Industry tax breaks not-so-hidden tax
When is a wage of $10 per hour not $10? When employees pay the taxes to support government and infrastructure for their employer.
Tax breaks given to industry leave the tax burden to the public as a not-so-hidden tax. Plastic Omnium Auto Exteriors just got $3.9 million on top of the near billion VW will get sooner or later. Does attracting industry to Chattanooga help the area?
The picture of the mechatronics school graduates at VW (Aug. 14) in this newspaper has one female and no blacks or Hispanics. Hamilton County's schools are not equal.
DAVID BEAN, Tunnel Hill, Ga.
Middle East clash appalling for all
In America, it is easy to criticize Palestinians but not Israelis. The latter seems to require "credentials" that demonstrate one is not anti-Semitic. But Paul Waldman, raised in a Zionist home, points out in a recent article that we need to get beyond pro-Israel and anti-Israel stances in order to view Middle East events rationally. If we can manage this, it becomes grotesque to suggest that one side or the other has the moral high ground when it comes to the killing of civilians - especially children who without any question have nothing to do with the cause of war.
There is no justification for abducting and killing teens from either side. And there is no justification in using the deaths of abducted teens as the rationale for massive retaliation that results in the deaths of over 1,400 human beings, the destruction of water and power supplies and strikes upon U.N. "safe" locations.
How can anyone with any humanitarian sensitivity fail to be appalled?
BOYCE BRAWLEY
Fleischmann's vote no mandate for same
I hope that Chuck Fleischmann does not consider this win as a mandate for business as usual in Congress. Obviously, 49 percent of the voters in the 3rd District do not think he is on the right track when it comes to doing his job.
As a moderate independent, I'm tired of all the bickering in our do-nothing Congress. I wish there were more congressmen and senators willing to work with the other party and get some things done.
If they spent half as much time talking to the other side as they did trying to disband Obamacare and suing or trying to impeach the president, we'd be on our way out of this mess we're in.
NANCY KEENEY, Hixson
Food reviewer needs variety in his diet
Given the explosion of exciting dining opportunities we are experiencing, Chattanooga deserves more professional restaurant reviewing. Case in point: Barry Courter's review of Grocery Bar. Mr. Courter bases his entire review on a meal he ate there two months before it officially opened and his general satisfaction with the same salad he gets every time he's eaten there since.
The purpose of a review is to give readers some understanding of the full range and quality of a restaurant's offerings. The reviewer has an obligation to try a variety of dishes, not to stick with personal favorites. He should have tried the hot bar, the sushi, the pizza, the daily specials, the desserts. Instead, Mr. Courter's assessment is simply, "What is better than hummus and a cracker?"
Lazy reviewing is a disservice to both a restaurant and its potential customers. Please consider upgrading this part of your newspaper.
BOB BIRES