Letters to the editor: What is 'fairness'?

Letter to the Editor

What is 'fairness'?

I keep hearing the president talking about fairness and giving everyone an equal chance. Well, in my lifetime I have worked 100-hour work weeks. I've cheated my family out of quality time. I've gone from making $85,000 a year when that still meant something to taking a job for $4.25 an hour because that's all I could get. I was laughed at by a potential employer because I hadn't filled in the prior-salary question, and he insisted that I do so. I've cleaned up other people's garbage and killed their roaches as I struggled to get back on my feet. I've had to take drug tests for menial jobs. And then three years ago my wife and I sold everything we had managed to accumulate so we could buy a place for her aging mother, who was suffering from dementia and paranoia. Because of our "profits," we got a large tax bill that we couldn't pay and have been on an IRS payment plan ever since.

So, when I hear all of the talk about fairness, I really get upset. Sure, people are struggling. But I know two people who have been offered jobs at reasonable pay, and they've refused to take them because they say they are "worth more than that." We've got a house we will probably never be able to sell in our lifetime because of some prior "fairness" in the tax system. We've got children struggling to pay their college loans, and we hear about "fairness" for which they don't seem to qualify. One of our children has a house that will likely be foreclosed on but in all "fairness" doesn't qualify for available mortgage modification programs.

What I think I see instead of fairness is a country that is forgetting hard work and responsibility. America seems to be tilting to a welfare state, and the Obama administration, in all fairness, does nothing to stop it — but instead fosters it.

Bob Griffin

Tampa

Sticking up for Deen

Paula Deen has diabetes. Loudly outspoken people feel she is personally responsible for every diabetic in this country making the proper nutritional choices to ensure their good health. Ergo, every corporate chief of every food product manufactured in this country is also responsible for every person who purchases the product. If a diabetic purchases Twinkie cupcakes, it is the CEO's fault for not touting a more nutritional version of the product. If a person dealing with cardiac problems purchases a food item rich in fats and/or oils, it is the CEO's fault for providing an unhealthy product for cardiac patients.

Deen presents a style of cooking rich in Southern tradition — a style known for its richness and calories. If your health issues require you to modify your diet — i.e., reducing sodium, replacing sugar with sugar-free substitutes — then do it. Don't hold Deen accountable for any individual's health problems or nutrition choices.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility and accountability? It's quite simple. If you have a health problem that precludes eating a certain type of food, avoid it. You and you alone are responsible for your personal health. That is called free will and is one of our inalienable rights.

Patricia Lee-Lucardie

Tampa

Fertilizer management

It would be a real shame if Florida legislators vote to exempt lawn care workers from abiding by the terms of local fertilizer ordinances — such as the one Tampa adopted — that ban the application of nitrogen fertilizer during the summer rainy season. But that's exactly what House Bill 421 does.

The major source of pollution flowing into Tampa Bay is stormwater runoff. Residential fertilizer use accounts for about 20 percent of this runoff and is a particular problem during the summer, when almost daily rains can wash fertilizer off lawns and into the bay.

A summer ban on the use of nitrogen fertilizers in Tampa Bay is reasonable considering our rainfall patterns clearly show that the bulk of our annual rainfall, about 60 percent, comes from June through September.

Preventing nutrient pollution through strong urban fertilizer management is the fastest and least-expensive solution, saving millions of tax dollars that would otherwise be spent restoring impaired waters. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Bev Griffiths

Riverview

'Heroes among us'

On Jan. 18 my friend and I were leaving Publix and walked into a rain shower that we thought was letting up. She parked the car close to the curb so I could use my transfer board to slide from my wheelchair to the car seat. I somehow misjudged the placement of the board, and as I sat on it, it slipped and I slid down onto the car frame. I cannot stand, and I don't have the arm strength to lift myself out of that position. An umbrella held by a young Publix employee was no match for the increasing raindrops.

A very strong man standing nearby rushed to take charge of the awkward situation. He lifted me into the car while my friend maneuvered the wheelchair out of his way. Everyone was getting soaked by then, so we got on our way with only a hurried thank you to our rescuer, who also quickly left the area. There was no time to get his name, so I'm using this means to let him know how much we appreciated his help — and to let others know there are still such heroes among us.

Joyce Glauser

Tampa