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Ideas From Our Community
*Do not stray from core values. Reigning in the size and scope of
government is primary. The continued growth of government only infringes
the citizens' liberties, financial independence, and religious freedoms.
The top priority for this legislative session should be to have 0% absolute
growth in the state budget. In addition, any excess tax revenue (surplus)
should be returned to its rightful owners - the taxpayer. Next, any law
that is introduced that in any way infringes on personal liberties and
responsibility should be thrown out.
-Second, the Republican Party should lead the way in ensuring the
highest level of ethics. Any senator or representative that personally
benefits from legislation should be censured. This includes any benefit
afforded his family, business, friends, significant campaign donors, or
associates.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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*Reduction or elimination of state income tax for seniors. First we need to
define the age of a senior - 60, 65 - This reduction or elimination would make
Georgia a more attractive alternative for retirement as we compete with places in South Carolina, North Carolina etc.
-Come up with a long-term plan to reduce the current waste stream in Georgia in landfills through alternative energy production. Waste can be sorted and used to produce ethanol - Biomass, energy/electricity, methane etc. Check out
www.freecleanenergy.com There are ethanol producing plants planned for Georgia that will help the farmers boost production of corn and elevate their earnings. Why not help control our waste steam as it effects the basics of our existence- water and energy.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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*I'm tired of going into what looks like a fine and respectable convenience
station only to met by a giant rack of adult magazines. I make it a point to not
return my business to an establishment which pushes this type of material,
but sometimes, especially when you pay at the pump, you cannot tell who
sells what. I would hate to be a parent who takes his or her child into a
place to get a snack and use the restroom and have to shield the poor
child's eyes. What can we do?
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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*Eliminate the Georgia Department of Labor tax for household employees.
While I no longer employ a household employee, for many years I had to file
reports with the state DOL for payments that wound up being $2 or $3 per
year, but required a significant amount of time and effort to properly
calculate the tax and prepare the quarterly documents. The cost of mailing
the tax in was almost as much as the tax. Having such a tax in place only
harasses honest taxpayers, and encourages less honest tax payers to justify
avoiding a ridiculous tax. Such a tax should only kick-in above a specific
threshold of the household employee(s) income, and that threshold should be
high enough to assure that no tax is due unless you are hiring several
people at your home.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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*What can we do about consolidating some of our counties?
It seems we have way too many counties for efficient government. If you
look at the history of why a lot of these counties were created in the
first place, you will see it was just petty politics where one town
group thought they should be the county seat but couldn't get enough
votes, so they just got their friends at the State Capital to pass
legislation to create another county so they could be a county seat.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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**Comment 1**:
As great of an idea as this may seem to be, it's
not very practical. Regardless of the orginal reasons for creating these
counties, consolidating them doesn't seem worthwhile enough to be
justifiable.
Most people live in one county or another for very specific and personal
reasons. In addition, counties have their own histories, their own
dynamics (or personalities if that makes better sense). In consolidating
these counties, some, if not most, of this uniqueness would be lost, and
in essence wasted. How sad.
You also must consider the logistics of doing this. It would surely be
rather costly, and imagine how ugly it could get with job attrition,
merging police and fire departments, merging school districts, combining
all county agencies, etc.
Just think about it in terms of school districts. Some counties have
better school systems than others, and try to imagine the chaos it would
create to merge these districts. On one hand, it might seem that it would
be great for underperforming districts in one county to merge with
outstanding districts in another county, but is it truly that simple? Of
course not! It is so much more complicated than that--each county has its
own curriculum, uses different textbooks, etc. If you think taxes are
high now, just try consolidating counties and merging school districts.
And we all know that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Posted by Tammy 11/30/2006
*Let's get rid of Georgia's highly restrictive firearms laws and quit the
charade-only the law abiding obey them anyway and we are not the threat.
