Oceanside-Island Park letters

Keep pets indoors

To the Editor:
In the article “Cats taken from I.P.” (Nov. 19-25), Fran Bronzin is quoted as saying, "You don't realize how much you love them until they're gone.” But if she loved them so much the cats would be in her home!
If I wanted a pet cat, I would get one. I shouldn't be inconvenienced by someone else's laziness to care for a pet. My block is overrun by cats that people consider pets. All they do is put some food outside and they consider them pets. I have to get a gardener to care for my lawn because the cat urine damages the lawn. Also, the feces are like land mines for my kids to avoid.

The bottom line is, everyone has the right to a pet. If you want a pet, enjoy it in your home.
Steven C. Eugalee
Oceanside

Don’t feed stray cats

To the Editor:
Pet cats should be kept inside. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a few lovable house cats in your home. Unfortunately, cats naturally attack and kill those attractive songbirds we all could enjoy, and the feral cats seen along the parkways kill the cute rabbits. People who support feral cats by creating feeding stations are actually destroying other beneficial wildlife species, while supporting field rats. And do people really need more than a few cats? Certainly not outside, bothering your
neighbors.
Gerald Cymbalsky
Long Beach

Did elections accomplish anything?

To the Editor:
Although I am not a registered member of Sen. Al D'Amato's party, I read his column regularly. Based on “The 2009 election: Taxpayer revolt!” (Nov. 12-18), we seem to be in a bad place, and I agree that if you don't vote, you get what you deserve. The vote turnout was a horrible example of a disinterested public. Having a better turnout may not have changed the outcome, but at least people would have exercised their will.
I don't know what any elected body can do to change what is happening in our county, let alone around the country, so I guess we'll just keep changing the faces every two, four or six years to see what they can do or get rid of them and give another new face a chance.
How can the tax structure on Long Island -- or, for that matter, the rest of the country -- be changed? The people we elect to govern are in a extremely tenuous position. They have to find a way to control spending and, at the same time, provide needed services. Locally, it's easy enough for the county to say it isn't raising real estate taxes, but that's not the giant gorilla in the room, it's school taxes. Tax the rich, tax the middle class, don't tax the poor, they probably can't pay anyway.
I think it's time to start thinking about some sort of sales tax that is specifically dedicated to those needs. Everyone pays, and you don't see a real estate tax bill every three months. Everyone participates. I don't know where we’re headed, but eventually there'll be no funds available to get there if we don't do something now.
Ilene and Marty Brodman
Lido Beach