Voice of the People - March 1, 2009

New tracks aren't needed

Lets face it: The economy is in the tank for various reasons. Rising unemployment means lower tax revenues. Lower tax revenues mean that the Rock Hill school district has to tighten its belt to "Put Students First" and provide our children with the best educational opportunities possible. Any thought of building/updating facilities should be put on the back burner until the economy improves, which I am totally confident that it will do. In the meantime, we have to make do with what we have. My tax dollars must go toward teacher salaries and to provide books and educational materials for the classrooms. I have no desire to pay for new "fancified" tracks.

Physical education is vitally important; however, there are many places on each campus where the students can run, not just the track. When I attended Rock Hill High School (today's Sullivan), we had to run on an asphalt track behind the school. It was hot, uneven, probably not accurate and riddled with potholes and cracks, but we were thankful that we had a paved track. Many schools were running on dirt.

I am proud to be a band parent. My children have been members of Rock Hill High School's band and South Pointe High School's band. The band parents have had to pay band fees every semester so the children could participate in the marching band and concert band -- both of which are for-credit classes. The band students have had to march on fields that were often swamped, muddy, uneven, riddled with holes, patched with sand, infested with fleas and without lights. However, the band students are thankful that they are no longer marching on the paved student parking lot. All three high school band programs are thriving and are a source of pride to the school district and city. Mud or no mud, many of these hard-working students earn college scholarships! Now, I ask, when was the last time a band parent wrote a letter to the editor demanding that a new state-of-the-art practice field be a budget priority? A band parent wouldn't write a letter like that -- They would plan a fundraiser instead!

So where do the Faircloths think the school district's money tree is located? I sure would love to grow a cutting of that tree in my yard! Where do the Faircloths and their ilk think the district is going to get the money for new tracks? Money trees are a myth! The district has a lovely track in District Stadium South. I've seen it and walked on it. The South Stadium has plenty of seating and is very comfortable. I don't understand why the Faircloths think that the South Stadium facility is "embarrassing."

Until the economy is on the mend and revenues increase, the Faircloths need to be thankful for the facilities each high school has. If they aren't, then maybe they should pay for the improvements themselves.

Maggie McGill

Rock Hill

Stimulus bill full of pork

The high and mighty Congress says that CEOs must not take such high salaries. Maybe we should have our congressmen audited as to all their expenses. Does anyone have any idea how much of your money they squander? What is the actual total cost for each representative and each Senate seat in this country? Let's take their salary, health care, travel, pension, plus all of the same expenses of their entire staff.

They question Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, about his expenses, etc. but never asked him if it is true that he made a $2 million donation to ACORN while asking for taxpayer bailout. Was it bailout money or just stockholders money even when they knew they were so-called broke and going under?

According to The Herald, they reported that thousands turned out for jobs offered in federal agencies in about every federal department. Is this the so-called stimulus package? I never saw any government produce a product to sell. You have to have companies that hire employees to produce a product that consumers want to buy to stimulate a continuing economy. Pork projects (changed to earmarks) are called stimulus, but changing the name does not change the end result.

I understand that Sen. Harry Reid has received $8 billion in his district to build a railroad from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I thought the stimulus was to put people to work now. This will probably be started just in time for the 2012 election.

Again, as in most cases, our congressmen (except those who understand the consequences of this bill) voted on this bill without ever reading it and have no idea where it will take us. Haste makes waste in the making.

I believe that everyone, whether they are rich, poor, retired or even those still in school, should wonder: Where is this great country headed? God bless America.

Bill Fenton

Tega Cay

Payday lending a form of slavery

Jan. 19 was the day we celebrated the birth of Gen. Robert E. Lee and observed the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Lee, having inherited slaves by marrying a descendent of George Washington, immediately gave his slaves their freedom, stating that slavery was a moral and political evil.

Gen. William Sherman, when burning a path 60 miles wide through South Carolina said, "The Confederacy is a hollow shale."

If Lee were alive today, he would perhaps refer to modern-day slavery by saying, "Payday lending is a moral and political evil," while Sherman would perhaps say, "The proposed bill introduced in the South Carolina legislature to deal with payday lending is, indeed, a hollow shale."

Any so-called representative of the people of South Carolina who inflicts slavery through finances on its own people is equal in mentality to the Wall Street bankers who took billions of dollars from the people through bonuses and thought it right to do so.

Only the reprobate, having his senses dulled by greed, could, in good conscience, justify the right to place such a burden on the people, especially after taking an oath to protect the people.

We wonder if, "we, the people," are limited to the Wall Street bankers who might loan the money to the payday lending companies or perhaps actually own the companies.

Christ said that the love of money is the root of all evil. If he returned today, the first thing he would do is to overturn the tables of the money changers. Don't be surprised to discover that the tables belong to the committee that drew up the hollow, payday lending bill that protects no one but the rich and famous.

I do not know a single person who borrows from payday lending companies. I close with this thought. Any representative who supports payday lending and calls it an industry took a lesson from their Northern ancestors when they captured and transported slaves to the United States and dare call it a beneficial industry.

May the Lord bless those representatives who have the moral fortitude and character to defeat payday lending.

William W. Ferguson Sr.

Lancaster

This story was originally published February 28, 2009 at 11:49 PM with the headline "Voice of the People - March 1, 2009."