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Show DAILY HERALD Sunday, April 20, 2008 Editorial A5 EDITORIAL BOARD Craig Dennis, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Jim Tynen, Editorial Page Editor DmhjHcrat& IN OUR VIEW call Wake-u- p mi do You for taxpayers Until tomorrow, every buck you Utahns for the made has gone to government. government and start Since Jan. 1, every time the alarm clock woke you up so you could working for themselves for the remain- get to work, every time you were der of 2008. The rest stuck in rush-hou- r traffic going of the country has to wait until to or from your workplace, every time you felt frustrated or anWednesday. According to a Washington noyed on the job all that was nonpartisan organization, all our just to pay the government. So think about that earnings for the first 111 the next time a candi days of the year go to pay federal, state and FrppHnm date blithely talks about local taxes. Only tomor- - jay raising taxes a little row do our salaries start D3V HgIdS here, a little there. Nor should we get going to our own needs. people . too excited by Utah's Every year the Tax Foundation calculates Tax Freedom Day beconfront how much Americans ing two days before the U.S. average. That the real pay in federal, state and . i . local taxes, and then seems to say the Beet hive State has low taxWeignt 0T figures out how long we have to work each year taxes Until es. Butintwo days isn't to pay. much the scheme It's a useful reminder of things: Alaska's is tOrriOITOW, of how hard taxes bite, March 29, Connecticut's hnrU even as the clever folks ... "verY uutK May 8. Of the 50 states, at city hall, the state made y0U Utah's Tax Freedom Capitol and in Washing- has gone tO Day is the 17th highest ton invent ways to keep in the nation, meaning us from noticing the real costs like a pickpock- - government. that by this reckoning 33 states let their resiet who distracts you in order to lift your wallet. dents start working for themselves earlier in the The worst gimmick is tax withholdingThe government year. That suggests the Beehive State's tax burden, relative to its takes your money before you even get it. Some folks actually earnings, is heavier than the averare pleased as punch when they age.Some state tax cuts took effect get a tax "refund." They have in January, so perhaps next year been so bamboozled by withholdTax Freedom Day will take place ing that they've forgotten that : a bit earlier. Perhaps then you the money was originally theirs, and that the government has been can start working for yourself on holding it all year, interest free. In April 20 or maybe even earlier. other words, we taxpayers give Nevertheless, hold the toasts. the government a April 21, April 20, even March all of it means weeks and 29 loan with each paycheck. weeks of labor just to pay off the Tax Freedom Day helps people confront the real weight of taxes. taxman. tomorrow, . zero-intere- st MEDIA VOICES f . it i , . i - x m $ , o ' : v. 'JfcUv. POLE LETTERS J No pain, no gain nevertheless, required for "o-ai- Body builders use the expression "no pain, no gain," in acknowledging that an improvement in muscle structure requires the discomfort of work and exertion. And, indeed, the same might be said regarding.success in academics, athletics, developing a musical talent, losing weight or achieving happiness. Unfortunately, our society (having become fixed upon experiencing shortlived pleasure) has abandoned tie's maxim that human "happiness" is discovered through a disciplined balance between pain and pleasure, requiring limited quantities of each. The negative results of this pleasure-seekin- g are displayed in drug addiction, millions of babies born into sex poverty, a quarter-millio- n offenders under judicial restraint and millions of marital failures resulting from the misconception that sex and love are synonyms. In Shakespeare's "Othello," Iago warns that in those instances where we fail to use moral "reason" as a counterpoise to our appetite for pleasure that "the blood and baseness of our natures may lead us to commit preposterous acts." Maturity, which many of us are admittedly slow in achieving, consists largely of recognizing that although self discipline may seem a "pain," it is, long-ter- HCFdld DOll long-ter- r " F.T. Gardiner, Provo War is different No one likes war. But many of our politicians and much of the media has thus far failed to recognize that the current war is different from any we have ever before engaged in. The war in the Middle East didn't begin with 911. It has been going on for years, beginning with the Iran embassy hostage situation in 1979, followed by the bombings of the Beirut embassy and the Lebanon Marine barracks in 1983, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988, the first World Trade Center in 1993, the Khobar military complex in Saudi Arabia in 1966, the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the USS Cole in 2000. All these bombings took place before the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon attacks in 2001. The "humiliation" of some prisoners by a small group of our military pales in comparison to the atrocities perpetrated against our servicemen by these same terrorists. Our military has never beheaded a prisoner, nor have they dragged a charred corpse through the streets of Iraq. t Frank Millward, Pleasant Grove Recently, we asked the following question at the Daily Herald Web site, www.heraldextra.com: "Should representatives to Congress be required to live within the districts they represent?" No: f 4 Yes: 96 NOTE: Results are unscientific and numbers may add up to I 00 percent due to rounding. Total votes: 327 nor Current poll: "Pit bulls in Utah Valley: What should be done?" Polling is open at our Web site until Thursday at 11:45 p.m. STAFF 'Daily Herald On the Web "When doctors break free from the shackles of insurance companies, they can practice medicine the way they always hoped they could." Dr. Albert Fuchs To read more, go to "How to provide better medical care" : atwww.heraldextra.com., i TOOTHY