Development should be bringing in tax $$
Re March 10 article, “Saving cemetery fence no easy task; Association $26,000 short on cost to do repairs preserving wrought-iron enclosure”: There was a cry for funding to replace or repair the fence around the Malta Cemetery. Where would the funds come from?
Take one look around at all the new construction around Exit 12 — apartment houses, motels, office buildings, etc. I see $20,000 in extra funds right there.
Bottom line: No matter how much new construction occurs or new tax money a community or school district receives, it gets spent as fast as it comes in. In theory, “X” amount of new/extra money should lower everyone’s share. When does that ever happen?
Another example: With all new apartments by the Saratoga County airport, will my county/town taxes go down? Doubt it.
James Calkins
Ballston Spa
Teachers must teach more about politics
Two things are never to be brought up on the first date: politics and religion. This also seems to be the rule shared by most teachers at Schenectady High School, which I attend.
As a senior who has just turned 18, politics consume my television at home and the discussions I have with my friends. I find it disappointing that many of my teachers intentionally attempt to steer discussions away from politics.
This is a shame, because in my experience, many students at Schenectady High are misinformed on presidential candidates, giving them the wrong idea about politics. In my opinion, teachers need to be the ones to inform students who are “Trump supporters” that Donald Trump can’t make America great again at the snap of his fingers like he thinks. Teachers should inform their students that “saying what’s really on your mind” has consequences when talking to powerful world leaders. I think teachers need to be the ones to inform “Bernie supporters” that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ legalization of marijuana doesn’t mean “free weed” and that “socialized health care” has been attempted by every president since Eisenhower and doesn’t make someone a die-hard socialist.
It is my view that teachers need to be the ones to inform students that being informed on politics has a direct correlation to your future. For example, everyone wants to be rich in high school. Let’s say, in a perfect world, you want your gross pay to be $250,000. The federal government alone would take away over a third of that in federal income tax, approximately 39.6 percent. Do you really want the government to tax you even more (maybe even take more than half of your gross pay)? Or are you willing to give up your money for the sake of chipping away at your country’s debt?
There are, however, certain teachers that make an effort to inform students in an unbiased manner about politics. But this is only a select few in my experience.
I think that teachers should be the ones to make students understand that politics now affects your everyday life in many ways. It is a true shame that when I ask the average student at Schenectady High who John Boehner is and they have no clue.
Liam Scott
Schenectady
Name new casino for Charles Steinmetz
I would like to see the name of the new casino on Erie Boulevard, formerly the Alco building in Schenectady, be named Charles P. Steinmetz Way.
The reason for the name, as Charles P. Steinmetz was a mathematician and engineer, he’s best know for his development of the theory of AC (alternating current) and for his experiments with “man made lighting.”
He was a scientific genius.
He was hired at General Electric Co. in Schenectady, where he spent the remainder of his carer in research in electricity. He taught electricity at Union College and wrote books on the theory of AC.
Charles P. Steinmetz put Schenectady on the map.
Steven P. Goldberg
Schenectady
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