Vermont-style would be perfect. At the very least, strike the un-defined "public
gathering" 16-11-127 from the code. In this day and age it is more important than ever to be true to the Framers' plain words and recognize that there would be no First Amendment without the Second.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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**Comment 1** :
The comment posted to carry and in
public places in the gun law is right on. Recently a law abiding citizen licensed
to carry was arrested and harrassed by the Newnan P D at Wal mart, only to
have them to not charge him, with the crime in our area growing, we need
and demand the right to protect ourselfs. We do all the legal things to
abide by the law and should not be harrassed by police who don't know the
law. If it is not clear to them, change it so even they can understand it.
Posted by Anonymous 11/29/06
*I would like to see someone wipe out the state sales tax on vitamin supplements and other nutrients. If the sale tax cannot be eliminated on such products, at least bring it into alignment with food. In New York State, vitamin supplements are not taxed, neither is food at the grocery store.
Let's at least match NY State and treat supplements as we do food and not as if they were hats or toothpaste.
If we have to tax food at the grocery store, let's tax vitamins, and other
supplements, at the same rate. If I'm not mistaken, food is taxed at 2% and
vitamins at 6% in my county. It's tough to see the logic in that.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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*1. Property tax relief for Seniors...especially school taxes (over 70% of total bite).
2. Eliminate or drastically reduce Ad Valorum tax
3. For every tax bill that is passed by the Georgia legislature, there are serious process and implementation overhead done by state and local tax office staff to comply. Georgia's "cost of overhead" to administer these taxes after a few years, doesn't make them beneficial other than creating a "jobs program". Look at Tennessee for example. Their taxes are low because they are easy to manage and they're not supporting the cost of an "out of control" bureaucracy as we are here in Georgia.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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**Comment 1**
*Some counties now provide school tax relief to
senior citizens, some are means tested, some are not. I would like to see
some school tax relief for single people who have never had children but
who still pay school taxes. For example in Coweta Co senior citizens
begin to receive a reduction in their school tax at age 65 and get full
relief at age 80. I would like to see single people who have never been
married and never had children be granted similar reductions at age 55
with full exemption at age 70.
Posted by John 12/06/2006
*Our voting methods need serious attention. One woman in Grantville had the machines tell her she had already voted when she had not (she got through the voter rolls to get the yellow card). Machines also flipped votes. As you know there is no way to ever verify votes or even recount a close election. There are some good states in this country from whom we can model our election laws. Furthermore, rather than waste time and money with this ridiculous photo ID law (you can vote absentee with nary an ID, let alone a photo), why not increase penalties for voter fraud? Enough with no verification of the vote AND SOFTWARE. The voting process itself should be
open and public.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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*SB 163.........How do you feel about this bill ? Coweta does not
have a place to dump sewage that is pumped from this county. Troup,
Spalding,Meriwether and Fayette all have places to dump sewage that is pumped from their county. The way Coweta is growing and most of that is on septic tanks we need a place with reasonable fees to put the waste. Thanks for listening.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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*Mitch, as you begin your new year with the legislature, I would
like to request that perhaps some thought might be given to an ordinance or law that would prohibit cell phone use (hand-held) while in a moving automobile. I can see that this is going to accelerate in danger to all of us who are on the roads. I would not think of dialing or trying to answer my cell phone while I am driving my car. However, it is now just a constant practice for people to drive with one hand while dialing and chatting on the phones. Since we no longer have enough law enforcement personnel to cover our roads, it is essential that we have ordinances that would help protect us. It only takes 2 seconds to glance down at the phone and run across the road with the car out of control. In talking with my public safety friends, I have also had the consensus of opinion relayed to me that not only does the governor not care about the State Troopers or the Corrections Department or any other department of public safety, but the representatives of the House and the Senate don't care either. Prove them wrong. It is now a foregone conclusion that you can go whatever speed you choose on our freeways because there are only one or two troopers on duty at any one time to cover
the three counties, and most of the time those are working wrecks.
Posted by Anonymous 11/18/2006
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**Comment 1**:
Too many people can't drive while NOT talking an a
phone. It's crazy to think talking on a phone while driving can be
anything but dangerous. Make it illegal.
Posted by Anonymous 11/29/2006
I agree the use of a phone should be prohibited
when operating a moving vehicle. Admittedly we have a lot of bad drivers
even when not using phones, but using a cell phone makes them even worse.
