Tax would replace loss of small donors
The writer is the Arts & Science Council president.
I am a great fan of editorial cartoons and respect the role they play in our nation’s history. However, Kevin Siers’ Feb. 14 Arts & Science Council cartoon missed the point. The ASC has not asked for new public funding to cover lost gifts from the wealthy.
In fact, the wealthy are still giving in record numbers. What we have lost is access to employee giving, which has been the bedrock of ASC and United Way’s giving model for decades.
ASC has lost over 20,000 $25 and $50 donors. That is what we are trying to replace to meet the needs of our rapidly growing and changing community.
Robert Bush Jr., Charlotte
Please don’t add to my tax burden
Thank you, Kevin Siers, for the cartoon about the poor.
I read about the arts people not having enough money in their funds, so they decided to just put it on a sales tax increase.
Forget the poor who are the ones paying these sales taxes, which seem to never quit. I am a 90-year-old man. I go to the dollar store and buy 10 boxes of tissue for $10 and the cashier charges me another 70 cents sales tax, which is almost another box of Kleenex. That cuts back my buying power.
President Trump has given an income tax cut for the rich. He should have cut the sales taxes and give a tax cut for the poor.
Joseph Demers, Statesville
Keep Richardson’s name on stadium
As a past president of the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association, I am disturbed that some students are again pushing the trustees to remove Jerry Richardson’s name from the football stadium. While there is absolutely no excuse for Richardson’s actions, he has paid a great price, and the people affected by his actions deserve our sympathy and respect.
Richardson has also done a great deal of good for the people of the Carolinas and so much for both UNC Charlotte and Wofford. He has supported many things that most people don’t even know about.
Richardson’s gift afforded the university the opportunity to name the stadium and co-name the field. This is something that all should take into consideration before changing anything prior to 2022 at the very least.
Frank Jones, Stella, NC
Congress must stop Trump and his wall
If one read the evidence against convicted drug lord El Chapo Guzmán in Wednesday’s Observer, it is obvious a land wall is a huge waste of time and money.
President Trump’s trumped up “national emergency” is neither national, nor an emergency. It is only another of his bullying tactics in his re-election campaign and another way to subvert our democratic system of government by going around Congress.
If Congress and the American people do not stop him now, he will think he can actually do anything he wants dictatorially. “Hail Caesar Trump!”
Joe Sutterlin, Charlotte
Please, President Trump, build the wall
To President Trump: Please, shut down the government, build the wall, dare impeachment. You don’t need this job. Don’t worry about 2020. Even though we need you, I wouldn’t blame you if you said “the hell with it” in 2020.
Russ Wood, Charlotte
Stop Trump; uphold the Constitution
To Congress: Lance this boil! The emoluments clause alone gives you cover.
We can’t dawdle while this presidency plows through Constitutional guardrails.
When your grandchildren ask what you did in the great war for America’s soul what will you say? If militias come howling out into the street, that’s what the National Guard is for. End this fever-dream.
Steve Craig, Charlotte
But your fenced yard is not a country
In response to “Charlotte is full of hypocrites” (Feb. 14 Forum):
Forum writer Bill Lane doesn’t seem to know the difference between a fence around a yard and a wall around a country. One’s a lot bigger, costs way more, and doesn’t work at all.
Glad to have cleared that up.
James Nelson, Charlotte
Clemson students acted appropriately
In response to “Don’t sully a great man’s name” (Feb. 14 Forum):
The writer is a Clemson graduate.
Forum writer Tammy McKee misses the point. Instead of suggesting that students who signed the petition to remove John C. Calhoun’s name from the Honors College leave Clemson University, she should be applauding the fact that the students – in a thoughtful, nonviolent way – are standing up for what they believe. We need students like these in all our universities!
Dan Faris, Charlotte