Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/45019
LETTER TO THE EDITOR by PHIL GILFUS Rising Above the Alternative LETTER TO THE EDITOR For more than a month, I have had a phrase stuck in my head: "Don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative." It was said by Vice President Joe Biden when he visited Raleigh on Sept. 15. I got the chance to hear him speak, and those words have remained with me ever since. What they mean to me is that we must rise above our political disagreements of today in order to make a better economy for tomorrow. In the past few weeks, President Obama has shared his plan to get the people of North Carolina back to work. He presented the American Jobs Act to Congress and visited our state to spread his message of middle class tax breaks, incentives for businesses to hire the unemployed and asked the ultra-wealthy to contribute to our economic recovery. Under the American Jobs Act, our state would receive $675 million for much- needed school construction, which would provide an estimated 8,800 jobs. We have seen many teachers lose their jobs in recent months, but the Obama jobs plan provides over $900 million to North Carolina to help save those vital education jobs. As a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I am proud that the bill also provides for those unemployed veterans in our community. The American Jobs Act contains the Returning Heroes Tax Credit, which provides a tax credit of up to $5,600 for businesses that hire a veteran who has been unemployed for more than six months. The Wounded Warrior's Tax Credit would increase existing tax credits for those businesses that hire unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities. These are only a few parts of the bill, but they would provide immediate action for those job-seekers in this state and in this community. The American Jobs Act not only stimulates job growth through the tax code, it is also fully paid for through shared sacrifice. I was talking with an U.S. Army Reserve soldier during the 9/11 anniversary the other week. She told me how angry she was that only a few took up the call to arms and joined the military after those tragic attacks on our country. She said that there should have been a "war tax" so that everyone would unite and sacrifice together in common cause against the terrorists. Of course, that did not happen, and only a few have known what the word "sacrifice" is over the past decade. The time for sacrifice is past due. Vice President Biden told the Raleigh audience, which was comprised of many successful business leaders, that they only succeed when there is a growing middle class. He said that their economic lives, as well as the community, improve when students are learning in good schools with teachers who do not have to worry about their jobs. He asked them to take up the banner and contribute to the cause of helping our nation. He asked them to think what would happen if all we did was provide tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy instead of asking them to help the rest of the country move forward. I ask our Cumberland County congressional delegation and U.S. senators to stand up and support the American Jobs Act. Reps. Larry Kissell, Mike McIntyre and Rene Ellmers should be doing everything possible to help our community get jobs. Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr should be supporting this bill that will help move North Carolina forward. They need to pass the American Jobs Act now. We all need to call, write, e-mail, fax and tweet that they need to act now. In the end, this bill is not a magic bullet. It will not solve all the problems in our economy. But it is a vital step. As the vice president said, "don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative." That alternative is more partisan bickering, more lost jobs, more broken families and more unemployment for Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Let's get our members of Congress to put the country before their political parties and pass the American Jobs Act. I have faith we can work together to help tackle our other economic issues and help win the future. WFSS — National Public Radio Defining Our Community by BILL BOWMAN When it comes to advocating government subsidies of National Public Radio (NPR), I stay neutral on the topic. This is because after listening to NPR for nearly 30 years, I am confident it is a venue that can support and sustain itself. Here, in our hometown of Fayetteville, we are extremely lucky to have our own NPR station, WFSS, located on the campus of Fayetteville State University. We are even luckier to live in a community that appreciates the contributions WFSS makes locally. After all, WFSS (91.9 FM), has been our hometown NPR radio station for 34 years, continually growing and providing useful local and national news, interviews with community and business leaders and supporting its neighbors who are making a difference by contributing to our quality of life. This month, WFSS has its semi-annual fund drive. As this area's weekly community newspaper, we intend to support this effort and hope our readers will also. The entire station operates on donations. Over the years it has proven to be a good investment and the money raised by WFSS directly benefits the listeners by providing NPR programming, quality local programming WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM and community outreach. Local is the key word here. It does get rather confusing in this part of North Carolina. There are 16 public radio stations in our state and each one is independently owned and operated. Each must raise its own funds and no money is shared between them. No one NPR station represents all the public radio stations in our state. That means contributions to WFSS in support of public radio here in our neighborhood must be contributed locally. That is not to say WFSS doesn't have a broad reach. WFSS broadcasts into 13 counties in southeastern North Carolina, covering a 60-mile radius. Joe Ross, Kathy Klaus, Janet Wright and the entire staff live and work in this community. They are professionals and are committed to every market they serve, including: Fayetteville, Spring Lake, Hope Mills, Fort Bragg, Raeford, Sanford, Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Lumberton, Clinton, Dunn and Elizabethtown. Need I say more about this wonderful media outlet? Yes. A special thank you to the Cumberland Community Foundation Inc., for challenging the NPR listening audience and WFSS team to bring in new members and to encourage lapsed members to come back. The CCF will match every basic membership pledge of $60 or more. Now, that's a commitment! There are many ways you can support this valuable asset to our community. You can't beat "free!" Tune in and let's keep public radio in the Fayetteville community. Contributions can be made by calling 672- 1621 or 1-800-245-9377. You may also pledge online at www.wfss.org or you may mail your pledge to WFSS, 1200 Murchison Rd., Fayetteville, NC 28301, ATTN: Fall Fund Drive. Tell them that your favorite community newspaper, Up & Coming Weekly, recommended them. OCTOBER 19-25, 2011 UCW 5