{"headlinelight18"/}Seward gas plan won't help us
Why does Sen. James Seward want to take even more money out of our pockets and give it to the big oil companies? This would be the effect of his ill-advised scheme for a state gas tax holiday this summer. There is no doubt that the oil giants would just raise the price of gas to take away any savings for motorists. After all, they have done it before: When the state capped the sales tax on gasoline in 2005, prices dropped only briefly before returning to then-record highs and continuing to go up. The only beneficiaries were Exxon, Mobil, Shell, etc.
Even conservatives pan this idea. Jerry Taylor of the Cato Institute calls lowering gas taxes "... a holiday from reality. What would happen more likely than not, gas taxes would be cut, but pump prices wouldn't go down, service stations would just continue charging what they are charging."
There are a number of proposals in the state Legislature that would provide true energy savings to New Yorkers. Among these is expansion of net electricity metering; allowing siting of new, clean power plants; and increasing lighting efficiency. Unfortunately, Seward and his Republican colleagues have killed them at the request of utilities and energy companies.
It's no surprise that Seward favors Big Oil over his constituents. During his tenure as Senate Energy Committee Chairman, he oversaw huge cost increases for electricity and other energy in the state. He has one of the worst records in the Legislature on environmental and energy issues at a time when they are critical to the future of New York.
Seward's "plan" is pure political pandering. We need leadership, not silly games that will damage upstate's already-weak economy and cost us even more when we fill up.
Andrew Mason
Jefferson
{"headlinelight18"/}Protest against Big Oil may work
I was just watching Al Sharpton start a protest march in New York over the Sean Bell verdict.
I don't care where you stand on the issue, but I think it is past time for all middle-class Americans, of any color or creed, to start protesting the pillaging at the pump by Big Oil. Our politicians are cowardly and likely "indebted" to The Black Gold conglomerates, so it will be left up to the "great unwashed" (that's us), as the lower classes were called by Bulwer-Lytton. Did you notice that I dropped us all down a "class"?
Organized protest worked to end the Vietnam war, and it could work again. We now know that the Iraq debacle was really about oil and the mongo money being earned by Iraq is not going toward the war effort, as promised by Cheney, Feith and Wolfowitz before the war, but into the pockets of the corrupt Iraqi officials and those "darn" oil companies. We are paying for it.
My choice for the time and location would be in front of the mansions owned and occupied by the CEOs and CFOs of the major oil companies, such as ExxonMobil and BP. Their unconscionable profits are really hurting us; people are losing jobs and houses and they are bankrupting our kids.
All you'll need is a couple of signs that read "SHAME ON YOU, SHAME ON YOU," and a few hundred people wagging their fingers at these greed-heads. Lest we forget, "The love of money is the root of all evil." I am sure these guys can be Googled, and their addresses found, probably on Park Avenue.
Some will get arrested but it might be just the thing to expose the truth.
If you can't afford the gas, we can walk together.
Alan Kaplan
Delhi
{"headlinelight18"/}Economic check can help needy
President Bush's economic stimulus package should be in our mailboxes and bank accounts any day now. Most economists believe that Americans will do the right thing with it (pay down debt, save it) rather than spend it on more unnecessary consumer items, as the president vaguely thinks we might do. If that happens, it's a nice little bump for our family budgets, but certainly not a rocket flight out of recession.
Here's a better idea. Rising fuel and food prices are annoying to most Americans, but they put poor Americans (and poor citizens of the world) at risk. What if the "economic stimulus" went toward helping folks with no economic cushion to buy necessities whose prices are soaring out of their reach?
With this in mind, once my economic stimulus shows up, I plan to make substantial donations to organizations that can help shepherd families who are economically distressed through this risky time. I'm planning on stimulating Family Services in Oneonta and the Storehouse Project in Worcester, but there are a lot of other responsible organizations to choose from.
If you think this is a good idea, maybe you'll join me. Together, we can stimulate the economy where it's needed most.
Gary Koutnik
Worcester
{"headlinelight18"/}Vote for Barber in 51st District
This New York resident does not want corporate money to keep running my state. I am one of the 74 percent of New Yorkers who want public financing of campaigns. It seems that the majority should rule, but, remember, this is New York, where special interests rule.
What a system, where entrenched incumbents such as Sen. James Seward in the 51st District accumulate huge war chests from corporate entities. Special interests, such as insurance companies (more than 40 at last count), give money to Senator Seward, chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance. And what do you think of your insurance bill?
If you want the latest on who gives how much to which entrenched incumbent in New York state, go to "Project Sunlight" on the Web at
www.sunlightny.com.
A vote for Don Barber to replace a 22-year incumbent in the 51st District will go a long way to preventing special interests from running New York's government.
Earl Callahan
New Berlin
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