Letters To The Editor

Harold McDonald

Jackson, MS

I only have three good reasons for keeping my beard: my wife likes it, my daughter likes it, and my son likes it. As for Commissioner Chaney, I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago when I visited your fine state, and indeed, he’s a wealth of information. [BC]

Comrade Thomas

J I just read the Eagle Eye by Trevor Thomas, (Sept. 27, 2010), Taxes are Not the Problem. I am not sure who your target audience is, but I cannot believe anybody in financial services (as I am) agrees with Mr. Thomas. In fact, as a financial planner and tax consultant with a diverse client base, I conclude that Mr. Thomas is clueless. He certainly had nothing to say that I can use to help my practice. And he is obviously a tax regulation illiterate. If he really wants to know what is happening in the world of taxes, come down to my level where the returns are prepared. He should stop listening to the politicians (who are truly clueless) and the academic think tanks with an agenda. His indictment of capital proves he must be…what? A Socialist? Marxist? I am sure he is enjoying the fruits of capitalism (all of my “liberal” friends are). His insight into economics is also quite misguided. He appears to believe the country should do it his way because he is smarter than all of us and we need him to be our absentee parent (through the coercion of government, of course). I might believe his sincerity when he lives like a socialist slave (would he be willing to publish his tax return?). My trip to Russia was very enlightening on how well people under Socialism live; it is not as well as Mr. Thomas lives. So, tell me again, why am I reading your magazine?

Paul Scudiere,

CPA, CFP

I’ll say here what I told Trevor’s online detractors as well: Trevor’s a working guy who simply feels our tax policy needs work. Were he to sit down at the dinner table with Lenin and Marx, Vladimir and Karl would get up to leave. That said, I appreciate the feelings of our readership, and editorials like Trevor’s aren’t meant to drive any single opinion down anyone’s throat. More than anything, they are meant to spark discussion about important matters of policy that affect this great industry. For what it’s worth, I too have visited the Soviet Union. I too believe in the supremacy of capitalism. And I too think that Trevor’s got a good point: tax breaks for the top 1% are a bad idea. [BC]