Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Monday, June 20, 2011

EPA will kill more Hoosier jobs

To the Editor:

Hoosiers are coming to understand that despite President Obama's promises of economic recovery, his administration's actions are choking the growth of our industries.

The Environmental Protection Agency has recently decided that coal fired generation plants, which create the majority of the electrical energy in Indiana, need to be saddled with 30 new government regulations and forced to comply with more than 170 major policy changes. It's estimated these mandates will cost the U.S. economy $23 billion. For Hoosiers this will mean a loss of good-paying jobs, higher prices for electricity, and higher costs across the board.

A recent report stated that the total cost of all federal government regulations on American businesses this year will exceed $1.6 trillion. Ironically, the total cost in this year's budget to operate the U.S. Department of Defense is just over $800 billion. So, the U.S. government is spending twice as much to protect American citizens from what the Obama administration, and many in Congress, perceives to be the evils of American businesses compared to the spending in protecting our nation from the real dangers that exist from rogue terrorist states, who have access to nuclear weapons.

It's time for a re-ordering of priorities and the application of common sense in Washington, D.C. The more costs we put on American businesses, the less competitive we will be in the world. The more we turn our backs and let government, regulatory bureaucracies grow, the more taxes government needs. With each dollar we send to Washington, D.C., we give up a little bit more of our individual freedoms and opportunities.

As we prepare to celebrate another Independence Day, we should be thinking how we might act to free our businesses from the federal government's oppressive regulations. As President Reagan once said, "We must reawaken this industrial giant" and get government "back within its means." We all know a simple truth, government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem!

Richard E. Mourdock

Indiana State Treasurer

Indianapolis

Thanks for emails, cards, gifts

To the Editor:

We would like to thank all our family and friends for helping us celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.

Thanks to our two sons and daughters-in-law for hosting the party and making it special for us. Also, thank you for the e-mails, the telephone calls, cards, and gifts. Your thoughtfulness will always be remembered.

May God richly bless each of you.

Larry and Patsy Waggoner

Lyons

Family appreciates recent support

To the Editor:

We would like to thank everyone for your kindness and support at the time of the death of Jack.

Thank you for prayers, visits, food, gifts and flowers, and keeping us in your thoughts. Your support was a real blessing.

The family of Jack Cantrell.

LaDeena Cantrell

Linton