The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 102, Ed. 1 Friday, April 11, 2008 Page: 4 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Baytown Sun and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Sterling Municipal Library.
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OPINION
THE BAYTOWN SUN
4A
FHday, April 11,2008
U'
IW
I
The income tax
RAY WILSON
— The Baytown Sun
taxes were completely abolished as excises
4/11
Money for
Baytown
Earmarks for projects
deserve a second look
WRITE TO US
The Sun welcomes letters
of up to 300 words and
guest columns of up to 500
words. Guest columns
should include a photo of the
editing, and the Sun
reserves the right to refuse
MISS YOUR PAPER?
You should receive your
Baytown Sun by 6 a.m.
Monday through Saturday and
by 8 a.m. Sunday. If you do
David Bloom
Managing Editor
Luke Hales
City Editor
M.A. Bengtson
Community member
HOW TO REACH US
Clifton E. “Cliff” Clements,
Publisher
cliff.clements@baytownsun.com
Sandy Denson, Business Mgr.
sandy.denson@baytownsun.com
Joshua Hart, Circulation Manager
joshua.hart@baytownsun.com
Gordon Gallatin,
Advertising Director
gordon.gallatin@baytownsun.com
NEWSROOM
David Bloom, Managing Editor
david.bloom@baytownsun.com
FRED HARTMAN
I’ublisher Emeritus
1950-1974
202-224-2934
713-572-3337
Fax: 202-228-2856
Fax: 713-572-3777
cornyn.senate.gov/
contact/index.html
Ted Poe,
Dist. 2 Rep.
866-425-6565
866-447-0242
www.house.gov/
poe
Ron Paul,
Dist. 14 Rep.
202-225-2831
979-230-0000
www.house.gov/
paul
Gene Green,
Dist. 29 Rep.
202-225-1688
713-330-0761
www.house.gov/
green
W tototon £un
1301 Memorial Drive, P.O. Box 90
Baytown, Texas 77522
Main: (281) 422-8302
Newsroom: (281) 425-8016
Retail: (281)425-8036
Classified: (281) 425-8008
Circulation: (281) 425-8066
Fax: (281)427-1880
E-mail: sunnews@baytownsun.com
Web site: www.baytownsun.com
5TW
82008 Jeff Stabler/Did, by NEA, Inc.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Clifton E. “Cliff” Clements
Editor/Publisher
Jim Finley
retired Managing Editor
Jay Eshbach
Community member
taxes and tariffs again
became the chief source of
revenue for the govern-
ment,s budget.
On July 2, 1909 Congress
passed the 16th amend-
ment of the Constitution,
giving Congress the right
to establish a Federal
income tax system. It was
ratified February 3,1913
with tax rates between 1 percent and 7 per-
cent. The same year, the 1040 tax form was
adopted as the standard reporting form, and
although it has changed in many ways over
the years, it still remains in use today. In
1916 Congress deleted the word “lawful”
from the definition of income. As a result,
all income became subject to tax, even
income earned by illegal activities.
M )
'W//l
Government officials
Federal
George W. Bush,
President
202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2326
president®
whitehouse.gov
Dick Cheney,
Vice President
202-456-2324
Fax: 202-456-2461
vice-president®
whitehouse.gov
Kay Bailey
Hutchison,
Senator
202-224-5922
713-653-3456
Fax: 202-224-0776
Fax: 713-209-3459
hutchispn.senate.
gov/e-mail.htm
John Cornyn,
Senator
writer.
We publish only original
material addressed to The
Baytown Sun bearing the
writer’s signature. An
address and phone number
not for publication should be
included. All letters and
guest columns are subject to not receive your paper on
to publish any submission.
Send signed letters to:
David Bloom, The Baytown
Sun, P.O. Box 90, Baytown,
77522; fax them to (281) 427-
1880 or send an e-mail to
sunnews@baytownsun.com.
Items featured on this page
are the views of the persons
identified with each submis-
sion and do not necessarily
reflect the views of The
Baytown Sun or its advertis-
ers.
Texas Avenue angst
I was blown away by the $2.5 mil-
lion to fund restoration of Texas
Avenue and Old Baytown. It was so
nice you showed the signs put up on
Texas Ave ... lovely signs proclaiming
‘Historic District, W. Texas Ave’. It
could easily be the first time many
people in Baytown have ever seen the
sign, as few ever go there.
This restoration does not need the
deep pockets U.S. Rep. Gene Green
has. Oh and I forgot... Green’s deep
pockets are our pockets. This is a
solution a 6th grader could deliver.
