To the editor:

A lot of the rhetoric about tax cuts in the national election focuses on homeowners and people who pay income tax. What about people who don’t own homes and for whom the only taxes they pay are sales taxes? Isn’t providing them with the services they need to find and keep jobs the right thing to do? Don’t we all benefit when people take the T?

Many jobs in Lawrence are not located where the people who do them live. I doubt Wal-Mart will operate private transportation for employees without cars who want to work at its new store at Sixth and Wakarusa. (Most won’t live within walking distance, since there’s been no development of low-cost housing on that side of town.) We all benefit from their employment: Low costs come from low wages. Why shouldn’t some of the sales taxes at Wal-Mart and other businesses help provide public transportation for both employees and shoppers, especially as the economic crisis makes it even more difficult to qualify for a mortgage or a car loan?

Paying for the T through sales taxes should persuade Lawrence residents to buy local and spend less of their income in Topeka or Johnson County. Using sales taxes to support public transportation will result in lower costs and better income. Reducing costs makes it easier for businesses to reduce prices. “Support the T – Buy Local” helps our community. We all benefit from a “yes” vote to support the T.

John W. Hoopes,
Lawrence