I’ve got the receipts

Florida Supreme Court strikes down Hillsborough transportation tax | Feb. 25

Now that the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that the “All for Transportation” sales tax is unconstitutional, I have all my receipts showing what I was illegally overtaxed. The unconstitutional illegal over-tax is legally owed back to the people who paid it.

James Wisner, Tampa

Don’t limit sex ed in schools

Don’t limit access to science-based sex ed | Editorial, Feb. 25

It always seems odd to me that Republican politicians, like Rep. Linda Chaney of St. Petersburg, get so worked up about abortion, but then want to make it harder for Florida students to get sex ed. To address unintended pregnancy and increasing sexually transmitted infections (STI) rates, comprehensive sex education, including STI prevention and family planning, should be provided to all students.

Teaching about human sexuality and development is not the same as promoting sex. In fact, evaluations of comprehensive sex education programs show that these programs can help youth delay the onset of sexual activity and reduce the number of sexual partners.

But instead of moving us toward this, Rep. Chaney’s House Bill 545 would block many students from getting sex ed. Her bill would require students to provide signed documentation that a parent is in approval, rather than the “opt out” system currently in place.

Rep. Chaney’s proposal is a copycat bill pushed by extremists nationwide designed to prevent students from accessing the sex education they need to live happy, healthy lives. And these policies go against the wishes of parents and guardians as they — along with young people and the rest of the general public — overwhelmingly support access to sex education in schools.

Amy Weintraub, St. Petersburg

Biden stimulus package a high-priced clunker | Column, Feb. 25

Government for the few

A politician who adds anything to a stimulus bill not directly related to the pandemic is no better than someone who loots during a natural disaster. What we are seeing from Congress today is just further proof that it is the lobbyists for the big money entities who own this country and not we the people, and that all levels of government have long become their means of exploiting the many of us for the benefit of the few of them.

Is there any way out of this dilemma? Maybe it can be done by someone who wants to drain the swamp like Donald Trump did but who is more effective at communicating that to the people without being so unlikeable and undiplomatic about it as he was. Maybe someone who is an honest politician who wants to do good like Jimmy Stewart was portrayed as trying to do in the iconic movie Mr. Smith Goes To Washington could accomplish this great task. But the words “honest politician” just don’t seem to roll so easily off the tongue anymore. Maybe they never did. Is it even possible for middle class hard-working Americans to ever take back their country again?

Charles Sitero, Ormond Beach

Pay $15 an hour

Democrats try to keep $15 wage in Biden virus relief package | Feb. 25

The disparity in income between the rich and poor in our country is reaching crisis proportions. It seems that every other administration lately has voted a tax break for the rich, telling us to relax because the money will “trickle down.” What it seems to do mostly is flow to Swiss or Cayman Island bank accounts. The current administration wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which we know will all be spent and end up in the economy. This will give the working poor a leg up in the world’s richest country.

Tom Reid, Seminole