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4A Daily News – Saturday, September 22, 2012 Opinion DAILYNEWS 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 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 In today's article put out by the Associated Press titled "Tax penalty to hit nearly 6M uninsured people" blew me away. Blown away Editor: Can anyone explain to me where 6M uninsured people are going to get the money to pay a tax penalty for not hav- ing health insurance? don't have insurance now is because it's all they can do with so many low paying jobs, is pay rent, buy food and put clothes on their backs. Funny, this article doesn't say how many more low income people are going to be added to the Medicaid programs, which raises the taxes for everyone else. So, what it boils down to is that those who do have insur- ance through their jobs or can afford insurance on their own, will still be paying a penalty through additional taxes. The way I look at it, everyone who works and pays taxes is penalized. The reason most people family, one person works, and he or she averages 8 hours per day, working 20 days a month. They would have to make more than $14 an hour just to meet the poverty level. In rural areas especially, unless you have worked at a job for years and have, in the majority of cases a huge amount of training or a col- lege education, jobs that pay $14 an hour or more are almost non-existent. to buy a dangerous product. Orval Strong, Gerber tive of the Obama Adminis- tration, 98 percent of people will not be penalized. What? Oh yes, our president is doing a wonderful job. Right? Barbara Benefield, Red Bluff According the the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) figures for poverty in 2012 in the 48 Contiguous States and D.C. a chart found on Wikipedia shows that poverty levels for a family of 5 is $27,010. Stop and think. If there are five people in a want anyone recognizing your product? Could it have some- thing to do with the health risk associated with it? Wherever labeling is required in Europe sales of GMO foods drop dramatical- ly. Monsanto knows it's a lot easier to bribe regulators than to persuade the general public Monsanto and other GMO producers are shelling out millions to defeat Proposition 37 the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. Now why would you not Dangerous food Editor: According to a representa- The damage that liberals, progres- sives, socialists and this president is doing and has done, to both our domestic and for- eign policy is very hard to comprehend. Massive debt, high unem- Liberal damage Editor: ployment, over regulation, failed promises, major speech gaffs and terrorist riots, just to name a few. The only thing Joe Harrop can write about is those rascal Republicans, who are not in power. Your Turn time to actually make it." That's pretty strong words coming from a Wall Street Journal edi- torial, but they did on Sept. 15. The editorial com- mented also "Protec- tionism of the kind Mr. Romney is now selling often sells well in the pols, which we assume is one reason the Republican is now pitching it." Are you so blinded by your ideology that you are ignoring the problems that this admin- istration is going to heap on our children and grandchil- dren? Dr. Joe, with your political ideology you could qualify to be a legislative aid to Nancy Pelosi, the queen of the planet stupider. Gale Gilbert, Red Bluff WSJ's advice, "Mr Romney is struggling to sell his economic message because he's never taken the letter response Editor: not make a president. As the WSJ so aptly puts it: "Voters instinctively want a president who knows how to make Amer- ica more competitive, not one who campaigns as if other coun- tries are more formidable." In other words, vote to re- elect President Obama. Regarding a recent letter to the editor, the writer said that she was "flabbergasted" by my claim that Romney and Ryan were making statements which contradicted their actual record as Governor and Representa- tive. Yet, such protectionism does Well, facts are facts. The dia- tribe that the writer then pro- vides to claim that President Obama also made false state- ments does not contain any ver- ifiable facts, merely the writer's biased opinion. ficult enough without making false accusations in letters to the editor and emails to individuals. Bob Wilkinson, Cottonwood The upcoming election is dif- 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 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, 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), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Doesn't Romney want the 47 percent on his side? Commentary But the men who want to lead our nation should be lead- ing a rational and essential con- versation about cutting govern- ment excess without slashing the social safety net. Instead, Romney is on video from May spouting ill-informed mish- mash that he after-the-fact claims is all about debating government's proper role. If only he were doing that. The Heritage Foundation says more than 67 million Americans rely on the federal government for housing, food, income, student aid and or If 47 percent of Americans really were freeloaders, the way Mitt Romney suggests, don't you think the federal govern- ment would be a lot more than $16 trillion in debt? And if Romney believes that 47 percent of Americans can be written off as automatic Obama votes, doesn't that show that the Republican nominee under- stands the electorate even less than he understands the real world most of us live in? It might make a terrific Rush Limbaugh rant, pretending nearly half the country is a bunch of fat slackers who sit around whining. And no doubt there are those among us who do precious little to earn their keep. other assistance, and the num- ber's growing dangerously. But it's a mistake to think they're all leeches expecting taxpayers to underwrite their dependence. It's been widely reported that there are many reasons people don't pay income taxes, includ- ing that they qualify for tax breaks such as the Earned Income Credit and child tax credit. tax frequently pay payroll and excise taxes, plus sales and property taxes and, except in Texas and a handful of other places, state income tax, too. This isn't a contest between productive Americans and para- sites. Romney carelessly lumped together people who arguably are too dependent on govern- ment with older Americans who've earned their retirement, paid off their mortgages and use the Social Security they paid for. With young people studying toward degrees they've been told will help them achieve the American dream. With workers like the servers who were busing the tables at the private fundraiser where he was writing off people like them. Even some mega-million- aires don't pay income tax: six of them, according to Internal Revenue Service data about the 400 returns listing the highest adjusted gross income for 2009 (a $202 million average), The New York Times reported. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center explains that even those who don't owe federal income luck or a rotten economy. But they may well think govern- ment offers nowhere to turn because it's doing a terrible job of helping people like them. Plenty of retirees across the political spectrum believe that government does owe them for what they put into the system all those hard-working years. There are hard questions these presi- dential candidates should be addressing _ we, the people, need solutions. The New York Linda Campbell Military veterans and their families probably do believe that their country owes them healthcare and a decent life for the sacrifices they made — and they're right. And taking part in govern- ment programs does not make someone a shiftless ingrate. I'm not convinced that hav- ing the government loan quali- fying parents money at lower interest rates is the best way to help families afford college. But the program was available when I needed it, and I'm duti- fully paying the money back. I dare say many Americans these days might feel like vic- tims of circumstance or bad ing to be "some sort of cartoon- ish government-hater." A kind and decent candidate should give the impression that he cares about that 47 percent, even if he doesn't expect them to vote for him. to have to govern them, too. And he'll want them on his side. If he gets elected, he's going Linda P. Campbell is a columnist and editorial writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Readers may write to her at 400 W. 7th Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102, or via email at lcampbell@star-telegram.com. Times columnist David Brooks, a polit- ical conservative, on Monday called Rom- ney "a kind, decent man" who's pretend-