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"Suck it up"; pass the sales tax
To the editor:
My daddy always taught me, "life is not fair," and dear fellow citizens we are finding this out. I know I am the new guy on the block, but I hope I can bring some clarity to the tax issue we all face.
First, know this for certain: the IRS will be paid, and the city of Blytheville will pay it one way or another. It does not matter how fair, ethical or right you and I think things are; the IRS will be paid. They may if they find, go after some former leaders and elected officials, which may or may not involve criminal proceedings. No matter, the IRS will be paid and the city of Blytheville will pay it because it is the city's debt, not former officials' or employees.'
No. 2, Mayor Sanders has rightly and properly gone about the city's business by doing first things first. He has put things back in order by seeing to it that taxes are paid on time and kept current. (And he is showing good faith to the IRS, which is helpful, I might add). And thankfully, rather than indulging in fits of rage and and pointing fingers, he has calmly (God Bless him) gone about the duties of office by seeing to it that the city of Blytheville is meeting and working through all of its debts and obligations of which there are many. But know this for certain: The IRS will be paid, and the city of Blytheville will pay it, one way or another. And you and I do not want them deciding how it will be paid because it will not be seen as, fair.
One way the IRS may collect its debt is by confiscating all city bank accounts. Then what? Not fair, you say? Yes, we can sue the IRS and get into protracted legal battles, with legal bills that will then need to be paid, but with bank accounts emptied, what then? What will happen for certain is basic city services will suffer -- garbage, streetlights and the like. Also, possible grants applied for may be denied, and holes we have begun to dig out of will simply get deeper. It will not seem fair, but life is not fair. (Imagine your bank accounts all of a sudden disappearing one day. How will you pay then, gas, water, lights, automobile, lawn service, food, etc. It will be the same for the city of Blytheville.)
Psalm 4:4 tells us; "Be angry, and do not sin." In other words, let us not make foolish decisions in anger. And friends, your anger is proper, good and right and I know you do not need to be told that, but there will be plenty of time later to be angry with those who it is found who failed in their duties. But now is not the time.
In closing, my wife Marsha and I have come to love Blytheville, and we do not want it to suffer needlessly. So I ask and pray that you would stand with Mayor Sanders and the Council members, hold them accountable and pay attention to official proceedings. And finally, as my daddy would say to me, "Suck it up son." Pass the tax, pay the debt, and hold onto your anger until the proper time for venting it. It will come.