Staying grounded
While cable cars are the least disruptive way of moving through cities on an elegant quiet and quick journey from the outlying districts (NYTimes, December 29, 2016: “For Commuters on the Margins”) only travel on the ground places us in the reality of our history, architecture, topography, commerce, social life and the great earth and sky in which we live.
Barry Benepe
New York City
Busting the cap, killing the refund
Saugerties taxpayers are aware that if the Saugerties Town Board stays within the cap set forth by the State of New York, property taxpayers will receive a property tax refund, which this year amounted to about $240 in hard, cold cash. For me it was a surprise as I had forgotten that the Governor had even proposed that during his campaign. But be that as it may I did get a refund check and it was a pleasant surprise.
However the Saugerties Town Board chose to not be so generous with this year’s budget and voted against the tax cap on spending, boosting taxes 5.25% in town taxes, an amount exceeding the rate of inflation and other economical indicators. So, the rate of inflation is flat, other indicators certainly not creating panic attacks but the board, with the exception of Councilman Schirmer, took taxpayer’s refunds away from them using “contractual expenses” as the driving force. Contractual expense are just that. Contractual expenses mean union contracts need to be settled, changes in retirement contributions and increases in health insurance. So if the Board was aware that they were facing these expenses, then why wouldn’t they hold them in escrow to be used when they came due?
What they did instead was break through the cap and raised our taxes by 5.25% making Saugerties, one of the “coolest towns in the country” one of the highest taxed. The Board could argue that the tax increase wouldn’t be much more than 50 or 60 dollars. I don’t know the exact amount but it would have been easier to send me a bill for the $50 or $60, and let me keep the $240.
Robert Aiello
Saugerties
No Republican health care replacement
What is the Republican leadership up to with our healthcare? The previous Republican House of Representatives wasted plenty of time passing bills to repeal ObamaCare over 50times. Now they have the ability to repeal it. But they don’t have anything to replace it. What have they been doing all this time?
The Affordable Care Act has greatly reduced the number of Americans living without health insurance, has protected people with pre-existing conditions, has allowed college students to continue on their parents’ insurance. Are there problems? Of course, any major new program needs to be revised as experience exposes problems. But the ACA has a solid record of accomplishment.
And then there is Medicare, which millions of us who are retired can depend on to cover our healthcare needs. Will the Republicans really try to privatize it? Leave our (or our children’s) retirement healthcare at the mercy of the stock market and the financial community? Next time the markets crash, will people’s retirement healthcare crash with it?
Will we allow these backward moves? Is this making America great again?
Kathy Gordon
Saugerties
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