Taxes, not nitrogen, is top public enemy, ageist cartoon

Taxes, not nitrogen, is top public enemy

This past July, the Suffolk County Legislature declined to advance the 0.125% sales tax increase proposed for the November ballot that would have made Suffolk the highest sales tax county in the state outside of New York City.

I’m glad the legislature’s recent plan to resurrect this wrong-headed proposal for a December special election — when most of us are more focused on the holidays than on going to polls — collapsed [“Special election on Suffolk sewers nixed,” News, Sept. 9].

If it were passed, the estimated $3.1 billion tax revenue would have been used to fund sewer extensions and advanced underground septic systems. The existing 0.25% sales tax has already generated millions of dollars for sewers, allowing builders to increase density, resulting in more congestion, more traffic and, ultimately, more pollution.

If developers want to connect to sewers and if homeowners want to install expensive and complicated underground sewage treatment systems in their front yards, then they should use the funds already available or pay for it themselves. People are not moving off Long Island because nitrogen is “public enemy Number One” but because high taxes are public enemy Number One.

— Peter Akras, Wading River

Ageist cartoons display contempt

Three of the six political cartoons in the Sept. 9 Cartoon Roundup [Opinion] and Matt Davies’ Sept. 12 cartoon were ageist. Hostility toward President Joe Biden as a presidential candidate is morphing into general contempt for senior citizens. This is a mean and dangerous stance for society to take.

I fear it could lead to policies that disadvantage older members of the community and defund programs that benefit seniors. Look at New York City pressuring retired workers to switch to Medicare Advantage plans.

Many older people contribute heavily to their communities through child care, enabling mothers to work, contributing financially to help young families, and volunteering to perform tasks in the community that few others have the time to do. Please give us a break.

 — Catherine Leibowitz, Oakland Gardens, Queens