Letters to the Editor 02-20-2001
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Tax Policy - Chiropractic Concerns - Akron Says Thanks
Tax Policy
Editor, Times-Union:Benjamin Franklin once wrote, "Our constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last, but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." When dealing with the possibility of a budget shortfall, around the General Assembly one hears talk of "tax restructuring with revenue enhancement." While this term sounds nice enough, it means that Franklin was right - taxes are, indeed, certain.
Tax restructuring, in itself, is not a bad idea. However, the idea of "revenue enhancement" concerns me. Legislative proposals this session could potentially increase Hoosiers' taxes by up to $2.5 billion. These proposals include increases on a wide variety of taxes, including taxes on property, sales, income, gasoline, gambling and cigarettes. Additionally, there have been suggestions of increasing fees collected from traffic violations and from license branches. If current trends reveal anything, the two things that Hoosiers will receive for their hard-earned tax dollars are increased government spending and more bureaucracy.
I will support tax restructuring, but only if it remains revenue-neutral, meaning any restructuring must not cause an increase in revenue received by the state. State government must learn to live within its means, just as any family or business in the state must do. In the spirit of this idea, the state must not spend more money than it receives. If revenue declines, the state must reduce spending to meet its income, instead of forcing citizens to pay for its spending. Under our current financial status, Indiana doesn't even need to cut spending, but merely slow the rate of spending increases.
It is frightening that at the first sign of an economic slowdown, tax increases are already being discussed. Vision and common-sense leadership are needed to push the state toward looking at alternatives to higher taxation. Indiana currently has substantial reserves in the so-called Rainy Day Fund and in the Tuition Reserve Fund. While these would do very little to help the General Fund during a severe economic downturn, these funds would be very useful during a mild economic slowdown, like we are currently experiencing. More importantly, in the governor's budget proposal, very little has been done to slow the growth of the government - except for cuts in education. Perhaps, we ought to be looking at cutting government instead of shortchanging our children's future and the well-being of our elderly and disabled. All we need is strong leadership and a clear vision for a brighter future in Indiana.
William J. "Bill" Ruppel
State Representative
North Manchester
Chiropractic Concerns
Editor, Times-Union:As president of the American Chiropractic Association, I read with great concern the recent syndicated column in your newspaper by Dr. Peter Gott regarding chiropractic care for children. I find it hard to believe that any past president of the ACA would agree with his opinion, especially since the official policy of the ACA states that chiropractic care is appropriate and beneficial for infants and children.
In 1992, Dr. Gott also referred to a past president of the ACA in a column about chiropractic. At that time, the ACA contacted every living past president of the ACA and every one of them denied being the doctor of chiropractic in question. After reading Dr. Gott's most recent column, the ACA attempted to contact him through letters, faxes and e-mails to ask him the name of his chiropractor friend, as we found it difficult to comprehend that any past ACA president would not be familiar with official ACA policy on this issue. Dr. Gott has yet to respond to the ACA, which makes us a bit skeptical about his statement.
Despite convincing research, too many medical doctors continue to question the legitimacy of chiropractic. For example, an October 1999 study by researchers at the University of Southern Denmark found that colicky babies who underwent spinal adjustments cried far less than those who received the standard treatment, dimethicone drops.
Far too many children have their pain treated with medication that may have undesirable side effects and may not necessarily correct the underlying source of their problem.
Doctors of chiropractic are trained to diagnose disorders in children that are especially suited for chiropractic management, such as scoliosis, postural deformities and injuries resulting from trauma to the neuromusculoskeletal system. Doctors of chiropractic utilize a gentler type of treatment that is appropriate to a child's size, needs and diagnosis. Children usually respond quickly to light adjustments and other chiropractic treatments and will feel little or no discomfort. In addition, chiropractors might also prescribe exercises designed to help children develop strong muscles, along with instruction in good nutrition, posture and sleeping habits.
Today's doctors of chiropractic are highly educated health care providers and are extensively trained in diagnosing health care problems and treating the problems when they are within their scope of practice. When the condition is outside their scope of practice, doctors of chiropractic, like other primary health care providers, refer the patient to the appropriate specialist when indicated.
Thank you for the opportunity to set the record straight with your readers.
James A. Mertz, DC, DACBR
Arlington, Va.
Akron Says Thanks
Editor, Times-Union:The Kosciusko Community Hospital and Akron Family Medicine have adopted Akron Elementary School for the 2000-2001 school year. On Feb. 8, KCH, KCH's Health & Wellness Center and Akron Family Medicine presented a health fair at the school where students in grades K-5 learned about several health-related topics: simple first aid, activity and exercise, smoking and tobacco, medication safety, wheel safety, hand washing, nutrition and fast food and dental hygiene. Presenters included Kyle Pitt, Megan Lukenbill, Ruth Kauffman, Mary Beth Hawkins, Deb Patrick and Steve Jungbauer, all of KCH's Health & Wellness Center. Additional presenters were Karleen Brennan of MedStat, Lois Lamar of Dr. William Myers office and Wanda Cullison of KCH's dietary department.
We would like to thank everyone who played a part in bringing the health fair to Akron Elementary School. Each presenter effectively shared his/her area of expertise in an enjoyable manner. Special thanks go to Steve Jungbauer and Vicki Black of KCH's Health & Wellness Center who were instrumental in working with the school to plan the activities associated with the health fair.
We sincerely appreciate the tremendous support provided by KCH as we strive to provide our children with quality learning experiences.
