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Show Editorial Omeioe 2 The Magna Times, Thursday, April 26, 1 990 Letters Guest Editorial Contraceptive abortions in the 90s: the winds of death by Mrs. Judie Brown President, American Life League, Inc. P.O. Box 1350, Stafford, VA 2254 Before summer, President Bush will have an opportunity to sign into law a new child care bill that helps the states provide $1.75 billion in child care families who assistance for have otherwise difficulty finding or keeping jobs. He should sign the bill quickly as a major step in taking care of this countrys pressing needs after The United States is one of the few nations in the world which was founded on what some have described as a creed. The common name for this creed is the Declaration of Independence. This Declaration eloquently honors God and the gift of life with the following words: We hold these truths to be that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness ... This Declaration in which our nations fundamental principles are eloquently stated pays tribute to God as well as the Laws of Nature. It makes manifestly .clear the point that no government may unjustly abrogate the unalienable right to life. This right is not a single issue but a first principle, a low-inco- of successfully so many years self-evide- pro- American-styl- e capitalism moting abroad. As American industry increasingly looks to overseas manufacturing, and now considers investing in Eastern Europe, one thing American businessmen find in other countries is more government interest in providing child care assistance for workers. Ask any businessman thinking of opening a new industry and he will say that if his employees cant depend on child care, he cant depend on them. Thats no problem in Europe or Japan. The legislation going to President Bush is distinctly American, however, and has been over the past ideas. with to his year comply It contains the tax breaks the presifamilies in dent wanted for which one parent chooses to remain at home to care for the hcildren. The bill provides assurances that the states and not any federal themselves bureaucracy will be responsible for fine-tun- self-evide- The sooner Congress can taking care of itself again. . truth. But today, in America, a new wind is blowing. If one takes care to read the printed word in any number of news publications, the message is clear and forceful: there is a segment of our population which has been separated, denied and in fact has been denied the reality of its recognition, denied all rights biological presence. Of course I write of the children whose lives begin at fertilization. The children who, during pregnancy, rely upon their mothers to provide them with housing so that they can be about their business of growth and development. ' Abortion, after seventeen years, has taken care of these little people. They have become a footnote to the sexual revolution. They have become luxury items who can be written off by any number of procedures in a clinical setting. They are the ones who will eventually be eliminated by injectable or implantable y chemicals or little white chemical pills, if the forces have their way. in new The America better killing through chemistry! age of abortion Modem Medicine recently contributed to this debate with a remarkable article entitled RU 486: Preparing for the Abortion Drug. It points out that the women who will seek RU 486 will be the women who would prefer a noninvasive agent that induces abortion without encountering the crass reality of the abortionist and his tools. This article suggests that RU 486 is effective during the first trimester of pregnancy, when used in conjunction with a prostaglandin analogue. What this means, in effect, is that 89.3 percent of the annual 1 .34 million abortion-killing- s could be performed through the use of this pill. The push is on in America to make this killer pill the abortion agent of the future. A State Tax Commission analysis of 1988 federal tax return information reflects Well, folks, before we get too far into the 90s, lets examine what this push a growth in Utah adjusted gross income (AGI) of nearly 18 percent between 1986 toward better killing through chemistry means. and 1988. The study, Utah Statistics of Income, was conducted by Tom Williams, senior staff economist in the Economic and Statistical Unit of the State Tax ComUtah Foundation reports: .. mission. Williams compared information provided by the Internal Revenue Ser' )MI t t J' Jl tiki' r vice foYlhe'l988uretum year with previous years' The report details sources of income and itemized deductions on a statewide , u. i level as well as some data by county and city. The report says that Utah AGI the beginning income figure for rose by 17.7 from 1986 to 1988 because more income is now tax calculation in AGI under federal tax reform. (AGI is gross income minus certain included The average property tax on a $75,000 home in Utah has climbed from $552 such as alimony exclusions and retirement account contributions.) in 1981 to $726 in 1989, an increase of 31 .5 over this eight-yeperiod. This adjustments, federal income taxes grew by only 10 due to lower