All levels of government need to go on a tax diet — city, county and state. Our property taxes have doubled in the last five years. Sound familiar? Auto and homeowner premiums have also doubled.
But now that Amendment 50 and Proposition 108 are eligible for November’s ballot there is a rush in Denver to draft yet another “compromise” tax relief bill. How amazing that is. Our politicians in Denver are afraid of losing their endless influx of tax dollars.
We hear the fearmongering that if these ballot measures pass they won’t be able to deliver adequate services to the public. Do not fall for this ploy. Even some Republicans and county commissioners in Teller County are playing up this fear.
When I lived in California in the late 1970s, the property taxes skyrocketed. Proposition 13 was voted on to rein in these increases. Opponents of this proposition ran ads on all TV stations showing burning homes and homes being broken into claiming, no one would be there to help them! 13 passed by a landslide.
Government has plenty of our money to run effectively. There is a lot of waste in government, I saw it firsthand for over two decades. I think 50 and 108 need to stay on the ballot and be voted on by us.
Time to go on a tax diet, politicians. B. Huffor Sr.
Woodland Park This letter is to bring light to the unjustified and senseless firing of Dr. Barbara Divish from Peak Vista. Divish has been our almost 8-year-old twins’ pediatrician since birth, one of our twins has complex medical needs, she has also been my oldest child’s pediatrician for years.
Divish is the best there is, her kindness and attention is unmatched. She listened and helped find answers when others did not, we are so thankful for her as our children’s doctor and are completely lost without her help and guidance. Divish has been a blessing to our family, and we will support her as she has supported us.
The firing of Divish was a complete shock and came out of nowhere. Peak Vista should be ashamed for the way it is treating employees and the lack of respect this shows its patients. We as parents feel the need to speak up because Peak Vista is putting our children’s care at risk as well as making our job of keeping up with care harder by having to start over with a new provider.
As a parent, the most important thing is feeling comfortable, heard, and understood by your children’s provider and without a doubt Divish accomplishes this and should not have been taken away from her patients! Guadalupe Apodaca Calhan Based on the spirit of the times, Americans ought to be able to start planning for a more relaxing way of life, one in which we can be less polarized and better able to work on problem-solving together. At present, however, there are questions that need truthful answers such as this particular one: if the age factor, in conjunction with health issues that go with it are serious enough to keep one candidate from running for the next presidency, how about major psychological issues blatantly displayed by the other candidate? If Americans as well as people from all over the world were not blind to see the age related problems in one candidate and demand that he steps down, how on earth can the same people be oblivious to the blatant signs of abnormal behavior displayed by the other candidate? The personal attacks on others without the ability to look at himself in the mirror, reinforces the reality that if individuals with a strong moral fiber fail to see the obvious, then this country might not be as fortunate to see a good future ahead of us. One other problem we need to be aware of is what is being said in some syndicated radio programs, one in particular, insinuating that we should prepare for political upheaval depending on who wins the upcoming election.
This individual goes as far as advertising guns for anyone who wants to buy them. After all, this country has witnessed the unfortunate events of Jan. 6, 2021.
How can we be proactive to prevent a repeat of such a tragic event? Simply to hope and wish for a better future is much too much of a luxury we cannot afford. On the contrary, we need to be proactive and do something to avoid a highly dysfunctional election. The media does not waste time reminding us how awful political issues can be in other countries.
Do we want the same for our country? Marcela Gaumer Colorado Springs I recently started listening to the audio book version of the “Federalist Papers” written in the early 1780s to explain, support and defend the need to ratify the new U.S. Constitution.
What I noticed in the writing of these papers is that the authors (Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay) laid out their arguments for the need to ratify the Constitution without derogatory or attacking language. They provided their justification with logical arguments for the need to support this change for the good of their country’s future. This started me thinking about how far we have come from those days as political campaigns today are more about attack ads, rhetoric and platitudes used to win an election instead of dialogue and debate to find the right solutions.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all political offices were limited to two terms, with the only compensation being expenses and a per diem. The expectation of those elected would be their commitment to sit down and have proper debates and dialogues to find the best solutions. Maybe our ballots would be set up that you picked from a list of solutions you most supported and after you made your selections, the name of who would best support those positions would be revealed? There would be no need for political parties since the elected would not be looking for a career but rather simply doing what is best for the whole.
Yes, I am awake, but this does seem like too much of a dream. John Pickard Lakewood.