Jenny Baldwin, Brett Boggs, Linda Kitch,
Pam McFarland, Miriam Ruppel,
Brenda Self, Janice Yeager
Akron School Improvement Team
Akron
[[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
- Tax Policy - Chiropractic Concerns - Akron Says Thanks
Tax Policy
Editor, Times-Union:Benjamin Franklin once wrote, "Our constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last, but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." When dealing with the possibility of a budget shortfall, around the General Assembly one hears talk of "tax restructuring with revenue enhancement." While this term sounds nice enough, it means that Franklin was right - taxes are, indeed, certain.
Tax restructuring, in itself, is not a bad idea. However, the idea of "revenue enhancement" concerns me. Legislative proposals this session could potentially increase Hoosiers' taxes by up to $2.5 billion. These proposals include increases on a wide variety of taxes, including taxes on property, sales, income, gasoline, gambling and cigarettes. Additionally, there have been suggestions of increasing fees collected from traffic violations and from license branches. If current trends reveal anything, the two things that Hoosiers will receive for their hard-earned tax dollars are increased government spending and more bureaucracy.
I will support tax restructuring, but only if it remains revenue-neutral, meaning any restructuring must not cause an increase in revenue received by the state. State government must learn to live within its means, just as any family or business in the state must do. In the spirit of this idea, the state must not spend more money than it receives. If revenue declines, the state must reduce spending to meet its income, instead of forcing citizens to pay for its spending. Under our current financial status, Indiana doesn't even need to cut spending, but merely slow the rate of spending increases.
It is frightening that at the first sign of an economic slowdown, tax increases are already being discussed. Vision and common-sense leadership are needed to push the state toward looking at alternatives to higher taxation. Indiana currently has substantial reserves in the so-called Rainy Day Fund and in the Tuition Reserve Fund. While these would do very little to help the General Fund during a severe economic downturn, these funds would be very useful during a mild economic slowdown, like we are currently experiencing. More importantly, in the governor's budget proposal, very little has been done to slow the growth of the government - except for cuts in education. Perhaps, we ought to be looking at cutting government instead of shortchanging our children's future and the well-being of our elderly and disabled. All we need is strong leadership and a clear vision for a brighter future in Indiana.
William J. "Bill" Ruppel
State Representative
North Manchester
Chiropractic Concerns
Editor, Times-Union:As president of the American Chiropractic Association, I read with great concern the recent syndicated column in your newspaper by Dr. Peter Gott regarding chiropractic care for children. I find it hard to believe that any past president of the ACA would agree with his opinion, especially since the official policy of the ACA states that chiropractic care is appropriate and beneficial for infants and children.
In 1992, Dr. Gott also referred to a past president of the ACA in a column about chiropractic. At that time, the ACA contacted every living past president of the ACA and every one of them denied being the doctor of chiropractic in question. After reading Dr. Gott's most recent column, the ACA attempted to contact him through letters, faxes and e-mails to ask him the name of his chiropractor friend, as we found it difficult to comprehend that any past ACA president would not be familiar with official ACA policy on this issue. Dr. Gott has yet to respond to the ACA, which makes us a bit skeptical about his statement.
Despite convincing research, too many medical doctors continue to question the legitimacy of chiropractic. For example, an October 1999 study by researchers at the University of Southern Denmark found that colicky babies who underwent spinal adjustments cried far less than those who received the standard treatment, dimethicone drops.
Far too many children have their pain treated with medication that may have undesirable side effects and may not necessarily correct the underlying source of their problem.
Doctors of chiropractic are trained to diagnose disorders in children that are especially suited for chiropractic management, such as scoliosis, postural deformities and injuries resulting from trauma to the neuromusculoskeletal system. Doctors of chiropractic utilize a gentler type of treatment that is appropriate to a child's size, needs and diagnosis. Children usually respond quickly to light adjustments and other chiropractic treatments and will feel little or no discomfort. In addition, chiropractors might also prescribe exercises designed to help children develop strong muscles, along with instruction in good nutrition, posture and sleeping habits.
Today's doctors of chiropractic are highly educated health care providers and are extensively trained in diagnosing health care problems and treating the problems when they are within their scope of practice. When the condition is outside their scope of practice, doctors of chiropractic, like other primary health care providers, refer the patient to the appropriate specialist when indicated.
Thank you for the opportunity to set the record straight with your readers.
James A. Mertz, DC, DACBR
Arlington, Va.
Akron Says Thanks
Editor, Times-Union:The Kosciusko Community Hospital and Akron Family Medicine have adopted Akron Elementary School for the 2000-2001 school year. On Feb. 8, KCH, KCH's Health & Wellness Center and Akron Family Medicine presented a health fair at the school where students in grades K-5 learned about several health-related topics: simple first aid, activity and exercise, smoking and tobacco, medication safety, wheel safety, hand washing, nutrition and fast food and dental hygiene. Presenters included Kyle Pitt, Megan Lukenbill, Ruth Kauffman, Mary Beth Hawkins, Deb Patrick and Steve Jungbauer, all of KCH's Health & Wellness Center. Additional presenters were Karleen Brennan of MedStat, Lois Lamar of Dr. William Myers office and Wanda Cullison of KCH's dietary department.
We would like to thank everyone who played a part in bringing the health fair to Akron Elementary School. Each presenter effectively shared his/her area of expertise in an enjoyable manner. Special thanks go to Steve Jungbauer and Vicki Black of KCH's Health & Wellness Center who were instrumental in working with the school to plan the activities associated with the health fair.
We sincerely appreciate the tremendous support provided by KCH as we strive to provide our children with quality learning experiences.
Jenny Baldwin, Brett Boggs, Linda Kitch,
Pam McFarland, Miriam Ruppel,
Brenda Self, Janice Yeager
Akron School Improvement Team
Akron
[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092