Sunday letters

Last Modified: Friday, November 29, 2013 at 5:42 p.m.

Tube Dude growing

A Nov. 24 editorial stated that I was the only employee at Tube Dude. Public records indicate that this is just one more untruth that your paper has printed. I work seven days a week at my St. Armands gallery: Do you think elves make the sculptures?

I encouraged reporter David McSwane to visit our studio where we build the Tube Dudes so he could see the equipment and the jobs that the Economic Development Corp. money was used for; instead he wrote about personal matters that have no bearing on the core story. I also encouraged him to go on the county clerk's website to check out the history of the person making the accusations, one Michael A. Marcone.

Tube Dude as a company is strong and growing to the point that we no longer needed the help of the EDC and the taxpayers of Sarasota, and had asked some time ago to repay the program 2 1/2 years before the termination of our contract. I am grateful for the help and support that the citizens of Sarasota have given Tube Dude and the opportunity to spread smiles and a positive message around the world.

Scott Gerber

President, Tube Dude


Homeless shelters

The chief recommendation for solving the problem of the high numbers of homeless in Sarasota by expert consultant Robert Marbut is to build more homeless shelters downtown, which he calls "an alternative to jail," plus "villages" for homeless families. Please note, however, that there already exist impressive facilities here for the homeless. For example, take a look downtown sometime at the size of the large-capacity, extremely well equipped campus built and operated by the Salvation Army. And there are others as well. The homeless numbers swell more than new facilities can absorb them.

As we build more homeless shelters, as Marbut recommends, word surely gets around among the homeless in other nearby cities that in Sarasota they won't get thrown in jail but they will instead be fed and housed. Doesn't that result eventually in a swelling of the homeless numbers here by those attracted to move here?

In five or 10 years from now we are likely to find anew that we have many more homeless than we now have. I hope consultants then will be asked to tell us how to prevent new migrations from elsewhere, not only how to take care of the ones already here. Are there additional measures needed, such as disincentives to migrations from outside, rather than continuing to build more and more homeless shelters here as the homeless numbers continue to swell?

Nick Catsakis


'Makers' punished

It's not fair to have to pay school taxes if you don't have kids. It's not fair for young, healthy people to pay more for health insurance so that the old and unwell can be insured. It's not fair to have to help the homeless who have self-inflicted drug and alcohol problems and will not help themselves, as one recent letter writer opined.

These are forms of wealth redistribution, which is not fair to those who worked hard and accumulated wealth. Makers shouldn't be punished by making them support takers.

Imagine, for a moment, you are a newborn baby, and you don't know how your life will turn out. Will you have wealth, or poverty? Power? Intelligence? Opportunity? All of your faculties? Will you be homeless? Imagine now that you must make all the laws.

Without knowing your eventual life station, would you make laws that are fair to others as well as yourself? Would they be the laws we have now? Ask yourself.

Gary L. Smith


Papal irony

Concerning the pope's speech on "the idolatry of money" (Herald-Tribune, Nov. 27): It sounds strange, coming from the leader of the richest tax-free organization in the world.

Barbara Walker


Printing money

As conservatives, we constantly ask, how can we continue to spend money that we don't have? We know the limits of our family income and we know that overspending equals increased debt which does nothing but make us poorer.

But in Washington, the excessive spending continues without much change. Sure, we have the sequester, but we still are sending aid to many countries of the world. We still subsidize green energy companies, and we continue to fund a big federal payroll. The sequester really was only a bump in the spending road.

Here's the secret. If our household, our school system, our county or our state had printing presses, we could spend like drunken sailors. What would you do with a government printing press in your garage? The possibilities are endless. That is until someone wised up and said, "Hey, that money is as worthless as Monopoly money." Then the ride would end.

Well, eventually, the world will wise up to the Fed's printing presses and our money will no longer be the reserve currency of the world and we will no longer be in the driver's seat. In addition, we will see inflation, where it could take 100 of those phony dollars to get a gallon of gas. And wages won't begin to keep up. You think things are rough now? They aren't done with us yet.

Jim Chaney

Rotonda West

Take care of 'warriors'

We see Wounded Warriors on TV with celebrities asking Americans to donate $19 a month to help.

As a Korean War veteran, I am asking: Why do Wounded Warriors have to beg for help when we pay taxes? Our government should take care of our warriors after putting them in harm's way.

Nick Siggelakis


This story appeared in print on page A18


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