GRINS How to comment SETH letters to WENIGAssociated Press dhlettersheraldextra.com right shakes hands with Mayor Michael Bloomberg left while Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop of New York, watches, Saturday. Pope Benedict XVI Fax to without mention of the injustices done to Native Americans or to those brought here as slaves. The a moving message of pope reserved some of his harshand healing during est words for the church's own historic visit to this failings in dealing with pedophile XVI to Benedict priests who victimized thousands opted city, Pope of children entrusted to the speak not only to the Catholics church's care. "No words of mine who claim him as their spiritual leader. He spoke to all Americans. could describe the pain and harm His words were a positive remind- inflicted by such abuse," he told his standing-room-onl- y congregaer of our national character and its potential to do great good; they tion. To place the scandal, as the should serve as a challenge that pope did earlier, in the context of we hope will outlast the memories a loosening of standards overall in society is to understate what of his visit. d stands of the are, plain and simple, despicable The crimes. But in the first visit of new Nationals Park provided a a pope to this country since the glorious setting for Thursday's scandal broke six years ago, first the It was r Mass. open-aiopportunity for many Americans Benedict spoke of the matter three times, and, in a surprise look at the to get an move Thursday afternoon, he met man seen as sterner and more with his people who had been abused. than predepopular guarded His anguish reflected an undercessor, John Paul II. Contrary to standing of the seriousness of the the expectations of some, Pope Benedict did not scold. He sought offense. We were glad to hear the pope to inspire: "Americans have alspecial appeal to American ways been a people of hope: Your make a leaders to "renew" their church ancestors came to this country commitment to Catholic schools, with the expectation of finding particularly those in poorer areas. new freedom and opportunity ... But perhaps the most heartennew on nation new of building a foundations." No doubt the church ing aspect of the pope's visit to the region, which concludes Friday sees challenges in a culture beas he departs for New York, is and secular increasingly coming effect it had on Washington, the said, the materialistic. But, pope a city widely viewed as cynical America remains a place of hope if not faithless. The excitement for people everywhere, and he manifested by crowds clamorpreached trust in the power of for tickets to the Mass or, at more ing ever build "an just to grace the very least, a view of the cleric and free world." extended in the Popemobile His message was made all the and the pag- - ' the celebrity beyond stronger by his acknowledgeantry to respect for a man of ments of failures. No recounting is of the American story complete unwavering belief. 5 Mail to P.O. Box 7 17, Provo, UT 84603. I Letters must include the author's full name, address and daytime phone number. We prefer shorter letters, 100 to 200 words. Letters ." may be edited for length. I Writers are encouraged to include their occupation and other personal information. I Because of the volume of letters, we cannot acknowledge unpublished letters. I Letters become the property of the Daily Herald. The pope's visit From the Washington Post, Friday, April 344-298- 18, 2008: With LOCAL OPINION sun-kisse- Government goes overboard in plane safety flap James C. Green up-clo- outrageous the airlines are having that It's put up the pure harassment foisted upon government has them in the last weeks! Their airplanes are perfectly safe; there has never ever been a problem caused by the MD-8wiring bundles the FAA is claiming are questionably unsafe. And for the FAA to impose totally unrealistic expectations for compliance with inspection edicts is completely irresponsible. These inspections could be done at night while aircraft are laying over between flights. It is completely unfair to expect them to be done within a matter of hours! The government is embarrassed there may have been some leniency in the FAA's oversight of these inspections and so they are 0 making up for it by punishing the airlines and drawing attention away from their mistakes. Congressman James Oberstar, who is chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, is largely responsible for this debacle because of his n on safety and desire to make the government appear to be doing its job. But the airlines are already bleeding red from skyrocketing jet fuel prices. (Continental Airlines will pay almost $2 billion more this year for fuel alone than last year!) and reeling from a slumping economy. The cancellation of several thousand flights and the stranding of tens of thousands of angry passengers in recent weeks by multiple airlines is a further staggering blow at a critical time. Four U.S. airlines have announced their bankruptcy liquidations in the past week, and more are likely to follow. The airline industry is one of the most regulated of any in the business world. They are surrounded by government organizations who have no profit incentive whatever. And right uber-fixatio- in the middle of all this regulatory control and magnifying-glas- s scrutiny the airlines must stay in the black to survive. It's almost impossible with no cooperation from the Department of Transportation. What are we going to do drive" all the airlines out of business, and go back to taking the bus or train?! And if their profits decline to the point of barely existing because of unrealistic government demands they likely will have to start cutting corners somewhere else to survive, which could actually affect safety. Flying is the safest it's ever been because of responsible action and disciplined procedural compliance by the airlines already! Let's encourage the not government to work with them it that to them way. keep against I Captain James C. Green, a retired Continental Airlines pilot, lives in Cedar Hills. |