Senator Bob Corker,
I was taken back to hear your name mentioned in proposing an increase to the federal gas tax in concession for exemption for state sales taxes paid by residents. How much more do you think we can take as for gas prices? I realize that those who live in cities aren't directly affected by increased gas prices but for those of us who have to commute it does.
Every increase in taxes, gas, food, heath care puts a strain on everyone except you as the "elite" who don't have to worry about how much it takes to live. How do you propose that we keep up with the sales taxes that we pay? Keep receipts and file them with our tax returns? Boy I see that working for us. Shoot, Lois Learner can't even keep up with her e-mails. May I rant more. Here we have Dr. Oz grilled by the Senate and you all are letting her just skate thru feeding you and the rest of the country a line of junk. When are you all stand up and demand this run around to stop. Arrest her for contempt of Congress and lock her up for the year you can. She is guilty as with the rest of the administration of obstruction of justice and perjury but most of all the infringement of the 1st Amendment rights of all who the IRS have targeted. The weaponization of so many federal agencies scares me and until you, as our representative, start crying and pointing this out nothing will change.
Furthermore, when are you going to open your eyes to the invasion taking place on our southern border? As I see these imported Democrat voters are not fleeing oppression but being brought to the US. It amazes me that after traveling a thousand miles that they show up not famished but looking rather healthy and dressed rather well for having traveled a thousand miles. And you're wanting to work with the administration on "amnesty?" Close the boarder first. Enforce the laws as already written. Why are you allowing the President to choose what laws are enforced or ignored. The President is not going to work with anyone.
Lastly, this debacle with the VA is a crying shame. It is appalling that illegal aliens and enemy combatants receive better health care than those who have served our country in the military. For those who cooked the books to receive their bonuses should be arrested for fraud and theft and if the death of one vet can be traced back then they are guilty of man slaughter but here we go again, not a single one of these federal bureaucrats will fired or reprimanded only rewarded. But here must I mention that these vets would probably would be Republican / Conservative voters so do we expect that anyone will care or do anything substantial about it?
As you can tell there are quite a few things bothering me concerning my representation and direction of my country and trust me, I'm not the only one.
James Reed
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I want to know what they did with the gas taxes for the last 20 years? There should be billions. A fifth grader could do the math at the Ridge Cut every day at 5 p.m. Corker owns the Emissions Testing Facilities in Chattanooga, must be nice since he passed emissions while mayor.
If they would stop spending the gas tax on beautification projects and bicycle lanes there would be plenty of money to fix the pot holes and guard rails. How many people ride a bike in Chattanooga? We got the Market Street Bridge painted and the River Walk for our gas tax. Politicians can’t stand to see money not being used, they spent the money on everything but roads and bridges and now they want to raise the gas tax.
Remember, Corker is only talking about federal tax, there is a state and local tax on gas too. I would give a penny a gallon if Burke would cut the saplings out between the guard rails, it is embarrassing, Andy if you cut them when they are small it is real easy.
Chuck Davis
Lookout Mountain, Tn.
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James,
First, I want to apologize that the educational system has failed you so miserably. We need to locate your civics, English, and composition teachers post-haste. The people deserve a refund for sure.
Second, since you have shown a lack of understanding of basic civics, let me help you out. We have many roads, bridges, overpasses, etc. Usage, time, and weather will dictate how long these structures will last. The gas tax has not gone up in 20 years. In that period of time, we have grown substantially. Just look at exit 9 as a good example of this. Which leads me to my point, someone has to pay for the infrastructure to be built and then maintained. The mechanism for this being the gas tax.
We are a very mobile nation. I know I have no interest to drive on roads and bridges here locally or across the country that are on the verge of collapse or will damage my vehicle because the locals do not have the funds or ability to maintain them. Tennessee has an excellent "pay-as-you-go" system so that we do projects based on when the gas taxes pay in enough to support projects.
In my mind, some people use the road system more than others. With that in mind, also consider the fact that the efficiency of newer vehicles get double or even triple the miles per gallon as they did 20 years ago. This means less consumption of gas and that translates into less gas taxes collected yet there are more roads that need to be serviced. With the addition of electrical and hybrid cars that use just electricity, the future for funding roadways and bridges becomes further muddled, as they pay no gas taxes at all or very little.
In the same vein, business and leisure travelers are charged a laundry list of fees in their fare to pay for the infrastructure of the airport. It would be unsavory for politicians to provide air travelers with large subsidies to those who do not fly much or at all. So the individuals who pay the majority of these costs are those who consume them.
Senator Corker is one of the best in the United States Senate. He had the courage to lead and acknowledge that the gas tax needed to be increased, even though people like yourself would be unhappy. That is what I want, a leader not an appeaser.
As far as your rant on Lois Lerner, she has the right to not talk to incriminate herself and has taken the fifth amendment as the founder's wrote and probably on the advice of her attorney. Congress can hold her in contempt and forward the charge to the federal grand jury. The federal grand jury would most likely toss the charge as it violates her Constitutional rights. If Congress was really wanting to get to the bottom of this, they would grant her immunity and she could not invoke the fifth amendment and would have to sing like a bird.
Your theory on her obstruction being a crime is interesting but only obstructing a grand jury investigation would lead to jail time. Do I understand that you are wanting gun control? Federal law enforcement agents are citizens and should be allowed to be armed to protect themselves from other citizens who are armed and nuts.
Your follow-on rant about keeping receipts is silly. Business owners are required to keep deductible receipts as a daily practice. Many credit/debit cards allow you to easily use your camera phone to attach the receipt to the charge so you can have a record. It is easier now than ever to keep up with deductions.
I would also note that most states have significantly reduced or eliminated taxes on food items and I have never paid a direct tax on any health care service. In regard to "amnesty," so you believe that a child who had parents here illegally but were born and raised in the United States and this is the country that they have ever known should be thrown out to live in a country where they may not even know their language or customs? I agree that those who cross our borders illegally or have committed crimes should be removed and that actually occurs regularly. I would remind you that Senator Rafael "Ted" Cruz of Texas was born in Canada and his father was an illegal immigrant from Cuba until 2006. Should Ted be removed to Cuba or Canada?
As to the VA, I consider this to be the first verifiable scandal in the Obama term. I will note that my father was a veteran. He first served in Korea as an Army soldier and then returned and joined the Air Force as a member of the crash crew. While he was sick, I regularly visited him in the VA hospital in Murfreesboro and can say that he received top-notch treatment from the VA staff. It is sad that some soldiers have had a problem with certain VA centers and those individuals should be ferreted out and sent packing, immediately. Let's not forget that many incredible patriotic Americans work for the VA and will work for less than they can make in private practice to take care of America's true heroes. We can agree that our troops deserve to be treated with the highest respect and receive the best we have to offer. Those who have broken the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This is not a job for Senator Corker but for the Justice Department and the federal grand jury to sort out.
In my view, Senator Corker would make an excellent President of the United States. He is a oasis of sanity in Washington that we should get behind and demand that all of our public officials use as an example of what good governance is.
John Harris
Ooltewah