Letters policy: Send by e-mail to letters@gainesvilletimes.com (no attached files, please, which can contain viruses); fax to 770-532-0457; mail to The Times, P.O. Box 838, Gainesville, GA 30503; or click here for a form. Include full name, hometown and phone number for confirmation. They should be limited to one topic on issues of public interest and may be edited for content and length (limit of 500 words). Letters originating from other sources, those involving personal, business or legal disputes, poetry, expressions of faith or memorial tributes may be rejected. You may be limited to one letter per month, two on a single topic. Submitted items may be published in print, electronic or other forms. Letters, columns and cartoons express the opinions of the authors and not of The Times editorial board.
In response to the guest columns from Jim Pilgrim and Jim Taflinger, I have some follow-up questions.
For Mr. Pilgrim: If the Republican party is for strong families, why do they support immigration enforcement policies that tear local Latino families apart? Detaining or deporting hard working fathers (and mothers), leaving their young children traumatized and destitute?
Secondly, I agree that cutting taxes allows corporations to create more jobs, but more and more of those jobs seem to go overseas. Aside from the fact that it exploits the poor in foreign countries, how does that help jobless Georgians here at home? Will Republicans regulate that?
Thirdly, aside from the fact that extending the Bush tax cuts will benefit the rich far more than the middle class, reduced tax revenues requires reduced spending. What will the Republicans cut from already lean state and local budgets? And will those cuts hurt hard working poor and middle class families? Will safety nets be compromised for those who have behaved responsibly but still fell on hard times?
Finally, I agree with Ronald Reagan that government is necessary to address certain problems. Seems to me our biggest problem is not a government takeover of health care but a corporate takeover of government.
What will Republicans do to prevent large corporations from spending millions of dollars to influence elections and control Congress, as clearly happened in recent health care reform and financial regulation reform?
And for Mr. Taflinger: What will Democrats do to prevent large corporations from spending millions of dollars to influence elections and control Congress? Will Democrats support public-funded elections?
Secondly, Democrats seem to care about the poor and middle class, as evidenced by their opposition to extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, their attempts to provide health care for the millions of children and adults who have none and their promise to protect Social Security. Democrats seem to care about those who are so often victimized by the rich and powerful.
In light of that, I have never understood why Democrats seem to not care as much about the most vulnerable group of all: the unborn. Are Democrats willing to reconsider their views on abortion so that millions of evangelicals and Catholics could more easily support them?
If hardworking poor and middle-class families need to be protected from greedy insurance companies and banks, do not the unborn need to be protected from scared and confused mothers who, more often than not, later regret their decision to have an abortion?
Finally, in light of the fact that current enforcement policies are tearing apart families and traumatizing young children, would Democrats be willing to protect local Latino children by giving their undocumented parents temporary legal status, or at least stop arresting them for minor traffic violations, just until the larger issues can be resolved? Limited, temporary legal status would also help identify those who employ the immigrants illegally.
Alan Shope
Gainesville