Freeze thwarts growth

Since 1990 Columbus has grown by 12%. Over that same time, Harris County has grown by 87% and Phenix City by 48%. I know what you're thinking. "But those are smaller areas, so of course their percentage growth is going to be higher." If you combine the two areas, they've gained more real population (28k) than Columbus (22k).

During that same time span, Atlanta has grown by 17.7%. I know what you’re thinking. "But Atlanta doesn't have a military base. Columbus does." Houston County, home of Robbins AFB, has added almost 61k people (68% growth). Meanwhile the entire state of Georgia has grown by 57%.

Columbus is being left behind. But why? Could it be that the Freeze creates a disincentive for people to move here? A recent study shows that one must live in a house for 14 years in order to see any advantage of the Freeze. A young family's needs change over time, and the Freeze harms young, growing families.

Newly married, no kids? Here are your options:

1) Buy what you need now, and re-start the freeze clock when you outgrow your house in less than 14 years.

2) Buy more house and take on more debt than you need now. Hopefully you won’t default and you'll still be happy with your decision for at least 14 years. If not, everyone else in town thanks you for subsidizing their property taxes!

3) Buy a house somewhere else.

4) Rent.

Is the Freeze the biggest factor in Columbus’ stagnant growth? Probably not, but if you’re being honest with yourself, it does influence people’s decisions.

As a conservative, I have a real problem with tax policies that force rational people to make irrational decisions. That’s why I’m voting to thaw the freeze.

Fiscal safeguard

Every once in a while during the last 30 years, various politicians have come along to try and get rid of the property tax freeze. The latest is Mayor Tomlinson. Motivations for lifting the freeze vary, but I believe that most of them would fall under the category of simply wanting more money to spend. Tomlinson is a liberal Democrat who is currently restrained in spending to some degree because of the freeze, and with good reason. Most politicians these days desire to spend without restraint no matter if the monies are available or not and whether the spending can be afforded or not. The citizens of this city are required to live within their means and certainly cannot run up a deficit which cannot be repaid, and the city should not be any different. I encourage everyone to vote No on lifting the freeze if for no other reason than politicians cannot be trusted to spend responsibly.

True statesman

Here in Columbus we are feeling the effect of partisan bickering and political games in Washington. It's really tragic because it's preventing real work from getting done in Congress. A perfect example of this inaction is the failure to pass a defense appropriations bill or the annual defense authorization bill. Even though both bills sailed through their respective Senate committees with bipartisan support, Democrats have repeatedly blocked these bills from coming up for a vote.

Shame on any politician who would put politics over funding for our troops and our national security.

Georgia's lucky in that regard, because we have Johnny Isakson in the U.S. Senate. He has always put serving Georgians over partisanship, especially when it comes to national defense. He came to Fort Benning this summer and talked about how important the base is to our national defense and to the greater Columbus community. And in 2015, when he learned of the cuts that were coming our way due to Army restructuring, Johnny was one of the first to come down to the base and criticize the Pentagon for what he called irresponsible cuts.

Johnny Isakson is loyal to his party, he works hard to promote growth and opportunity, and he knows when to reach across the aisle to accomplish the goals that are best for our country and for Georgia. For that, I want to thank him, on behalf of myself, and the people of Columbus he represents in the U.S. Senate. I'm proud to say that I will be casting my vote for Johnny Isakson on November 8th.

Disease avoidance

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder caused by defect in a gene that codes for the protein hemoglobin found inside red blood cells. This protein carries oxygen from the lungs to body tissues and organs, and brings carbon dioxide back to the lungs.

Sickle cell disease is one of the most common genetic disorders in the United States, affecting one in every 365 African-American children. Life expectancy of people with the disease is shortened to 42 years for males and 48 years for females.

The sickle cell gene is inherited from two unaffected parents who both have the sickle cell trait (AS carriers). If both parents have the trait, the chance of having a child with the disease (SS) is 25%, a normal child (AA) also 25%, and a child with the trait (AS) 50%.

To avoid the disease, a woman with the trait should avoid having a child from a man who is also with the trait. In vitro fertilization procedure is now available.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Freeze thwarts growth."