaking of taxes, a study released in 2004 by Citizens for Tax Justice and the affili- ated Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that in 2003 alone, 46 of the 275 companies it reviewed, paid no taxes at all in 2003, despite reporting a total of $42.6 bil- lion in pre-tax profits. Indeed, these companies received $5.4 billion in tax rebates that year. The study also discovered that in the last three years, 82 of the country's largest prof- itable corporations paid no federal income tax for at least one of the Bush administra- tion's first three years. Your Turn Large corporations not only constantly steal trillions from hard working American tax payers, but pollute the environment, and contaminate our foods, they have also contaminated the seeds that farm- ers use to grow our corn, wheat, rice, etc. and force farm- ers to use those degenerated seeds. Those corporations do not funnel millions into political campaigns for nothing. Another fallacy I would like to address is that social programs are the cause of our economic woes. Welfare expenditures amounted to 2.7 percent of our GDP in 2006. In 2009 54 percent of our national budget went to mili- tary and VA expenditures. $9 billion sent to Iraq have been unaccounted for, $549.7 million worth of spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. We also happen to lose 190,000 guns. A 2007 Congressional hearing found Halliburton had unreasonably overcharged the Pentagon to the tune of $1.4 billion. Wars and uncon- scionable war contractors is what bankrupted this nation, not welfare recipients. But what raises the ire of our modern day Patriot? Why it’s undocumented foreign workers. People getting unemployment, and anyone else in need of government assistance to survive. Orval Strong, Gerber Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3063 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Our snapshot of America Commentary It was a fine night that offered an interesting snapshot of America. Over the Thanksgiving break, I joined with 50 others for an impromptu high school reunion. We grew up in Bethel Park, a fairly typical American suburb in Pittsburgh, PA that exploded in population in the '60s and '70s. Many of our parents had grown up in the city in the '20s, '30s and '40s. They were brim- ming with optimism by the time they moved to Bethel. By 1946, America had won World War II. The baby boom was under way and would last some 18 years. My parents, born in 1933 and 1937, were of the Silent Gener- ation. In 1956, soon after my father returned from the Army - - he was drafted just after the Korean War ended -- he took a secure job with the telephone company and married my moth- er, his high school sweetheart. They had very little money, but, like many couples then, began a family right away. By 1964, they'd saved enough to move to a brand-new four-bedroom home in the "Promised Land" -- Bethel Park. They did so because they dreamed of a better life for their children -- better schools, a finer home, a safer neighbor- hood with huge backyards where their children could play. Bethel Park delivered. Through the mid-'70s, my classmates and I experienced what was essentially a 1950s upbringing. Most moms stayed home and ran our neighborhoods like well-oiled machines. Though it was a rigid time for adults -- women had limited opportunities outside the home and dads carried most of the financial burden -- it was a great time to be a kid. There were no 24-hour cable news channels to scare parents into locking their kids in the house. We played outside all day -- we jumped on our bikes and rode throughout South Park, several miles away. We lived by two basic rules: We better not be late for supper and we better come home when the street lights come on. Our childhood was marked by a total lack of chaos -- an abundance of orderliness and innocence. I remember one night when our father made us turn off "Love, American Style," a TV comedy series about romance. Such "racy fare" was not permitted in our home. We were protected from most of the adult world. We had little awareness of the war in Vietnam, riots and other turmoil rocking the country. Our childhood more pounds than we'd like. Many of our surviving parents are ill. The optimism infused in us from our start is being chal- lenged as we worry about our future, our children's future, our country's future. But a week ago Saturday night, we enjoyed a respite from our adult world. Tom Purcell world was one of secu- rity and hopefulness, a world in which we were free to dream. Though the economy was bad during our high school years, it didn't trouble most of us. We had a raucous good time -- many of us had college and bright futures ahead of us. Our timing was great. When we graduated from college in 1984, the economy was boom- ing -- and would continue to grow, for the most part, until 2008. Now here we are, nearly a half-century old. Our hair is thinning. We've put on a few Our formal 30- year reunion was canceled due to a lack of attendees, but four classmates orga- nized our impromptu reunion instead. Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e- mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. What a grand time it was to chat and laugh with 50 other people who share the common experience of a distinct time and place now gone forever. ——— including