I have seen people run red lights and ignore safety vehicles when driving
and using a cell phone. And the number who have no idea of where they are
on the road is too numerous to count. So, yes, please enact legislation
to make it illegal to talk on a cell phone and operate a motor vehicle at
the same time.
Posted by John 12/06/2006
*In spite of an incredible record of safety and
responsibility by the holders of Georgia firearms licenses, Georgia
currently has the longest list of places off-limits for holders of a
firearms license. 87% of the states that have right to carry laws have no
law against carrying on mass transit, but, in Georgia, it is a felony with
a 5 year minimum sentence to carry a gun within a "reasonable distance"
from a bus stop or even to have a gun in one's glovebox when flying out
of Hartsfield.
Georgia criminalizes carry at any public gathering (which you can avoid if
you even know what that means). No other state in America has a general
"public gathering" restriction. Georgia criminalizes carry in State
Parks and Historic Sites, Wildlife Management Areas, and any publicly
owned or operated building. Georgia criminalizes the carry of a firearm
in any place that serves alcohol, which rules out dining on anything but
fast food. It is also illegal even to leave the gun in your car while
dining at The Olive Garden.
Georgia makes it a crime to leave a gun in your car while taking in a
Braves game.
Georgia even makes it a crime for a Jew to carry a gun while walking to
synagogue. No, this last one is not a joke, see O.C.G.A. 16-11-127.
Most states do not have such ridiculous restrictions, and Georgia needs to
catch up with the times and liberalize its list of onerous restrictions
this legislative session.
Posted by Ed Stone, President, Georgiacarry.org
11/29/2006
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*1. Tie the HOPE scholarship to SAT scores. This is the single best way to
improve our state's SAT ranking. Students who cannot score at the 50th
%tile do not deserve the scholarship.
2. Pass a statewide attendance policy with teeth. After 11 absences for
any reason in any class, the student loses credit. Teachers cannot teach
and students cannot learn if they are not there.
3. Allow parents who homeschool or privately school their children to
receive an income and/or property tax credit (for tje public school money
that they do not get to use) to help cover their costs.
Ideas for Taxes and Budget
1. Pass TABOR (the Taxpayer's Biil of Rights)
2. Eliminate or at least reduce the state income tax in favor of a Fair Tax
3. Eliminate property taxes statewide
4. Eliminate the vehicle ad valorem tax (quite possibly the most
unethical, immoral tax ever)
Other Ideas
1. Allow law-abiding citizens who posses a gun carry permit to be able to
carry their guns to places they might actually have to use them. What
good is a right-to-carry law or a castle doctrine law if you can't have
the gun when you need it?
2. Pass the ultrasound viewing before an abortion bill that was proposed
last session. If an unborn child is just a blob of tissue, this should
cause no problem.
3. Pass a trigger law like the one in Louisiana (or is it Mississippi?)
that would illegalize abortion (except to save the life of the mother) if
and when Roe V. Wade is overturned.
Also, thanks for being a great senator! Keep up the good work.
Posted by Floshine 11/29/2006
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*Ban traffic cameras. One mistake in a processing of paper work can result in damage to a person who commited no violation. Require law enforcement to face any person accused of a crime in a court of law. We have a right to face our accuser.
Posted by Anonymous 11/29/2006
*FAIR TAX initiative is the way to combat all the
taxes you're talking about.
The country wasn't started with an income tax. The FAIR TAX will
eliminate the IRS, also and that money can be put to better use.
Posted by Anonymous 12/4/2006
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*Something has got to be done about the speeding eighteen-wheelers who crowd other motorists off the roads, who tailgate dangerously and who switch lanes at top speeds endangering all around them. It is scary to ride on our interstates. There is no way one of these monsters could possibly stop quickly in case of an emergency ahead of them. How many people have to be killed before something is done to slow these trucks down and to make them stay in the right hand lanes at a decent speed? Of course, it goes without saying that with no state troopers available to at least be visible to the speeders, all trucks and other vehicles think ( and rightly so) that they can go as fast as they choose.
Posted by Anonymous 12/4/2006
*Mitch, I wanted to thank you for following up on the intersection at White Oak. When they finish the job maybe I can write a letter to the Editor stating how you helped the people with local problems.(maybe my name stating this won't hurt you too much).
