We have say in public land
I trust you will allow me to correct an error in the Cherokee Scout’s May 7 edition, where you stated that the U.S. Forest Service is the owner of my property in Cherokee County.
I have been the proud owner of the Nantahala National Forest for the past 79 years, and I can unequivocally state that the Forest Service does not own a single tree in its vast 531,848 acres.
The Forest Service simply manages the acreage on behalf of myself and my co-owners – all the citizens of the United States. It does so for similar properties we own throughout the country.
How long citizens will retain ownership of their lands is another matter all together, especially with efforts by the regrettable and misguided Trump Administration to sell off our public property.
In fact, the day your latest edition hit newsstands, Republicans in the U.S. House added a provision to their billionaires’ tax-cut package that would authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah.
Trump and his cronies won’t stop there, either. Legislation also is in the pipeline that would allow increased leasing of public lands for drilling, mining and logging, while at the same time clearing the way for more development of our wild lands by speeding up government approvals.
Of course, Trump also wants to cut the already inadequate royalty rates paid by wealthy oil and gas conglomerates to take oil, gas and coal from public lands.
Public land advocates are fighting these efforts. We want everyone to recognize that these wild and beautiful lands belong to all of us. And all of us have a say in how they are managed.
Tony A. Tharp, Murphy
Economy not fault of poor
If President Donald Trump’s administration was really serious about cutting government fraud, it would have never laid off thousands of Internal Revenue Service workers.
In fact, they should have hired more people. That’s because the IRS estimates that more than $1 trillion is lost each year in unpaid taxes, mostly from corporations and rich people.
By some estimates, the Department of Defense wastes about $100 billion a year. This is due to a generous Congress that spends on weapons systems that are unneeded, unwanted and sometimes obsolete.
Another way to cut federal spending is to raise the minimum wage. Doing this would save Uncle Sam from $7-$20 billion annually in food stamps.
Just doing these things would go a long way to balancing the federal budget and put a dent in the high rate of poverty in this rich nation.
If Americans continue to vote in the ultra-rich to govern us, this will not change. These greed-stricken people blame all our economic woes on poor people. They know it’s a lie, but a lot of people fall for it.
Jack Montgomery, Ogreeta
Serving rich and powerful
I attended the May Day event in Hayesville. The turnout was inspiring.
I would like to thank the little girl, along with her mother, who gave me and others a lovely paper woven heart with flowers in it. It was a thoughtful gesture.
I wish I would have had the opportunity to explain why so many people with their signs and solidarity were using their First Amendment rights to protest a government that is not serving the people.
We gathered there to do what we could to ensure the future of this country and the world would not be taken over by an authoritarian regime. This form of governing only benefits the rich and powerful.
The playbook of defunding and eliminating many federal agencies is dangerous. Social safety-nets, health care, education, affordable housing, living wages, equal opportunities for all and the planet itself are on the chopping block. All in favor of the supposed privatized corporations running things without guardrails, and mostly for the benefit of stockholders and CEOs – until money in politics and Citizens United end through the courts. We will continue to have candidates on both sides who only serve the agenda of wealthy donors. A democracy was meant to be equal playing field.
It should be that everyone has the opportunity to be educated and without want for the basics like housing, healthy food and quality of life. We should not waste taxpayers’ money on the funding of war. Instead, we should be a model of peace and the ability to help other less fortunate countries.
So with all of this coming to play with the administration, all of us must do whatever we can to stop this before it is too late. The people of Germany were fed lies, and complacency was the norm, until Hitler changed his playbook.
Fascist dictatorships never end well. Get out your history books and listen to independent voices who are sounding the alarm.
Frances Juhlin, Murphy