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Saturday's letters: Many voters left without a choice

 
Published Jan. 15, 2016

Write in another choice | Jan. 11, letter

Many voters left without a choice

The letter writer, in response to the letter of the month, claims that we are given a chance to write in a candidate if we do not wish to vote for someone on the ballot. In my experience, that is not true. In the past election for the legislative representative for South Tampa (District 60), I was not afforded that opportunity. There was only one choice: Dana Young. There was no place on the ballot to write in a candidate of my choosing.

Since I vote by mail, I had some time to consider what to do. I called the office of the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections to find out how I could do a write-in. They informed me there was none. Since my preferred vote choice could not be made, I avoided making any mark by her name.

Her placement on the ballot came as the winner of the Republican primary. Being a Democrat, I had no choice in the matter because Florida has closed elections and the Democrats had not put up a candidate. So now I have a state representative for whom I had no chance to vote against, who holds many views abhorrent to me. I felt like I had been transported into to some totalitarian regime where I must mark my ballot for the only candidate on the ballot and shut up.

John McMichael, Tampa

In gun laws, put public safety first | Jan. 10, letter

Crime trending downward

Florida has already done an excellent job of putting public safety first while maintaining the integrity of the Second Amendment. Since 1989, when Florida initiated its concealed carry law, the murder rate has dropped from 11.0 per 100,000 population to 5.0 in 2014, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Violent crime is also down.

National murder rates have remained flat, at least since 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2013 there were 32,383 firearm deaths, of which 21,175 — almost two-thirds — were suicides. That leaves 11,208 deaths by murder for 2013, a far cry from the 32,383 total deaths by firearm.

Open carry has been successful in a number of states, letting the bad guys know who is armed and therefore avoided, and has not endangered the public. Open carry is in the true spirit of the Second Amendment, which declares that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Lee Hanson, Hudson

Veterans deserve better from VA | Jan. 11, editorial

Examiner training lacking

While your editorial on problems in the veterans disability system was good, there are additional problems.

The C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center apparently doesn't sort claims and assign disability exams to examiners with specific knowledge of a given condition. That means a veteran could be examined by someone who doesn't have a clue, and the "exam" could consist entirely of things that are irrelevant to the vet's condition.

The VA's list of disabilities is long, and while many (maybe even most) conditions don't require specialized knowledge, many do. It also takes specialized knowledge for an examiner to know to check for an associated condition the vet may be unaware of.

There is also a problem of inadequate training of examiners. One actually told me that his job didn't entail determining how severe a condition was, only whether it was service-connected. The VA appeals board takes a dim view of such inadequate exams because some conditions vary widely in compensation depending on the amount of associated damage.

The VA deals with lots of subjective cases, but there are others where everything is physical and measurable, though it sometimes requires sophisticated equipment. The VA shouldn't bollix those cases.

John Chamless, Pinellas Park

Scott keeps focus on jobs, tax cuts | Jan. 13

Small businesses left out

Gov. Rick Scott wants to repeal the sales tax on manufacturing equipment and reduce taxes on commercial rents. One of his first initiatives as governor was to eliminate income tax on C corporations, which are larger Fortune 1000 concerns.

Scott also wants to spend $250 million for corporate incentives. Florida is in great need of a green energy initiative to stimulate business and create jobs.

The governor has been focused on top-down initiatives that mainly benefit big business. He also needs initiatives like green energy that help small businesses and consumers. Tax cuts are fine at the end of the year for companies, but no business that loses its customer base stays solvent for long.

Eric Elder, Palm Harbor

Back to business | Jan. 12

Feeding frenzy

What a perfect picture of the Florida Legislature on page one. Eating. Just like pigs slopping at the trough of the Florida taxpayer.

Margaret Hyde, Clearwater