Your Letters: Thursday

Officials need reality check

Gov. Ed Rendell is on a fast track to take away from those who have the least. Why is it so difficult to have a budget on time to pay the employees of Pennsylvania? Does he really expect families to manage on less income, by raising taxes, while the costs of living are increasing on every economic level?

There is no reality to these elected officials and their logic is absent. Maybe charity should begin at home, i.e., in every county in the state.

Why do the legislators continue to have state-provided cars, gas cards, expense accounts and travel expenses while those who elected them are expected to live with less? People buy their cars and pay for their gas, insurance and maintenance so they can go to work every day to provide for their families and pay taxes. That is exactly what elected officials should be doing, and why aren’t they?

Official does not seem to be the appropriate title for those who decide to make concessions for others but not for themselves. These people who cannot get their official duty completed in a year should be voted out of office.

The power invested to them can be changed at the next election time.

Betty Ruse Bellefonte

Save the business program

I’m extremely concerned that our politicians may be proposing budget cuts for programs that are extremely valuable to small-business owners — a sector of this economy that drives economic growth and development and relies heavily on the subsidized free and confidential services of government programs such as the Penn State Small Business Development Center.

The vitality of small businesses is critical for stimulating the economy, and many have been started and sustained by the services of our local SBDC. Many statistics are available to support the existence of the SBDC. One that comes to mind is a 7-to-1 ratio of tax impact for every dollar the commonwealth allocates to the SBDC. Truly a return on your investment!

I have employed the services of the SBDC to secure funding, obtain business advice and obtain financials for two small businesses co-owned by my husband and me. Without these services we would not have had the opportunity to become small-business owners. Even in this economy our businesses are thriving thanks to the services of the SBDC.

I strongly urge our legislators to fully fund this state program because this one at least is fiscally responsible and has a large-scale impact on our local economy that is quite tangible.

Suzanne Myers Port Matilda