Letters to the editor, March 18

The Palladium-Item
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Paying too much for sewer service 

I recently discussed my sewer bill with the Richmond Sanitary District. I live in the Buckholtz addition where we have no city water. We get our water from private wells. 

I was informed that our sewer bills are based on an estimate of 5,000 gallons that they say we dump into their sewer each month. Most of the 42 homes in this addition have only two people living in them, and a few have only one person. 

I have checked with two families who have city water, which I’m told is how the Sanitary District figures the sewer bills, by checking the amount of water used. One family with two in the household used a little more than 2,500 gallons, and the other family, which has two adults and three children, used 3,500 gallons. 

I have lived in this division for 42 years and I estimate I have probably overpaid approximately $2,000. I have contacted my council member in this matter, but so far I have not heard from him. 

If your sewer bill says “unmetered” on it, you are most likely paying too much, also. I don’t mind paying my fair share, but I do resent paying too much. Let us all pay an equal share. 

Jack Miles


The problem with tax abatements 

Companies invest in new equipment for many reasons. 1. Increased sales revenues based on improved productivity. 2. Improved quality. 3. Improved employee safety with fewer lost worker days. 4. Access to new markets. 5. Reduced labor cost because of greater thru-put. 6. Reduced cost in maintaining new equipment. 7. Reduced downtime for equipment maintenance. 8. Reduced energy cost due to more efficient equipment. 9. Reduced lead times. 

The above benefits contribute to increased profits and provide a great deal of incentive for companies to make investments in capital equipment. City leaders believe that the above incentives alone are inadequate to encourage investment and have devised abatement plans to further reward companies. These abatements continue to negatively impact much needed revenue, which leads to the gutting or underfunding of vital government services. Given the ease with which tax abatements are granted, these companies would be guilty of ignoring their fiduciary responsibilities if they failed to squeeze every dollar that council dangles in front of them. And so, it becomes a race to the bottom with each city, each county, each state competing against other cities, counties and states by offering more and more tax incentives. 

Political scientist Michael Parenti writes that “the essence of democracy isn’t trust. It’s distrust, it’s accountability, it’s exposure, it’s challenge, it’s debate.” Perhaps we need to ask city leaders to explain why after more than 30 years of tax abatements, Wayne County’s median household income ranks 88th among Indiana’s 92 counties. 

Paul Bourassa


Trump a moral failure 

In a recent speech in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden referenced Trump, saying that in the past, there has been “... an invisible moral fabric that held our society together.” That fabric has now been ripped to shreds. Trump exhibits no morals, no integrity, no honesty; this, compounded by conflicts-of-interest somewhere between his secret tax returns and he and his son-in-law’s interactions with Russia and other foreign entities. And, as an immature narcissist, Trump is emotionally/psychologically bankrupt. 

I have space for only an abbreviated list of factual encounters to support the above: Trump settled a $25 million suit for fraud regarding his Trump University; Trump is now embroiled in the drama, “ The Porn-Star, the President, and the Hush-Money Payoff”; Trump fired Comey, hoping to end the investigation into his Russian connection and his BFF worship of Putin; the only president in modern times to not release his tax returns; someone who has spent a quarter of his days in office at one of his private clubs (at tremendous taxpayers’ expense – basically, Trump’s getting paid when he hosts various official/unofficial gatherings.) 

Who supports this person? 1). People who get their “news” from Fox or from social media; 2). Ultra-rich people who couldn’t care less about “regular” people. 3). Those who share Trump’s hateful prejudices/mockery against: A.) the physically-handicapped; B). Gold Star families; (C); former prisoners-of-war; D). Native Americans, and E). Anyone whose gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity differs from his. 

We have two choices: 1). USA annexed by Russia; or 2). Impeachment. 

Les McClain


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