An open letter to our legislators
I consider myself to be a very conservative person politically and in my personal life, but there are times when you must step up and step out of your comfort zone. I am referring to certain members of our state legislature, who don’t have the courage to do the right thing. There have been many examples during this year’s session; I am going to mention only two.
First, we desperately need an increase in our fuel taxes to help pay for repairing and updating our highways and bridges. I have heard the argument that we can’t afford it, which is to put it nicely, less than truthful. If you drive a vehicle that has a 20-gallon tank that would add only 60 cents to a tank of fuel, less than the price of one canned soft drink. I calculated it on my personal vehicle and it would add about $30 a year to my fuel costs, a small price to pay for better roads. I would be willing to bet that most of the driving public would not even miss that out of their pocket.
Second, you must adequately fund all levels of education in this state. I don’t mean by the legislative definition of adequate, either! They don’t seem to know the real definition of adequate. This includes everything from pre-K through college and work force development. You want this state to move forward, get off your backsides and figure it out. Maybe you legislators could benefit from a little more education yourselves. Don’t be so afraid to consider the lottery and a way to add to educational funding. I can’t say if that will work, but I don’t think it has seriously been researched. It just keeps being swept under the rug. There are many other states you could look to for data, it seems to work for many others. I am sure there are other ways to approach this problem.
Benny Cooper
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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