Bag tax is just a way to nickel-and-dime residents Re: “Montgomery bag tax is the wrong approach,” May 9
Harry Alford made several good arguments, but he may be missing two greater (and more problematic) points:
First, how will common tax avoidance behavior affect businesses located near bag-tax-free jurisdictions? Will establishments near the county line lose business? If so, would the lost jobs and lost revenue ultimately cut into any potential new bag tax revenue?
Second, given the failure of the District’s bag tax to reach its projected revenues, does Montgomery County genuinely think its bag tax will do so? If the real objective is to alter residents’ behavior by means of the tax code, this is not a revenue bill, but a work of social engineering.
County residents can only shake their heads at their government’s arrogance in importing one more half-baked, avaricious way to nickel-and-dime the citizenry to death.
Trevor White
Silver Spring
Administration must demonstrate its commitment to Taiwan
Re “No time for kowtowing on Taiwan’s defense,” May 9
As academics and political circles boldly call for a reconsideration or even abandonment of America’s commitment to Taiwan’s defense, I applaud James Carafano’s efforts to call upon the Obama administration to build a partnership with Taiwan to promote peace, security and economic prosperity.
I agree wholeheartedly with Carafano and truly appreciate him for eloquently stating that the Obama administration could deliver on the F-16C/Ds and fighter upgrades already requested by Taiwan.
The U.S. must take affirmative action to substantiate its claim that it follows the Taiwan Relations Act. Continued delay on delivery of a full Defense Intelligence Agency assessment of Taiwan’s air power, and five years of inaction on Taiwan’s repeated requests for advanced fighter jets, raise fundamental questions about whether that commitment is currently being met.
The Obama administration must act to fulfill America’s legal obligations to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. It should also grant Taiwan visa waiver status, which would be a long stride toward promoting commerce and travel between these two great democracies.
Kent Wang
Potomac Falls
Unless we drill now, America will face energy crisis
Re: “Gas prices will stay high until U.S. stops dreaming and starts drilling,” Editorial, May 9
Now that the price of a barrel of oil is $100 a barrel due to the revolutions in the Middle East, you can count on the price of nearly everything else going up, too.
Oil companies and speculators are not to blame for rising prices. Blame the liberal Obama administration and environmental zealots for freezing and reducing domestic oil exploration and production, increasing our dependence on imported oil and decreasing our national security.
The push for costly and unreliable green energy is a joke and will only encourage the forthcoming energy crisis, Anybody with common sense knows that it takes close to 10 years to bring new offshore wells and onshore refineries into full production. Failure to start now will cause an economic crisis such as this country has never seen.
Al Eisner
Silver Spring
