A call for an equitable tax system

To the editor

I am deeply disappointed that the Democrats and Republicans have not together created an equitable tax system for all. In our present tax program, according to recent, reliable news reports, billionaire Warren Buffet pays a smaller percentage of his yearly income in taxes than does his hard-working secretary.

Both parties and all Americans need to heed the importance of self-interested altruism and the danger of neglecting this vital concept. To create an economy where some are luxuriously rich and others desperately poor is a menace to safe, societal well-being. For example, those who can afford security for their apartments, suburbs or gated communities may not have to worry, but what about their children and grandchildren who want to go out into the world where there are others who are dangerously desperate?

Let’s work for a fair taxation system that eradicates harsh poverty without curtailing healthy personal initiative and creative enterprise.

Timothy Hume Behrendt,

Cold Brook, NY

Railroads help preserve the scenery

To the editor

My family and I have enjoyed vacationing in the Adirondacks for over 25 years and the visits inspired me to ask my earth science students to help raise money to assist the Adirondack Railroad Preservation Society in getting the Adirondack Railroad up and running.

Between vacations I closely watch the ups and downs of the railroad from the Rochester area by reading the Adirondack Express. Over the past few months the letters to the editor and the news stories have begun to worry me.

The Beaver River people obviously believe that the railroad will hurt their business and the railroad people are convinced that the railroad will improve the economy of the entire region. But no one has said much about how the railroad would help preserve the Adirondack Mountains for many future generations.

That thought became obvious to me while riding on the train shortly after the first rails were made safe. The view from the window as the train passed through miles and miles of wilderness between settlements was awesome. It immediately occurred to me that every year on that train, many thousands of people get to see the beauty of the Adirondacks closeup without destroying it in any way. Fifty feet from the window of the passenger car all signs of human influence disappear. And the same scene will will look just as untouched the next time you ride the train. Said another way, the area 50 feet from the train and beyond stays forever wild but untold numbers of people will get to enjoy it for as long at the railroad stays in business.

That can’t be a bad thing.

Ed Evans, Hamlin NY