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You Have A Voice

It’s the time of the year to start working on the budget for 2005. The Susquehanna Borough Council would like to take the time to get your views on where you think your tax money should go.

Council has prepared a survey that will be passed out to all the residents of Susquehanna Boro; it will list the different departments (streets, codes, police) and economic development improvement ideas, for example, store fronts, new businesses, etc. We hope you will take the time to fill out these surveys and return them to council so we can see what the consensus is and move forward to what the community wants.

You have a voice. It’s time now to use it and make a difference. We want to do what’s right for the community, so let us know how you feel. Together we can make this a wonderful place to live, and make this town better. Please give the survey careful consideration, fill it out and return it to us by August 25. The forms can be mailed or dropped off at the boro office.

Sincerely,

Ron Whitehead, President

Susquehanna Borough Council

Once Again, It’s The Economy

We’re starting to get some clear indications that the current economic program isn’t performing as expected.

Here’s the latest: July job growth was anemic, far below expectations. The Index of Leading Economic Indicators dropped for the first time in 15 months. The stock market hit a new low for 2004. And yet, interest rates are going up to head off the return of inflation, likely due to massive deficits.

It looks like we got a lot less economic stimulus than those trillion dollar tax cuts for the superrich were supposed to give us. Where did they go wrong? Well, I only have six credits of Economics, but I can explain.

First of all, we need to be aware that consumer spending is 75% of the Gross Domestic Product. If you want to stimulate the economy, you need to put money in the hands of people who’ll spend it on consumption: working families. Rich people have more than enough money for consumption, so if they get any more, they’ll squirrel it away.

Of course, some will say that the extra money for the rich will be invested, and that will grow the economy. Not necessarily. The last mini-recession was not due to insufficient investment, but to excess investment in dotcoms and in telecommunications. These unwise investments led to a speculative bubble that burst. So giving the rich more money to invest won’t necessarily do any good; in fact, it may even backfire.

Besides, I don’t think that economic stimulus was the real motive for the big tax giveaway anyway. I think the real purpose was to pay off those who contribute to politics, and give them more money for the next round of campaign contributions. It’s a version of recycling.

Where the politicians inevitably fail Economics is with their ideological attachment to Supply Side Economics, what has been referred to as Voodoo Economics. It led to huge deficits the first time, so why did anyone think they’d work the second time? Sure, we need to encourage investment, sensible investment, but to focus exclusively on the Supply Side while totally ignoring the Demand Side is like having a car with wheels only on the right-hand side. It’s not going to go anywhere. And neither will our economy. We need a new economic policy.

Sincerely,

Stephen Van Eck

Rushville PA

More Perspective

World War II was fought between the years 1941–1945. Japan had attacked us, Germany had not. In four years of fighting 450,000 soldiers were killed, an average of 112,000 per year! During the three years of the Korean War, 1950–1953, 55,000 soldiers were lost in battle, an average of 18,334 per year! From 1965–1975, the Vietnam War realized the loss of 58,000 lives, an average of 5,800 per year! These are not numbers, these are men and women who valiantly fought and sacrificed their lives for the freedoms you and I enjoy today! The war in Iraq has been waged for a little over a year. 900+ lives have been sacrificed. The birth of a new democratic government has been realized, amidst a vicious civil war for control. Our gallant, willing and courageous military continue to serve in this war-torn and dangerous country, standing and fighting beside her citizens who desperately long for a strong, healthy and independently free nation, their inalienable right!

We have liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people!

Iraq was taken and Saddam’s Medina Republican Guard was destroyed in less time than it took Janet Reno to incinerate the Branch Davidian compound, less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find her Rose Law Firm records, faster than it took Ted Kennedy to notify the police that his Oldsmobile had sunk in Chappaquiddick and in less time than it took to count the votes in Florida.

Our resolve to defeat terrorists throughout the world has been resounding and unflinching and our economy is getting stronger every day, despite the ever-real element of terrorist threats.

Sincerely,

Paul Kester

Kingsley, PA

DUI’s And Underage Drinking

Recently, there has been much talk of the DUI arrests and Underage Drinking arrests in the Borough of Susquehanna. There have been many questions, as well as false rumors and false reports. Ordinarily, this Police Department would never respond to any rumors or hearsay, as we must base our Department on evidence, procedure and the constitution.

Because of the severity of these events, here is what is really happening.

The Susquehanna Borough Police Department now has four out of six Police Officers that have advanced training in DUI’s and Underage Drinking through the PA DUI Association. It should be very clear to the public that it will not be tolerated!

There have been no "checkpoints" or "roadblocks," however there will be one in the near future, to be announced at least one month in advance. In past years, the Susquehanna Borough Police were arresting two DUI’s per year. Now, there are two per month on average. Every DUI arrest since 2030 in Susquehanna Borough has been above .2% blood level. The law states .08% is illegal. At .3% - .4% blood alcohol, your body goes into a coma. At .5% blood alcohol level, most people are dead. Some suspects we stop can’t even stand up upon getting out of the vehicle.

To support our concerns, here are some facts from the Director of Trauma Service of CMC Hospital, Dr. Brian Klock, MD: most common contribution to traumas are DUI’s; 40% of motor vehicle crashes with fatalities are alcohol related; there is one DUI related fatality every 22 minutes; there is one DUI related injury every minute; alcohol absorbs into your upper intestine and stomach. It requires no digestion. More than one drink per hour is too much. Alcohol can’t be absorbed anymore, so it goes into your bloodstream... to your brain.

The police do not sit outside of bars and wait for a DUI. This is entrapment. DUI suspects usually give themselves away, we don’t have to look for them. It should further be noted that, for every two DUI arrests per month, there are usually two people that officers have taken home. If you’re too drunk to drive, get a ride!

At least 40 Underage Drinking arrests were made since January of this year, with the help of Susquehanna Community School and their donation of a breathalyzer. If you’re caught purchasing, consuming, possessing, or transporting alcohol under 21 and convicted, you will lose your license for 90 days, plus get fined. If you are caught serving or furnishing minors and convicted, you will have a minimum fine of $1000.00 per person served, not to mention civil liability.

It is common for parents to say we are picking on their children. We don’t want their son or daughter to be another statistic, whether it be a victim of sexual assault, drug overdose, rape, or fatality because they attended an underage drinking party. It is sad to see 16-20 year old boys and girls who are alcoholics, because their parents say it’s OK to drink with supervision. It’s illegal! If we could only show these parents the body of someone involved in a DUI related crash, they might come to their senses.

Sincerely,

The Susquehanna Borough Police Dept.

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