In reference to last Sunday’s column by Charlie Mitchell on the stimulus bill, you should understand about money. If you have a quarter in your pocket, it is worth 25 cents because the government says it is worth that much. It does not cost that much to produce, and the difference is known as sovereignage, the profit the government makes on the coin. The sovereignage on a $20 bill is much higher. On electronically produced funds, that modern miracle, it is almost the full value of the funds.

The government controls the money supply and can do something that you and I cannot do, i.e., it can create money. The Federal Reserve, acting as the country’s central bank, controls the money supply, keeping enough in circulation to operate the economy. Ultimately, the Fed controls the value of debt, both public and private, that is denominated in U.S. dollars.

Historically over the past 100 years, there are some interesting examples of how various governments dealt with their debt, e.g., Germany circa 1930.

The government could cancel its debts with a few keystrokes on a computer, but it does not want to do that because of the potentially bad effects of high inflation on the economy. However, creditors holding the debt know that the government has that option if they push too hard for payment. That puts the government in a strong position to renegotiate debt.

Recessions happen, and have occurred at various times in the country’s history. The government hopes to turn around the economy to restore it to a robust state, as the government has done on past occasions.

In the fiscal year ending in 2000, there was a healthy surplus in the national budget. Hopefully, the government will stay on that track and not do like some of the villainous kinds among my ancestry who creatively handled their debts by means ranging from debasing coinage to killing their creditors.

Fred E. Camfield

Vicksburg

Fair tax is faster fix

Spending by the American public is the fuel needed to jumpstart our economic engine and keep it running smoothly. Bailouts will not work. Bailouts throw borrowed government money at the very people who caused our problems in the first place. And remember, we must pay back this money with interest. In short, more debt is the last thing we need right now! So, pray tell, what are we to do?

Enact the Fair Tax as proposed by U.S. Rep. John Linder, R-Ga. This would allow all employees to receive their entire paychecks while providing more money to meet their monthly obligations. And every taxpayer would have more money to spend in the marketplace.

A national retail sales tax, the central idea put forth under the Fair Tax approach, makes more sense than anything else being bantered about by politicians. It will give every taxpaying American an immediate pay raise. To use the popular political vernacular, “Main Street” will benefit tremendously.

Ireland has a corporate tax rate of 11 percent. Is there any wonder why corporations fled our country with a 35 percent corporate tax rate?  If we charge a new corporate tax rate of 0 percent, Ireland won’t be able to catch its collective breath as corporations from all over the world will race each other to the USA. More people employed with more money to spend equals economic stimulation we can believe in.

Government officials hoped the bailout money would loosen the credit markets and thus put more money in the marketplace. Banks would be encouraged to loan money that was supposed to filter down (through additional loans) to businesses and encourage them to use this borrowed money to expand their businesses and create more jobs, but it simply has not happened.

Remember, bad home mortgage loans (made in abundance to those who could not afford those homes) created this economic downturn in the first place!  So why does it make sense to now insist that more debt will stimulate the economy to rebound and grow? If we are honest with ourselves, we must all conclude that any bailout plan makes no sense at all.

Recently, some politicians have mentioned the idea that a suspension of the payroll taxes for a specified period of time would allow all workers to keep more of their pay, which they will spend and thereby stimulate our economy. A good idea but, the Fair Tax proposal gives the taxpayer the whole enchilada. Americans would go out and do what the government experts say we should do — spend our own (not borrowed) money.

Please research the Fair Tax. Enacting it will turn our economy around much faster than anything else being considered.

Rickey Mitchell

Vicksburg

Information missing from story

In Tuesday’s article, “Deliveryman accused of dog attack,” I was left questioning many things. First of all, the article tells all about Taz and his behavior but what about the other dog, Aura? What is his personality like? When you call them “guard” dogs I just don’t envision sweet, tail-wagging, happy-to-see-you dogs.

It also says the “guard” dogs were circling the truck. Were they showing their teeth as they circled or simply showing curiosity? None of this was clear in your article.

If the driver was close enough to do that much harm to Taz, then I would assume Taz was a little too close to the driver. That fact was not mentioned in the article.

Please understand I do not condone an animal getting beaten. I have dogs I love dearly and if they were harmed for no reason I would be very upset. Yet, I also have been attacked by a German shepard and if I had to deliver a package to a home with two German shepard “guard” dogs you can rest assured that package would be dropped right outside the door of my vehicle and left right there. As for putting it at the front door? Uh-uh, no way!

I was also in shock that during this hard economic time, where people are lined up for unemployment and we are pinching pennies, a man doing his job could be put in jail for six months, probably lose his job when he probably has a family to support and all because he was obviously scared to death of those “guard” dogs and felt he needed to protect himself. 

Alas, that was not clearly covered in the article either.

Ginger Kelly

Vicksburg

Bygones are not bygones

For the trampling of the Constitution the past administration did, I want an extension of any statue of limitations. I feel like we have been living through the book “1984” the past eight years. Those who broke the laws of our nation should be accountable, no matter how high they once were in the political power structure.

Leah Johnson

Vicksburg

Traffic stops serve a purpose

I’ve been reading with concern the comments regarding the allocation of our city’s limited enforcement resources. Here are some additional thoughts to consider: A basic mission of the police is public safety. This includes the enforcement of existing laws, including speed limits.

If a person does not agree with a certain limit there are procedures in place to have it considered for change. Ignoring or exceeding the limit is not one of those procedures.

We are engaged in a war on terror and we all live within 50 miles downwind of a nuclear power plant. We are also engaged in a narco-war against the criminal drug thugs who are poisoning our populace. Traffic stops and inspections have revealed drugs and paraphernalia, convicted felons with guns, pedophiles, stolen plates and vehicles, uninsured and unlicensed operators, persons with warrants and many other elements of the criminal underworld that exist in our community.

Our underpaid, understaffed enforcement officers take an oath that puts their lives on the line every day to confront these issues and keep us as safe as they can. Since the general citizenry is not privy to police intelligence activity, it seems to me that, rather than whining about where and how our police are utilized, we are better served by obeying the existing laws, establishing good communications with our officers and expressing our appreciation for a job very well done in a difficult and dangerous environment.

J.W. Carter

Vicksburg