Letters to the editor: Egg pledge good step; Let Catawbas build

Egg pledge good step

McDonald’s pledge to start using cage-free eggs is a small step in preventing staggering suffering endured by millions of birds.

Hatcheries that annually supply 200 million female hens for U.S. egg production, including cage-free, also kill the same number of male chicks at birth by grinding them up alive in industrial macerators or suffocating them in plastic garbage bags. The female laying hens endure a lifetime of misery, crammed with 5-6 others, in small wire-mesh cages that cut into their feet and tear out their feathers.

Eggs are common carriers of food-borne bacteria, including salmonella, campylobacter. listeria and staphylococcus. USDA estimates salmonella accounts for 1.3 million U.S. illnesses and 500 deaths annually.

Eggs contain saturated fat and cholesterol, key factors in incidence of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. They are a common cause of allergies in children.

Waste from millions of egg-laying hens ends up in waterways, rendering vast areas unsuited for recreation or water supply.

The good news for compassionate, health-conscious, eco-friendly consumers is supermarkets offer egg substitutes and egg-free food products. Entering “egg-free” in a search engine returns tons of recipes.

Let Catawbas build

What if I told you that I know a company that wants to come to York County that could bring 2,000 new jobs to the county. This company will build a 500 room hotel and rent approximately 300 rooms per night. That means York County will gain $60 in taxes per day at the minimum and then those 300-400 people will eat at a restaurant ($50), so more taxes will be collected on the food/beverage sales resulting in another $450 in taxes per day.

Now, those entering the ground floor of this facility will cost the company $1 per person that will also go to York County. This should average an additional $1,000 per day to the County which should split the proceeds between our roads and schools.

As these people come and go to the hotel, most will need fuel before they leave the County or State and will want to fill up with our “cheap” gas. At an average of 10 gallons per vehicle that is an additional $80,000 per year in gas taxes. By the way, North Carolina and Georgia don’t have better roads than South Carolina.

Now, if we take all the new tax money and use it wisely, we should have the best roads in the State and when school starts each year, the little boys and girls would not be going door to door to sell items for the school. And, the schools should have plenty of school supplies with the additional tax revenue.

How much will the State and York County have to give to get this great opportunity with this company to build here – the good new is nothing.

This company will bring in over $2 million dollars per year in new taxes. Don’t you think it it time to stop playing politics and right a great wrong? It is time to allow the Catawba Indians to build their hotel and casino.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Letters to the editor: Egg pledge good step; Let Catawbas build."