You are free to vote, but ... you must pay, if you don’t. A reverse Poll Tax sponsored by? Who do you think?
So you still think Justice Roberts is right? The government has the right to tax anything including what you don’t have and don’t do!
Thats not tyranny, it is the right thing to.
The argument is that voting is not only a right, but a responsibility.
The whole point of freedom is that everyone has a say and has a responsibility to voice their opinion, otherwise the system doesn’t work.
Non-compulsory voting encourages entire classes of people to not bother with voting, since it is demanding, having to stand in long queues all day.
People should exercise their right and responsibility to vote. Or they should be fined for not doing so.
That’s what the Justice department thinks might be a solution.
But some individuals resent the idea of compulsory voting, particularly if they have no interest in politics or no knowledge of the candidates.
Others may be well-informed, but have no preference for any particular candidate, and have no wish to give support to the incumbent political system.
Not voting is often a form of political expression. Supporters of voluntary voting assert that low voter participation in a voluntary election is not necessarily an expression of voter dissatisfaction or general political apathy.
It may be simply an expression of the citizenry’s political will, indicating dissatisfaction or satisfaction with the political establishment in an electorate.
Or maybe even that since they are not educated to the issues they shouldn’t vote. Maybe that’s responsible.
Maybe you should not conduct brain surgery if you don’t know much about it.
Who could have apathy in this country? Why not tax someone for not donating their organs to the state?
Based on recent Roberts decision that the government can tax anything including inactivity, the three-letter word for penalty “tax” is available to dominate public behavior. Sure.
If you do not vote you will pay a punitive tax! Is Robert’s decision genius or a Pandora’s box! His decision broadens the power of government like none before it.
Some have proposed a two-pronged approach to voting. Give voters a megamillions lottery ticket to vote and tax them if they don’t!
Which party does this favor? Take a guess whose proposing it. Can you imagine being the only ordinary person in an asylum for the mentally impaired, that is being run by a show of hand.
Well, you will be. Remember the government can charge a tax for any activity or inactivity? So don’t let your imagination become idle!
Thomas Barnes
Cumberland
Letters
They can even tax you for those things you decide not to do
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Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
In the June 2 Times-News, R. Steele Selby (“Just how free are we?) defines freedom as “the capacity to do whatever he or she wants to do” and asserts that this definition is “most likely nearly universal.”
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What Maryland calls the Fair Share Act isn’t fair at all
The Fair Share Act was passed in 2009. This law allowed for service fees to be part of the collective bargaining process.
The law does not mandate that service fees be negotiated, it simply provides that they can be. -
We have lots to show for our education dollars
I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Judith Weller’s latest anti-education diatribe, “The money they already have isn’t being spent wisely,” (June 3).
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Western Md. Veterans continues its mission
My name is Dan Brashear, I am the founder and director of Western Maryland Veterans.
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Maybe the cyclists and casino workers should be armed
Again, unfortunately I have to remind Don Carns Jr. of Beans Cove, Pa., on his latest repeatedly inaccurate letter published June 10 in the Cumberland Times-News (“Township is nothing like either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia”).
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Let’s all kick in $1 to help save Frostburg’s Palace Theatre
As a former resident, I have many fond memories of the Palace Theatre (“Theater wall crumbles: Palace exterior collapses, unfit for entry: officials,” June 6 Times-News, Page 1A).
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Develop the waterway
Since the debate over removing the dam started about four years ago, I have been concerned about the effect the dam removal would have on the area’s welfare.
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Living center marks national nursing assistants week
Golden Living Center will join in the celebrations honoring the hundreds of thousands of nursing assistants across the country during National Nursing Assistants Week, June 13-20.
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West Virginia, Johnny Cash, coal miners honored on stamps
While this most likely won’t fall under the category of the most earth-shattering letter to the editor you will read today, it is still big doings for those of us here at the U.S. Postal Service.
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If you build a whitewater play spot, they will come
Regarding “River Project Prospects: Experts reveal benefits, challenges at Allegany Museum” (June 7 Times-News, Page 1A):
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Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
