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Get rid of sales tax
I feel like people shouldn’t be charged sales tax. This is on my mind because people are already paying income tax on the money they earn so why should they also pay sales tax.
This doesn’t make sense because someone is paying sales tax to a store then the employee of the store also has to pay income tax on the money that people already paid sales tax on. In fact there should only be one kind of tax because people would be tax after tax.
This affects many people that are low on money and also many people with a successful job. People work hard for money and for those people they could be paying up to 40% income tax on all the money they earn. On top of that they would also be paying sales tax whenever they spend that money on something. This causes people to get way less money that they worked for.
The government doesn’t even use the tax that people spend their money on for things they want. For example the government spends millions of tax money on space exploration when they could be spending money on education instead. They could also be using that money to help people that are in poverty.
The city can fix this by asking the government to reduce income tax. This would work really well because all of the citizens wouldn’t have to pay tons of tax and the city would have enough money to pay police officers and landscapers.
— Jayesh Meka
Meet the Native Plant Resource Team
The Tri-Valley Native Plant Resource Team (TVNPRT), a project of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, launched its inaugural kick-off event on July 13 at Alden Lane Nursery.
Teamwork resulted in a resounding success.
We are grateful to Alden Lane Nursery, to the partner organizations who tabled with us, and to all the curious and supportive attendees. Membership in TVNPRT is free and connects people interested in native plants to events and discussions with local people. See www.nativeplantresourceteams.net/ to sign up.
Thank you to these participating organizations that made the event so informative: Las Positas College Horticulture, hosted by Jean O’Neil Opipari and Laura Cornett; Granada Native Garden, hosted by Gary Nicolson; California Native Plant Society, East Bay Chapter, hosted by Lesley Hunt; Friends of Springtown Preserve, hosted by Patti Cole; Ohlone Audubon Society; City of Livermore: Livermore Resilient Hub; and Christensen Middle School Green Pocket Forest.
We fielded questions from people about how to remove lawns, redo their yards and who are looking for design and planting suggestions. This is a key step in creating a more resilient property in the face of a changing climate, making us more vulnerable to prolonged heat, drought, extreme weather, poor air quality, and pollinator habitat loss.
We share information on rebates, soil preparation, plant selection, and more. Please join the TVNPRT!
— Ann Brown, Sondra Tosky and Carol Garberson
Follow-up to ‘Happy 4th’ letter
Belated Happy 4th of July to people of all faiths in our community! And a follow-up to the letter from the July 5 paper that our country “was founded on Christian principles” and applauds the state of Louisiana for “restoring the Ten Commandments in all public-school rooms”.
The Constitution does state in Article VI, “… no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office of public Trust under the United States.” And the first sentence of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights does state, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
As free citizens, we can openly discuss and debate the principles upon which our country was founded. But always remember that these documents, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, are intended to promote individual freedom of religion, even if it is non-Christian, and separation of church and state, whereby the government cannot pass laws that prefer one religion over another.
— Ward Kanowsky
Important to ask about tax proposal
Two questions that should be asked of the city manager:
1. If the tax is designed to sunset after 10 years, what are the plans to adjust the city’s finances so that there still won’t be a deficit in 10 years?
2. Why is it that the pension obligations of the city are so high as to be a cause of the budget shortfall, yet are. Apparently not lucrative enough to attract quality employees? What is the cost per employee per year and how does that cost compare with what a private employer might face? Does the city have any other options?
— Paul Luce
Re questions did city manager. Don’t be fooled into thinking this “deficit” is just pension obligations. It’s about total mis management of the city’s budget.
Re questions for city manager. Don’t be fooled into thinking this “deficit” is just pension obligations. It’s about total mis management of the city’s budget.