TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Letters To The Editor

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2007

Singing Its Praises

The Orange Blossom Song! Ever since I heard about the search for a new Florida song, I've been humming it. When I was in elementary school in St. Petersburg in the 1940s, all Pinellas County schools were singing it. I do hope that it becomes the new Florida song. The new verses expand the vision of a 21st century Florida.

DAVID G. BADGLEY

St. Petersburg

Subsidizing Bad Ideas

When I read the following, I was outraged: "President George W. Bush is expected to outline on Thursday a plan to freeze mortgage rates for five years for many U.S. homeowners facing sharp increases in their monthly payments, industry sources said on Wednesday."

Once again, we, as a nation, are rewarding people for poor choices and financial institutions for making loans they never should have made. Doesn't this sound very familiar, like the savings and loan bailout of the past?

I am a hard-working American who struggles to pay my debts, but I do what it takes to pay them. I still have excellent credit and was wise enough not to jump on the subprime band wagon so I could have more money in my pocket; play now and pay later has hefty consequences.

What I want to know is if the institutions are going to bail out the people with subprime mortgages, what's in it for those of us that do not have a subprime loan?

DENISE M. BODIE

Brandon

State Doesn't Get It

Nearly every article I read about the property tax says that those who have the advantage of the Save Our Homes amendment are not paying their fair share.

I'd like to point out that the purpose of the amendment was to limit the increase in government spending while allowing people to afford their homes.

The problem is that those that do not have the SOH protection are paying too much! The reasons they are paying too much is because there is no one in government that understands the term "fiscal responsibility." There is hardly a day that you do not read about waste of our tax dollars.

When a government can afford to spend more per square foot on the cost of building schools than the average citizen can spend on his own house, there is a problem.

When the medians are landscaped at a cost that the average homeowner cannot spend on landscaping his home, there is a problem.

When police and firemen can retire after 20 years of service with a pension equal to 80 percent or more of their highest years with cost of living increases and medical insurance while the average taxpayer is lucky if his company ever offers a pension, there is a problem.

And the problem is that government just doesn't get it.

LOU MEDINA

Pembroke Pines

Save Our Homes Works

The Dec. 9 editorial, "Dreaming Of Tax Equality," suggests that participants of the Save Our Homes amendment are not paying a fair share and doing secret "high fives" as winners when their neighbor reveals that he is a victim of higher taxes for a similar house. This is preposterous!

The current editorial board wasn't here when SOH passed and has not looked back to see why it passed. SOH works as intended and stops big government from taking the home that we worked so hard to pay for as we age and our income capacity diminishes.

People without SOH protection are victimized by a code that overtaxes so much that our state and local governments horde billions of our money to stash away for "rainy days."

Our elected government is incapable of correcting the tax system mess. Only voters can make it fair by enacting a tax limit such as the 1.35 percent petition that is currently being circulated.

JOHN COLMAN

Tampa

Sham Of A Tax Relief

I'm a Massachusetts "refugee" and I thought I was getting away from outrageous taxes and liberalism when I left, but I have to tell you that coming to Florida two years ago has been a huge disappointment. In a Republican-controlled state, I'm amazed that this is taking place and I'm truly rethinking my party affiliation based on what I've seen in my time here.

I am voting "no" in January and I think you'll find that many thousands of other Floridians will as well. Don't be surprised if this sham of a tax relief goes down in flames - if for no other reason to send all of the political hacks from Crist on down a message that what they perceive as tax relief is nothing more than a joke for the Jay Leno show.

TOM SIERAK

Spring Hill

Bailout No Surprise

Regarding "Mortgage Rate Freeze Helps Some But Not All" (front page, Dec. 7):

In response to the White House policy to provide assistance to those who were "victimized" by the sub-prime mortgage lenders, all I have to say is, "I told you so."

Since the end of World War II, the value of homes has, for the most part, been in an upward spiral.

We have a home-building industry that continues to overbuild because "it creates jobs and is good for the economy."

We have a banking/mortgage lending industry that makes money originating loans and does so even when they know the individuals borrowing the money won't be able to pay it back and, in some cases, don't understand the financial obligation they're undertaking.

But the builders and financial lenders continue to selfishly do so under the guise that it is good for the financial markets and the economy.

We have a Congress that believes everyone should own a home despite the fact that many Americans choose to live in rental housing, or can't afford to own a home.

The end result is that Congress, at the expense of each and every American, will have to bailout those who shouldn't have built homes, those who shouldn't have lent money, and those who shouldn't have bought homes.

MARC ROSENWASSER

Tampa

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT