Opinion
Middle-class tax cuts leading priority
President-elect Barack Obama will bring change to the White House. It has nothing to do with anything promised during campaign speeches or presidential debates. It’s a simple matter of politics.
After eight years, the Grand Ol’ Party is handing over the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to the Democrats. And with a change of parties, you can’t expect anything less than a change of direction when it comes to the challenges and obstacles the nation is facing right now.
Read: Economy. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Credit crunch. Failing manufacturing industries. Banks collapsing. Acid rain. Melting polar ice caps. Godzilla destroying the city.
For some, counting down the days until Jan. 20 is like marking off blocks on the calendar until Christmas — you can’t wait to see what’s in those pretty boxes under the tree. For others, it’s like the end of summer vacation, and Jan. 20 is the first day at a new school — unknown, unfamiliar, unwelcome.
Change. Good? Bad? Just plain old different? Who knows?
But there are a few things that everyone seems to be looking forward to, red or blue.
According to a recent poll conducted by The Associated Press of 1,001 adults nationwide, the four issues ranking the highest in an Obama priority list all have to do with the economy.
No. 1 — Improving the economy, 84 percent.
No. 2 — Creating jobs, 80 percent.
No. 3 — Reducing the federal budget deficit, 61 percent
No. 4 — Stabilizing the nation’s financial institutions, 61 percent.
But the biggest surprise was that while 80 percent of those polled said that working toward the middle-class tax cuts should be a priority for Obama’s administration, they’re willing to wait until other issues are addressed. Only 36 percent said that it should be his top priority after he unpacks boxes in January.
I find it surprising because that’s nearly 10 points less than the poll we conducted on our online site last week. At www.timeswv.com, voters were asked to identify what they felt should be the new president’s top priority after his inauguration.
In our poll, which I tend to trust a bit more than a nationwide poll, 44.93 percent of our readers voting think Obama should start his term by pursuing the middle-class tax cuts he promised while he was campaigning. Compare that to the 36 percent from the AP poll.
The next highest vote for our poll was “preparing a second stimulus to boost the ailing economy” with 25.36 percent. But I can’t really figure out how that aligns with the AP poll. It could be “improving the economy,” which pulled in 80 percent of the nationwide vote, or “dealing with the problems of poor people,” which ranked sixth in the AP poll of priorities.
Our third-ranked priority was “stepping up efforts to withdraw from Iraq,” which took 15.94 percent of the vote. For nationwide voters, that ranked as the first non-economic priority.
And for only 13.77 percent of our voters, “improving international relationships” is a top priority. Funny, it didn’t even make it to AP’s Top 10. Oh, who cares what the French think of us anyway?
Speaking of the economy, we’re curious about how unsteady times have modified your Christmas lists this year.
Log on. Vote. E-mail me.
Misty Poe
mpoe@timeswv.com
- Opinion
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Area women’s basketball programs have come long way
For many years, women’s basketball just seemed to many observers to be just something for young girls and women to do prior to the “real games” being played by boys and men. It took a long time before women’s games were even covered by the media — and that includes radio and television as well as newspapers.
Fortunately, opinions have changed over the years.
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City must practice responsible fiscal policy
The employees of the City of Fairmont have a reason to celebrate.
For the first time in three years, since a water crisis crippled the city and its finances in the early months of 2007, employees will get one-time pay increases worth about $750.
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Laws needed to regulate development of resources
The Marcellus shale formations, which extend throughout the Eastern United States, remain a largely untapped reserve of natural gas. And that makes it a prime target for energy development.
But local legislators want a little regulation when it comes to the extraction of the natural resource. Drillers tap millions of gallons of water from streams and rivers so as to bore into the rock formations that trap the state’s abundant reserves of natural gas.
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Broadband access vital to state’s future
The Mountain State is receiving $126.3 million in federal stimulus funding for a proposed statewide broadband infrastructure project.
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Here’s to dodging those potholes
There’s always this span of time when the snow melts and the beauty of the landscape suffers for it. Bare trees once frosted with snow are just bare again. The streets and sidewalks are covered with cinders and dust.
The brighter the sun shines, the uglier it looks.
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Erin’s Law would enable families to get sense of justice after future tragedies
There came a point several months after the violent death of her daughter that Debbie Keener came to a very grave conclusion. The person responsible for the hit-and-run death of her daughter would face but one charge — leaving the scene of an accident causing death.
And that charge, if successfully prosecuted, would mean that the person responsible for the death of Erin Keener, a 21-year-old honors nursing student at West Virginia University, would serve up to three years in prison.
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Hall of Fame would be fitting tribute to FSU legend Joe Retton
Has it really been almost 50 years since Joe Retton took over the reins of the Fairmont State basketball program that became such an important part of the West Virginia Conference Tournament for many years thereafter?
That it has. Forty-seven years, to be exact. And the West Virginia Conference Tournament is celebrating its 50th anniversary being held in Charleston this week.
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Community generosity shines during ‘Gift of Love’
Did you ever see something that just made you feel good all over and that all is right with the world?
You probably have, at one time or another. But down at the Times West Virginian, we enjoyed that rare feeling Monday afternoon. That’s when a good portion of the food collected out in the county for the Gift of Love food drive arrived at our building for distribution today.
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State still has long way to go in regards to overall health
Another national survey, and yet another poor ranking for the Appalachian region.
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Stimulus: Was it worth the cost?
Anniversaries are not like birthdays. Usually they represent a time to reflect, to understand where you were and compare it to where you are now.
I bet President Obama wishes anniversaries were more like birthdays, too. Then he could blow out one candle on a truly scrumptious cake while all of his friends and co-workers sang a song. People would bring gifts to a grand party.
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Area women’s basketball programs have come long way
