Today’s news is like Joe Biden is Uncle Billy in (the 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film) “It’s A Wonderful Life.”  

I imagine a similar-looking, grey-headed forgetful uncle now being asked repeatedly to retrace his steps. He has a string tied to his finger. He’s sweating — and it’s winter. 

A crow walks around in the Bailey’s savings and loan office... and outside snow is all around. 

It’s important Uncle Billy finds the deposit he was told to make, but he just can’t seem to remember. He tosses his office upside down. It wasn’t even in his closet. 

Mr. Potter knows…

Mr. Potter, to me, would be more like the spokesperson (Karine) Jean-Pierre swearing to hold on! Hold on! Everyone wasn’t really sure what was really going on. (Now that’s six days before angels get some wings — or not — in a November election.)

George and Uncle Billy do not find the money.

George Bailey gets all of his community friends that his wife spoke to that show up with the missing money just in time to for the bank examiners to see  place in a giant basket. The loss was $8000 to recoup….

George gets a final toast from his brother that he is the richest man he knows…. 

I feel it’s not “a wonderful life” now for Uncle Joe, as the FBI plan to raid his homes in search of packages that should have gone straight deposit to the archives! 

KRISTEN BURNS-WARREN 

Cecil community of Haywood County

 

Problems with the FairTax, as proposed for U.S.

FairTax is an imposition of a Federal Sales Tax (also known as a use or consumption tax) on every NEW item you purchase in place of an income tax. 

But, believe me it is a TAX on your income, as you need income to make purchases. 

Is it a step to get people use to a VAT or Value Added Tax (a propaganda word) at every step the item goes thru to get to the end user? 

Will the Government decide to tax the manufacturer on the items that go into the product to make it? 

How about the distributor level, the wholesaler level? 

The so-called VAT is not a value added tax in reality it is a cost added tax as ALL taxes add to the cost of whatever it taxes.

The FairTax rate is as proposed in H.R. 25 Sec. 101 was 23 percent. But in order for the business collecting the tax to remit the 23 percent of the selling price they will need to add 30 percent to the selling price of the item. 

Now if the merchant wishes to sell the item at the price he would normally sell it at before the FairTax, say a $100 order, for him to make the same profit and collect the tax of 23 percent, the new selling price would need to be $130.

To pay the Government their 23 percent FairTax on the $130 you would need to times the $130 by 23 percent which would be $29.90. $130 – $29.90 to equal $100.10, so the merchant could receive his original selling price before the FairTax.

Now think of how prices for houses, boats, cars, properties would increase. 

If you think inflation is bad today, wait till you see what items would cost when FairTax is in place. 

Will banks finance the FairTax part of a purchase of a house or a boat or a car, etc.?

Most of the people in business I have asked how they felt about FairTax once they understand it, state they do not like it. 

Many felt it would drive sales down. People would have less money in their pockets to buy things. Impulse purchases would go down.

IT DOES NOT ABOLISH the IRS or the US Department of Revenue, or whatever they will call it, as the government will need some department to collect the FairTax from the Merchants. 

Who will audited the collectors? 

Do you think the government will take the collector’s word for the taxes submitted?

FREMONT V. BROWN III

Asheville

 

Reader cites various highlights of black history

African-Americans contributed a lot to American history from the very beginning.

Here are some you maybe didn’t know (check it out):

Benjamin Banneker lived in Maryland during the 1700s. He was self-taught and was especially interested in science. This caught Thomas Jefferson’s attention and Jefferson invited Banneker to help design Washington, D.C.

Double-agent anyone?

Risky in any time in history, but James Armistead who was a slave during the Revolutionary War acted as a double-agent at the battle of Yorktown. Pretending to be a runaway slave to the British, he listened to their plans. Then at night, he returned to the Americans and told the British plans. This was key to winning the war in shorter time with less bloodshed.  

How about after the Civil War? In 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African-American in the U.S. Senate.  Also in 1870, Joseph Hayne Rainey became the first black to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1875, Mississippi’s Balance Bruce also won a seat in the Senate. How about in North Carolina?

In 1869, Republican State Senator Abraham Galloway introduced a bill to amend the state constitution to allow women the right to vote. Galloway also supported bills that gave women more rights in signing deeds and protected women from willful abandonment and neglect. Galloway was one of the founders of the North Carolina Republican Party. The party took immediate positions in support of Congressional Reconstruction, approval of the 13th Amendment (abolition of slavery), 14th Amendment (protection of civil rights for all citizens), and black enfranchisement. 

Between 1872 and 1900, four N.C. black American Republicans represented the 2nd Congressional district, known as “the Black Second.” Those four African-Americans were: John A. Hyman, James E. O’Hara, Henry P. Cheatham, and George H. White.

In addition, between 1868 and 1899, a total of 127 black Republicans served in the General Assembly, 101 in the House, and 26 in the Senate. This level of service far surpassed that of blacks in any other party in the 20th century.

DOUG BROWN

Asheville

EDITOR’S NOTE: Brown noted that the history cited in his letter is “courtesy of The Frederick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina — www.FDFNC.org.