Sad to hear about the Cherry Hill Food Pantry not finding a place to call home here. It’s vital that emergency resources like the pantry stay open and available to the public, especially during these chaotic and unstable times. And let me chide the township for not giving the pantry any tax relief. Since when does government come before people?
I had a similar experience years ago. I owned a property here in Cherry Hill, but due to a disability, my income lessened, and I fell behind in paying my property taxes. I asked for a waiver, but was told by a Congressional aide, “We can’t make an exception in your case because if we did then we’d have to do the same for others, and the government would shut down due to lack of funds.”
Oh really? The Ninth Amendment of the United States Bill Of Rights clearly says that we all have “unspecified rights,” and I would argue that this includes the right not to pay taxes if you can’t afford it. Especially when you consider that some rich people like Donald Trump find perfectly legal ways to pay no taxes at all for years. But be that as it may, we need to assign a higher priority to social welfare in this country.
And don’t tell me we can’t afford it. Where are all the billions coming from for overseas military activity? And if President Trump can declare a “national emergency” to get his Mexican wall built, why can’t a Democratic president — -assuming we get one in 2020 — do exactly the same thing to further a progressive agenda? For instance, how about ordering the military out to start building emergency shelters, such as quonset huts, for the homeless? Or how about deploying the army/navy/national guard all across the country to set up field hospitals,,so that free medical care could be given out to those Americans who can’t afford doctor’s or dentist’s fees? Sounds good to me! It’s about time the feds did something useful.
James Camilli
