Pitching In To Help Feels Good

In response to Timothy Schmaltz's timely opinion in this morning's Arizona Republic, I advocate pitching in to help.

If you have a severely disabled child; if you have a parent needing round-the-clock care because of dementia; or if you are losing your employment because there is no childcare assistance, then you understand where Mr. Schmaltz is coming from. I work as a provider to severely disabled young people. Services to them are essential, so rather than reducing essential hours I am absorbing a reduced hourly rate of pay. I think of it as a way to pitch in and help.

In a small community, everyone chips in to help when someone is in need. Everyone feels proud of being able to do so. And everyone knows the community will be there for them when they need a hand. In Arizona we are a big community, but we can all pitch in and help. One way we can all participate in helping is to encourage our legislature to approve Gov. Brewer's suggest sales tax increase. We also need to expect our budget and finance experts to restructure our tax bases in a fair and productive manner.

The days of cutting taxes is over, but income, sales, and property taxes can be balanced to meet the needs of operating our state efficiently.

Oh dear. Did I just say fair and balanced? That's not like me! Let's keep our sense of humor while we are at it.