Why not forsake all the study groups
and take far less than $2.5 million to
bulldoze / flatten Texas Ave. Beg and
give big tax advantage to lure a Super
Target or a Sams Club to come. Put
one of those stores up and have the
$300,000-plus tree stand in the park-
ing lot. A water pond could be put
around the tree. That would stop cars
from hitting the tree and promote
people to throw pennies, nickels and
dimes in for wishes. The money
could be used for Christmas decora-
tions for the wonderful tree. In the
early ‘80’s the San Jacinto Mall was
built at I-10 and Garth. After that,
Garth Road exploded. The Super
Target/Sams Club would lure people
and other businesses to the ‘Historic
Texas Ave’. For the 35-plus years that
I have been in Baytown, some select
people have been trying to give Texas
Avenue a major role in Baytown. I
bet the re-vitalizing of Texas Ave has
lasted longer than the original won-
derful downtown Texas Avenue.
Margie O’Neill
Baytown
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Putting the pieces
together
Let me see if I have this straight.
Obama’s father was a Kenyan,
Muslim, black — we have seen pic-
tures of his African “family”— and
his mother is a Kansan, athiest, and
white.
Where are the pictures of his
Kansan, white mother and his white
grandparents who raised him.
His father deserted his mother and
him when he was very young and
went back to his family in Kenya
His mother married an Indonesian
Muslim and took him to Jakarta
where he was schooled in a Muslim
school
His mother returned to Hawaii,
and he was raised by his white
Kansan grandparents. He later went
to the best high dollar schools, how?
He lives in a $1.4 million house
that he acquired through a deal with a
wealthy fundraiser. How?
He “worked” as a civil rights
activist in Chicago and has never
held a productive job.
The presidency is not a civil rights
post nor is it subject to affirmative
action set asides
He entered politics at the state level
and then the national level where he
has minimal experience.
He is proud of his “African her-
itage” but it seems that his only
African connection was that his
African father got a white girl preg-
nant and deserted her. I didn’t know
that sperm carried a “cultural” gene.
Where is the pride in his white cul-
ture?
He goes to a “Afrocentric” church
that hates whites, hates Jews, and
blames America for all the worlds
perceived faults and then repeatedly
covers up for the pastor and the
church
He claims that he could not con-
front his pastor but he wants us to
believe that he can confront North
Korea and Iran ... right!
Yeah, I think I see how he could be
a uniter and bring us together. I think
the hope is that he hopes no one will
put the pieces together.
Robert McKay
Beach City
SJppORT?
time, call (281) 425-8066 by
9 a.m. to ensure redelivery.
some define Social Security and Medicare as gal activities were incarcerated on tax eva-
- •’ sion charges.
Prior to the enactment of the income tax
system, most Americans conducted their
economic affairs without interacting with the
government. Individuals earned wages, busi-
nesses earned profits, and wealth was accu-
mulated and dispensed with little or no
knowledge of these activities by the govern-
ment. The income tax law fundamentally
changed this, giving the government the
right and the need to know about each indi-
vidual or business’ economic life. Because
of the inherent invasiveness of the income
tax system, Congress, in 1916, provided
some degree of privacy by requiring all tax
information be kept confidential.
Over the years, in response to various cir-
cumstances, the federal, state and local tax
systems have been marked by significant
changes. Some of these changes are trace-
. able to specific historical events, such as
war, others responded to changes in society,
As everyone knows, next Tuesday, April
15, is the dreaded tax day. Even through our
income tax system is a “pay as you go” sys-
tem that requires employers to withhold
taxes from their employee’s paycheck and
send them directly to the federal govern-
ment, we still have to file a return each year
by April 15. And we know the consequences
of failure to file on time: penalties and inter-
est.
When we include taxes paid to local,
county, and state governments, plus sales,
gasoline, various fees and those confusing
taxes that is included on our phone bills,
roughly 40 percent of Americans, income
goes to taxes (http://www.homelandstupidi-
ty.us/2005/10/11/why-youre-always-broke-
40-of-your-money-goes-to-taxes/).
Most Americans also pay payroll taxes for
Social Security and Medicare, although,
because of the benefits received at eligibility, Consequently, many people involved in flie-
s’— c-----__4 x------ ™ «».
contributions rather than a tax.
During our nation’s early history, (except
during the Civil War) individuals rarely had
any dealings with the government,s tax sys-
tem. The government derived most of its rev-
enue from excise taxes, tariffs, and customs
duties. The Articles of Confederation, adopt-
ed in 1781, made each State a sovereign
entity that levied and collected its own taxes.
The Federal government had no national tax
system and relied on each individual State
for revenue.
