I have absolutely no desire to take care of any senior citizen who was stupid enough not to save up when they were younger. The money taken from my pay is going to pay these people with no fiscal sense. If I invested that myself, I could probably retire at age 55 as a millionaire, instead of having to wait until I'm in my late 60s and then get a small pittance every month.
So, to the selfish senior citizens out there who constantly complain about how their benefits are going to be cut, from someone my age, take this: I'm sick of paying you my hard-earned money.
Michael David Wasiljov
Hagerstown
Team seeks citizen input
To the editor:
Please join the "New Vision for Hagerstown" team. This is an open invitation to engage the team in dialogue about any issue that you may be passionate about. Let me assure you that there never have been nor will there ever be any secret meetings. We respect everyone. Respect for the folks who want to be informed and look to the great group of Herald-Mail writers to keep important things in the paper. We also respect those who do not wish to be in the public view and are most comfortable talking in a small group setting.
Like you, each one of us - Dick Trump, Ruth Anne Callaham, the Rev. Haru Carter, Scott Hesse, Dan Kennedy and Tory VanReneen - is an independent thinker willing to address the tough issues. We have brought to the table Subject Matter Experts (SME) from the community to discuss many topics. The issues being worked include 1. Moving forward to build a new hospital, 2. Improving the 2-plus-2 concept to a more robust and effective 5-by-5 relationship of all council members working hard with all County Commissioners to better serve the community, 3. Crafting a vibrant, well-balanced annexation policy, 4. Resolving the water/sewer problems, 5. Ensuring affordable housing, 6. Enhancing economic development, and 7. Attending to historic preservation.
We intend to represent with respect and a high level of energy every citizen, property owner and worker in Hagerstown. Your seat at the table for participation in the discussions is at our Web site www.visionforhagerstown.com. We want to know the issues that are most important to you. Our e-mail addresses are: ruthannecallaham@visionforhagerstown.com, toryvanreneen@visionforhagerstown.com, dicktrump@visionforhagerstown.com, harucarter@visionforhagerstown.com, dankennedy@visionforhagerstown, and scotthesse@visionforhagerstown.com. If the Internet does not work for you, please write to: A New Vision for Hagerstown Team, 1317 Lindsay Lane, Hagerstown, MD 21742.
Ruth Anne Callaham
Candidate for City Council
Hagerstown
Required reading for voters
To the editor:
I urge every Washington County resident of voting age to read Joe Lane's column in the Jan. 30 Herald-Mail entitled "Developers Profit on Taxpayers' Dime." It can be found in Section A, page 13.
Once finished, I urge you to re-read the last two paragraphs. This is probably the clearest and most accurate picture of taxpayer "rip off" you'll ever read.
Grace L. Rummel
Hagerstown
