To the Editor:

I write regarding the opinion cartoon in Wednesday’s paper (4-11-12). As a Republican, I take offense at the implied message that Republicans are too greedy or hard-hearted to fund children’s education, a cheap shot appeal to sentimentality (the reliance on feelings as a guide to truth).

The issue is not the 3/4-cent increase. The issue is the level of taxes N.C. citizens already pay. The increase would raise sales tax to 7.5 percent. Gas: up. Homeowners insurance: up. Food cost: up. Property tax: Up, etc., etc. A more appropriate cartoon might be a depiction of the classic “straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Rather than relying on sentiment to garner support (or insult some), I prefer rational thought. With the economy in such a downturn, earnings decreasing in real buying power and costs of virtually everything increasing, I cannot support tax increases for anything unless solid facts can demonstrate need, no other means of meeting the need and the available income among the taxed to be the resource. Unlike the state, I cannot increase my income by creating a paper stating I need it; and I do not dispute the need. I vote no.

CHARLES LATHAM JR.
Chocowinity