When the Constitution was adopted in
1789, the Founding Fathers, recognizing that
the government could not function efficient-
ly by relying entirely on the states for its
financial resources, granted the federal gov-
ernment the authority to collect taxes.
When the Civil War erupted, Congress
passed the Revenue Act of 1861, imposing
for the first time in this country’s history a
tax on personal income, establishing a 3 pre-
cent rate for those earning over $800 a year. the economy, and the roles and responsibili-
To assure timely collection, taxes were ■’ •
“withheld at the source” by employers.
the war would not end quickly, and needing
additional revenue, Congress on July 1,1862
levied excise taxes on playing cards, gun-
powder, feathers, telegrams, iron, leather,
pianos, yachts, billiard tables, medicines, and
whiskey. Also, many legal documents and
almost all professionals and trades had to
pay license fees. The 1862 law also added
features that still exist in our current tax sys-
tem. A two-tiered rate structure was estab-
lished, 3 percent for taxable incomes up to
$10,000 and 5 percent over $10,000. A stan-
dard deduction of $600 was added, and a
variety of deductions were permitted, includ-
, enue declined sharply, resulting in the repeal Baytown resident Ray Wilson is a retired
of many taxes. By 1872 the personal income Exxon process supervisor. He can be reached
taxes were completely abolished as excises at rayehasen@comcast.net.
ties of federal, state and local governments.
. . Most Americans feel the current tax code is
By the spring of 1862, it became clear that obsolete and confusing, and therefore needs
reforming. The problem with tax reform is
deciding what type of system is best for
everyone. Some favor a flat rate system
without deductions, others a national sales
tax, based on personal consumption. Many
Americans would like to close the loopholes
that shelter high income earners from paying
their fair share of taxes. But every tax loop-
hole has its own constituency and any
change or simplification will require a sub-
stantial amount of bipartisan cooperation and
compromise. Everyone can benefit from a
simpler income tax system, but finding a
ing repairs on rental prope rty, business loss- system that is politically acceptable to every-
es, and other taxes a person paid. one is a difficult task.
After the war the government,s need for rev-
_ enue declined sharply, resulting in the repeal
■Ml
U.S. Rep. Gene Green has requested
nearly $10 million in federal funding for
projects in the Baytown area to the House
Appropriations Committee. While it is a
distinct possibility that some of these
funds will not be approved, it can’t be
denied that Baytown is fortunate to have
■someone watching out for our well-being.
However, it would be prudent to consider
where the money is going, and consider
whether the money is being allocated in
the best interest of the city.
The money requested is meant to benefit
numerous needs, including the improve-
ment of emergency communications, a
mobile blood unit for San Jacinto
Methodist Hospital, and the revitalization
and streetscaping of downtown Baytown,
which includes Texas Avenue. Green has
stated that he is listening to “local com-
munity officials” in the determination of
what is most important to Baytown, but
considering the outcome of the November
bond votes, this does not seem correct.
Much of the allocated funds are directed
toward Baytown’s emergency communica-
tions systems, mostly in the creation of
redundancies in case of failure or error in
a disaster or evacuation situation. The City
does need the capability and capacity to
protect its citizens in case of need, but per-
haps instead of creating multiple fail-
safes, the primary system itself should be
examined for ways to eliminate the need
for contingencies.
Proposition 5 on the 2007 bond ballot
was an attempt to revitalize Texas Avenue,
and the fact that it was not voted in speaks
volumes on the opinions of Baytown vot-
ers. The City is already going through
with basic infrastructure improvements on
the hotly contested stretch of asphalt, and
while the improveinents would have been
much more extensive with the passing of
the bond, Green’s earmarked funds for
Texas Avenue seem to be in direct contrast
to the Prop. 5 results. This seems like an
attempt to override the voice of the voters
by putting money into a project that the
majority spoke against.
The Baytown Sun has previously editori-
alized in favor of the revitalization of
Texas Avenue, and we still that it is a
viable possibility. However, the opinion of
the voters must be respected. We do hope
that once infrastructure improvements are
completed, the voters will take a second
look at the potential value of Texas
Avenue.
Green has been a stalwart supporter of
Baytown for many years; after all, he had
an office in town, something no other con-
gressman can say. While his efforts are
greatly appreciated, it may be in the best
interest of Baytown to take a second look
at the designation of these funds, and to
reconsider their placement. There may be
other priorities that need financial assis-
tance as well.
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Clements, Clifford E. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 102, Ed. 1 Friday, April 11, 2008, newspaper, April 11, 2008; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1192057/m1/4/?q=green+energy: accessed July 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.