LETTERS: Taxes, military spending and more

End hurtful tax on unemployment

I am asking my congressman to introduce the following two changes to the current tax law: First, stop taxing unemployment benefits. This is as barbaric as kicking a man when he's down.

Second, as a senior I would ask that the tax on Social Security benefits be repealed. The tax was originally supposed to affect only "upper income" seniors, but the threshold at which one is considered an "upper incomer" was never indexed for inflation. At the very least, that should be corrected by revising the threshold amounts to reflect the increase in the cost of living.

Joseph Squercati

Hicksville

To reduce deficit, cut defense bloat

Newsday correctly asserts that the federal budget deficit cannot be allowed to grow indefinitely . Democrats are criticized for refusing to cut entitlement programs; Republicans are blamed for refusing to consider any tax increases.

Meanwhile, one "sacred cow" eats up the largest portion of our budget, and no politician dares suggest cutting it: our bloated military.

The United States spends more than any other nation on defense. Yet we no longer face threats from sovereign nations; instead, our security is threatened by decentralized terror groups for whom borders are irrelevant.

Two ongoing wars, one unnecessary from the start, the other becoming increasingly pointless, have proven that multi-billion-dollar bombers do not defeat terrorism; they merely anger the indigenous civilian populations and turn their sympathies toward the terrorists.

The overly entitled program that should be subjected to the same budgetary scrutiny as the rest of the federal government occupies a huge five-sided building in Arlington, Va.

Richard Schloss

East Northport

Follow Obama's model of civility

A lot has been written lately to critique President Barack Obama's first year in office . I have found myself agreeing (and at times disagreeing) with the details of his difficult policy choices.

But in one area, I have been inspired by our young president and that is with the analytic, thoughtful and often transparent manner in which he has confronted and addressed difficult, complex decisions. He has been a positive role model of civility in these trying times.

This is in contrast to those who espouse an approach where trained, organized "thugs" attempt to disrupt town hall meetings, shout down people who hold different views, and physically threaten public servants and members of the public. This kind of behavior threatens and weakens our democratic process and we should all be vigilant.

Alan G. Vitters

Northport