Wednesday, February 13, 2002
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Wednesday, February 13, 2002 |
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Bills create special class: victims vs. rest of us A few days ago President Bush signed into law "Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act" (HR 2884). He has given the survivors of Sept. 11, Oklahoma and the military a special status in this country. He, by not vetoing that bill, is creating two distinct classes of people: Those that were personally affected by those acts and the rest of us. The Congress of the United States has fallen all over itself trying to "do right" for the survivors of Sept. 11. Over a billion dollars was donated to the 9/11 survivors from the people of this great country. Yet, in spite of this generosity, Congress also created a fund for these people. A fund that would give, on average, $1+ million to the families, and now they have the "Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act." A bill that will "... relieve the tax burden on families who have lost loved ones. Under this law, the federal government will collect no income taxes on wages earned by terrorism victims in the year of their death, or in the preceding year." This bill also extends those same benefits to the "... Families of victims killed in the Oklahoma City bombing ..." and to the "... members of the armed services who have been killed in combat zones ..." As if all of these tax relief benefits weren't enough to satisfy everyone, Congress also included relief as far as the charitable monies are concerned. This bill also states "... payments from charitable organizations to victim's families will be exempt from federal taxation ..." I was appalled at what happened in Oklahoma City and on Sept. 11. I had spent 20 years in the military and when I saw the devastation in Oklahoma City and the Twin Towers, I wanted to do unto them 10-fold as they did to us. I know the victims of these attacks have suffered. I know the rest of this country feels their pain. The donations immediately following 9/11 have proven that. But now I'm getting tired of hearing about the victims of Oklahoma City and Sept. 11. I'm also getting mad as hell with those politicians in Washington busting their butts trying to make points with one special class of citizens. Washington cares nothing about the person killed in a car wreck or [one who] is murdered by some crazed person running around with a submachine gun. There is no "Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act" for these survivors. These survivors suffer on their own time. The politician doesn't care because there are no votes to be had in these cases. There is no political collateral to be gained. Charles G. James Fayetteville
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