rates. Overall, However, was disclosed in an analysis of residential tax burdens prepared by Utah Founincome all from sources personal grew 5.3 in 1987 and 6.4 in 1988, for dation, the private tax research organization. combined a income is more inclusive than AGI and of (Personal change 12. Most of the increase occurred during the early years of the 1980-9- 0 decade, is a better measure economic of growth.) according to the study. Property tax increases have moderated considerably since Wages and salaries, as expected, are the largest source of Utahns income, 1985 when the truth in taxation legislation was enacted. Among other things, this legislation requires that taxpayers must be informed of a public hearing but their share has fallen by over 5 percentage points since 1985, the report whenever local officials plan to raise property taxes above the certified tax rate says. This seems low given the overall importance of this item, and means wages were growing much more slowly than the combination of other items. (based on taxes imposed in the previous year). A change in federal tax requirements has resulted in a drop in the number Property taxes charged are the result of two main elements: (1) the assessof dependents claimed in Utah, the report says. Utah personal exemptions grew ment or valuation placed on properties for tax purposes, and (2) the combined tax rates imposed by the various local units of government that utilize the tax. by 0.6 between 1986 and 1987, but fell by nearly 2.6 in 1988, the report says. This decline of over 40,000 (exemptions) roughly parallels federal numbers Because of differences in the property tax rates imposed and discrepancies in the valuations placed on properties for tax purposes, there is a wide variation and may be explained by requiring dependent Social Security Numbers, the in the property tax burden across the state. The Foundation analysis showws report says. The IRS now requires taxpayers to provide Social Security numbers that the average property tax charged on a home with a sales value of $75,000 for dependents age 2 and older. The report also says itemized deductions declined by 10 during the 1986 ranged from a low of $432 in the unincorporated area of Box Elder County to a high of $932 in Milford last year. The study emphasized that these figures to 1988 period, mostly due to the 1986 tax law reform. are based on overall averages and may vary widely from property to property. Also, new restrictions on real estate losses and other passive losses resulted Utah voters amended the State Constitution in 1982 to permit a modified in a significant increase in total Utah gross income. The report says Schedule classification of the property tax. At the present time, owner occupied residen- E income (from rent, royalties, partnerships, and trusts), though still represential property is valued at 60 of market value for taxation purposes, while other ting only 1 .5 of total income, was responsible for 15.5 of the income growth locally assessed real property is placed on the tax rolls at 80 of market value. in 1988. d Only centrally (or state) assessed property (utilities, mines, etc.) and That growth is credited in part to the phase-oof Schedule E passive losses. personal property (motor vehicles, machinery, equipment, etc.) are In 60 such of losses were 1988, disallowed. valued for tax purposes at 100 of full value. Eighty percent will be disallowed in 1989 and they will be eliminated in 1991. A fourth property class exists for agricultural property placed under the farmland assessment (greenbelt) program. Such property is assessed for tax purposes at The report shows partnership gains increased by nearly 70 percent over the its value for agricultural use, rather than its true market value. three-yeperiod. This accounted for more than 70 percent of the change in Foundation analysts point out that this classification of property for tax purSchedule E income and more than $15 million in state revenue in 1988. poses means that the effective tax level for some types of property is considerably The report concluded that wages continue to be the most important factor in higher than it is for others. For example, the tax level for nonresidential locally explaining the level of adjusted but they are declining in importance. income, gross d d residential assessed property is higher than it is for is and As tax reform is further phased in and as less predictable income sources for level while tax the personal property property, local than become the nonresidential more important, analysts will need to pay more attention to nonwage and residential level 25 than tax the greater greater income in revenue forecasting, the report says. tax level. On the average, property taxes on residential property were equal to 0.97 d real of market value throughout the state last year. For other Kind hearts often loan things and that property, the statewide average effective property tax level was 1.29, while family got into the spirit and was as I 1 her is one way you are almost sure to be about as was. or personal property was .61 in 1989. grumpy staying the average tax level for You can run into problems when you taken. If they