TAXES--- Every Georgia citizen has a tax number and that is how we file our taxes. We pay our fair share and others should too. Every business man has a tax number and pay their fair tax, BUT I'm not sure every contractor or subcontractor pay their fair share. ( ILLEGALS)
CONSIDER--- Every person who employ's some one must show on their records a tax number for every employee they pay money to or every subcontractor they pay money to and how much or they can be fined up to $1000 per employee or subcontractor. This should stop some of these people paying under the table and the state getting no tax money.
This is not an ILLEGAL bill but a tax bill. If an employer lies or tries to cover up on his state tax it will get him in trouble with the federal tax. Georgia would be the first state to do this and never use the word ILLEGALS.
Posted by Anonymous 12/4/2006
Ever since all of the rangling with the photo ID
I have been reading about how do we know that
the persons voting absentee are legal.
I went and looked on the registration form and the
request for absentee ballot.
On registration form one has to place the birthdate, social
security number, and telephone number.
On the absentee ballot form one has to place the birthdate.
I have this idea to really confirm who you are on absentee ballot
application:
The last four digits of your SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER would be a very
good ID. This also could be placed on the envelope the registrar needs
when you
send in your ballot along with the birthdate. This can be checked long
before the count of the ballots.
I know when you use a credit/debit card in a transaction, the last
four numbers appear on the sales slip or registration form to
protect your identity.
Another idea: Count absentee ballots early in the day with
security and GOP & Dems in observance. The report would not be
disclosed until when the first ballots are brought to the central command.
The counters need to be sworn not to disclose. too.
Posted by Anonymous 12/04/2006
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The vauge and poorly worded \"public gathering\" clause has got to go.
Why should honest citizens who have been checked & licensed not be allowed to protect themselves at church, or a ball game, etc...???
Posted by Anonymous 12/11/2006
While tax relief is desirable, the elemination of
Georgia State Income Tax without some type of consideration for the money
already earned, such as savings, is not a good idea. To eliminate the
corporate tax, only to have that burden placed on the older citizens who
have paid taxes on their earnings is not reasonable or acceptable. For me
to support this type of change will require more information.
Posted by Anonymous 12/12/2006
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It\'s also distracting to drive in poor visibility,
while smoking, with young children in the car, changing a CD, etc.We need
more personnal responsibility, education, and societal pressure - NOT more
laws!
Posted by Anonymous 12/13/2006
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Some ideas for taxes.
>>
>> 1. I favor an immediate increase in gasoline taxes to tap the
>> thousands of people passing through Georgia on their way to Florida.
>> We can use the funds for the highway department, freeing up money from
>> the state's regular budget to give to counties/local governments to
>> offset the loss of ad valorem taxes that would be eliminated. Georgia
>> citizens would benefit by the reduction of the A - V tax. The state
>> should see a funding increase by tapping a source not presently taxed,
>> and perhaps the higher gasoline tax would in some way encourage fuel
>> conservation. I resent traveling to other states and having to pay
>> twenty to thirty cents per gallon more in fuel taxes than we pay in
>> Georgia. It is time we get into this fuel tax game.
>>
>> 2. I favor making all Interstate highways in the state toll roads.
>> Install automatic toll booths at all interstate entrance ramps. Every
>> time a motorist gets on the interstate he pays 50 cents or one dollar
>> to use the highway. Again the funds go toward highway maintenance,
>> hopefully eliminating the need for road expenditures in the regular
>> budget.
>>
>> 3. I voted against the consumption tax for a couple of reasons. One,
>> the tax intake would depend strictly on how the economy is going. In
>> economic boom times the state would be flush with money. But what
>> about the downturns? Who would face the budget ax in a slowdown that
>> lasted a couple of years? Have our tax people looked at Canada and
>> Germany, two countries I am familiar with, who use goods and services
>> taxes for the bulk of their revenue? Will it work? If not, who pays?
>>
>> Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate your efforts in
>> the legislature even though I am no longer one of your constituents.
Posted by Anonymous 12/13/2006
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