Arkansas investment
The governor has been considering a special legislative session to reduce the personal income tax rate from 5.9 percent to 5.5 percent, or more. At first glance, that sounds like it is good for all taxpayers, but this is estimated to remove over $138 million a year from the Arkansas state budget.
We need to invest in Arkansas infrastructure to build economic opportunity for all citizens and not just hope that the people who earn over $218,000 a year and will receive 68 percent of the tax cut will let it trickle down. The latest census shows that a quarter of rural Arkansas counties have lost over 11 percent of their population. That trend will continue unless we invest in the infrastructure that empowers these communities to thrive and attracts people and businesses to our state.
One thing we have seen over this last year is how critical it is to have access to affordable high-performance Internet. It is our economic highway, whether we are involved in telemedicine, education, virtual business meetings, or credit-card transactions, and it is just as transformational as turning off from a rural dirt road onto an interstate highway. I live in rural Arkansas where broadband Internet is either not available or not affordable. Our state is ranked 41st in the nation for access to broadband. The big telecom companies focus on the highly populated metro areas for expansion, not where I live nor where I work.
The only way economic development will occur in rural Arkansas is through public investment in our infrastructure that attracts private businesses and prospers communities. Let your representative know how you feel about tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest in our state at the expense of our future. Let's build that economic highway and "Invest in Arkansas."
ANNA McCLUNG
Lonoke
Shouldn't be admired
In Mike Masterson's op-ed "Forsaken oaths," he states, "There are many Americans, such as those with the Oath Keepers organization, for whom pledging their oath represents a sacred constitutional responsibility. Others in today's conflicted America do their best to discredit these members for remaining loyal to the Constitution that has served us more than 230 years. What does that say about these men and women versus those of lesser commitment who ridicule Oath Keepers for striving to live up to the words they have sworn to live by?"
Once again Mike has failed to investigate/fact-check some subjects of his writing.
Founded in April 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers say they are nonpartisan and pledge to fulfill the oath to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic." The organization does believe in defending the Constitution, but only as they interpret it, even if that interpretation goes against that of U.S. lawmakers and judges.
Rhodes seems to have become an advocate of Q-Anon and a believer of Trump's 2020 election lies. On Jan. 4, 2021, Rhodes made this statement to his Oath Keepers: "It is critical that all patriots who can be in D.C. get to D.C. to stand tall in support of President Trump's fight to defeat the enemies foreign and domestic who are attempting a coup, through the massive voter fraud and related attacks on our Republic. We Oath Keepers are both honor-bound and eager to be there in strength to do our part."
It turns out that the Oath Keepers were the ones attempting a coup to overthrow a constitutionally elected president's administration. Because of their disloyalty to the Constitution they swore to defend, 16 Oath Keepers have been indicted for their actions on that day.
Admire these far-right extremists and their "sacred responsibility" if you wish, Mike. As an almost 80-year-old former Marine, I will continue to despise and ridicule them as the traitors they are.
KENNETH WEBER
Greenbrier