return what was loaned, bend the rules for someone just to be whether it be money or something else, household garbage, and in one instance Life in kind. When I was managing a retail chances are that it will never come back I even heard that an animal carcass was This column is a look at life in Utah, presenting some to you in the same condition you lent store, I let a lady return some merchandiscarded. heavy subects with light humor and a touch of satire after normal the dise the world the of Its exchange period it. Many times people get mad when way and then six months later she tried to you asked them for the item back as if . out to whenever you try help people KIM FOLSOM it will is there always someone who again. they were the one who did the favor. try exchange Magna Times Assistant Editor I been But, if every once in a while you can have, to take advantage of your good intenapproached by would Clean-Up not accept my do something for someone who really has been tions. When I was a child, my family The great Magna panhandlers who a big success, maybe too big of a suchad a distant relative come to visit us. change because they would not take does need a hand and deserves to have cess. People made gmid use of the She stayed and stayed. After three anything less than a dollar bill. One it, you can overlook the bad exman became wealthy panhandling in periences. So we can be happy we colclean-u- p months she was still there. 1 was ready this year and most of the garlected so much in this years clean-u- p iit ; two is home after in her for now to three the days New York. He would leave his pengo bage Magna in it really did help the thouse the because I and had been moved the because out of my morning apartment go dump lots. Some people abused work to clean-u- p b panhandling. community. dumping loose papers. room. She finally left when the whole self-evide- anti-bab- low-inco- put finishing touches on this legislation, and the sooner the president can sign it, then the sooner America can start So, when you read that the United States is lagging behind the rest of the world in contraceptive research, what you are really reading is that the death lobby wants Congress and the Food and Drug Administration to get behind RU 486, along with other such implantable and injectable human pesticides. When Planned Parenthood claims at their regional conferences this year in Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles that better contraception will cut down on the number of abortions, what they will really be saying is that better conwill simply do by chemical what surgical abortions have done in traception the past ... kill babies. .? When Thomas Jefferson wrote his Notes on the State of Virginia, he commented, Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever. Well, Id like to pick up the phone right now, Mr. and Mrs. America, and ask Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams: Gentlemen, do you when of wrote America the Declaration of Inthe dreamt recognize you you its This Law America and Natures Author. This America dependence? despises all. does not accept the principle of equality for In fact, this America mocks the truths which you so eloquently set forth many years ago. There is no peace and happiness in America, Ben, Tom, and John. There is only bloodshed. The difficulty is that the war is going on in the wombs of women. The blood is being shed in the shadows of death. The bodies are being thrust aside as though they were but trash upon the floor. Please pray for America, Ben, Tom, and John. 1781-178- 5, ed deciding minimal health and safety protections for child care centers. The bill recognizes that in America churches always have and must continue to play a big role in providing child care services. And the bill gives help to families who choose to leave their children with relatives. The bill doesnt do anything new except change Jhe. odds on getting help and the opportunities for economic nt LOsservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper, stated on November 27, 1989, in a lead editorial entitled The Abortifacient RU 486, The ultimate homage which error is accustomed to pay to truth, hypocrisy; has been paid. ... It is desired to have recourse to abortion to an ever greater extent as a method of contraception (the most tragically effective method!) because conscience has been dulled to such a degree that the slaughter of the most defenseless innocents is regarded as an act of freedom, indeed the greatest act of freedom, because by now their murder has become extremely easy. nt Utahns income rises on federal tax returns . , f ! Residentialpropertytax rose since 1981 31 .5 165-pa- ge ar Give a gift theyll use all year long ... a subscription to the Magna Times Do you have an opinion that youd like to share? Write a letter to the Editor! 8980 West 2700 South Magna, Utah 84044 ' MAGNA TIMES USPS 325-58- 0 HOWARD STAHLE Editor Publisher-Managin- g BONNIE STAHLE Advertising-Offic- Manager e KIM FOLSOM Assistant ut ar one-thir- owner-occupie- KENT GOBLE s Writer DEANNA JONES e two-thir- ed ds locally-assesse- state-assess- ed the Utah.S.S.R. 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