News - Editorial - Letters

Monday, Oct. 26, 2009

Oct. 27 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

South Mississippi still needs a helping hand, not a handout

“A helping hand, not a handout.” That has been the can-do attitude of the South Mississippi survivors of Hurricane Katrina. We have kept that spirit despite the crippling recession, skyrocketing insurance, unscrupulous contractors, even Chinese drywall. But there comes a time when even we could use an additional helping hand as we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.

I suggest that the helping hand be giving in the following form:

n Suspend for two years all principal and interest payments on all SBA and other Katrina-related loans to small businesses, families and individuals.

n Suspend for two years all FICA withholdings from employees’ paychecks as well as the matching contributions by the employers in the Katrina-affected counties of South Mississippi. The FICA holiday would immediately increase employees’ paychecks and allow employers to increase inventories, upgrade equipment and, above all, hire new employees.

I believe these two-year moratoriums could help us achieve our recovery without adding to the financial woes of the rest of the country. Again — a helping hand, not a handout.

DAVID MATTINA

Biloxi

Every American should have the freedom to choose

I write in response to the Oct. 19 letter by Patrick Collins against the Freedom of Choice Act.

I am one of the millions who fought in the military for this great country so that its people might have freedom. Freedom means that the government does not control or dictate our personal lives. Pregnancy is a very personal experience and we do not need government interference or government decisions about it.

Individuals in this country are free to make their own choices. While I might not like their choice, I sure do like the idea that they have the freedom to exercise their choice. If you believe that there should absolutely never be any abortions, then I think you should absolutely never have an abortion — when you are pregnant. None of us has a right to use the power of the government to impose our own personal religious views on all others in this country. This is very un-American!

For a number of years, subjects in other countries have been forced to behave according to the religious requirements of the Taliban. This is not what we want in America. In Red China the government tells a woman what she must do about her pregnancy. This is not what we want in this America.

You have the freedom to choose to be pro-life, and you can be pro-life without having a government requirement for all others to follow your personal beliefs. Since you have the freedom to do what you want, please allow others to enjoy that same freedom.