Point missed

Faith Kopplin’s Saturday guest column [“Family planning saves costs”] missed the main point of the family planning debate in Austin.

 She equated defunding Planned Parenthood of Central Texas with defunding family planning. Actually, the major reform initiatives sought by social conservatives seek to redirect state family planning funds.

Here are good reasons for shifting funding away from Planned Parenthood:

* Funding can be shifted to FQHCs, or Federally Qualified Health Centers. These are full-featured clinics like the Family Health Center in Waco. With this change, health care provisions for women will shift from nurses to physicians who provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care.

 * By defunding Planned Parenthood, we avoid the obvious conflict of interest for counseling pregnant women on their pregnancy choices. Planned Parenthood is the dominant abortion provider in Texas and the nation. It operates 14 abortion facilities in Texas, including one on Columbus Avenue. The Planned Parenthood abortion chain continues to expand and needs for new customers that can be provided through its family planning clinics.

* Planned Parenthood’s outreach promotes unfettered sex. Its national organization recently launched an educational program and website with the goal of eliminating any sense of shame from all sexual behaviors. 

Planned Parenthood has the right to promote this vision. However, an agenda of moral and social transformation should not be subsidized by tax dollars.

John Pisciotta, Waco

Property swap?

I find it interesting that the city of Waco and the city of Hewitt have agreed to a property swap so Waco can court an “as-yet-unnamed industry.” 

Although I realize the importance of luring business to Waco, and I compliment the city on its accomplishments so far, I am weary of the city being secretive about what businesses are being pursued to establish a presence in Waco. The public has a right to know the details, especially if the “deal” comes with generous property tax exemptions, rebates or other special considerations that are not afforded small businesses in Waco and do not contribute to state sales tax coffers.

J.L. Rader, Waco

Drop pre-K programs

The priorities in our lower education system should be grades one through 12. Our state does not have the money to finance pre-K and kindergarten at this time.

Core subject teachers should not be laid off while pre-K and kindergarten are in operation. Without a doubt, Texas should re-examine its priorities.

Texas cannot fund many of the social programs that have been implemented over the years. We simply do not have the money.

In order to make cutbacks, an indepenent, unbiased management analysis team should be called in to identify areas that could be eliminated or reduced.

We have many options for raising additional revenue. Here are a few:

*  Legalize gambling in Texas. A majority of automobiles in Louisiana casino parking garages have Texas license plates. We are losing revenue from gambling, restaurants and motels to our neighbor state.

* Tax fossil fuels another 10 cents per gallon.

* Tax professional sporting events $1 per ticket, including auto racing.

Thomas E. Niles Jr., West