Volunteers should not

have to pay for honor

Each year, hundreds of St. Joseph citizens raise their hands to volunteer, to assist in raising funds that benefit the community.

Now it seems that many of the volunteers are about to be asked to pay for the privilege of volunteering.

In a recent letter to the News Press, Mr. Steve Holdendried indicated that we need a new law requiring local citizens who volunteer to handle beer, wine or whiskey, pay for licenses before being able to volunteer.

Volunteers work for no money, volunteers should not be subject to some frivolous, feel-good city ordinance.

The whole idea is another way to burden our overworked and understaffed Police Department.

It is an honor to serve our community as a volunteer, without a license.

Ken Beck

St. Joseph

Congress should repeal

stimulus spending

I was surprised by Sen. Claire McCaskill's proposal urging the creation of a Budget Task Force to make recommendations on long-term fiscal issues. It's comforting to know that Missouri's junior senator is seeking solutions to our nation's budget deficit problem.

She cites the U.S. debt of $12 trillion and the continuing need for Congress to raise the debt limit as a major problem facing all Americans. I agree with Sen. McCaskill that federal spending is out of control and that the country cannot sustain spending at this rate without bankrupting the country. Sen. McCaskill's actions are much different than her words.

Sen. McCaskill was not concerned about massive budget deficits when she voted for the $750 billion stimulus bill. The stimulus bill was packed full of wasteful spending projects that failed to stimulate the economy in a meaningful way.

Sen. McCaskill also voted for the Cash for Clunkers bill, which added several billion more to this year's budget deficit.

In the Oct. 16 News-Press, it was reported that "She believed that Congress needs to adopt a special process to deal with long-term fiscal imbalances."

I hope this special process will include repealing part of the stimulus spending scheduled for fiscal years 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Gary Chambers

St. Joseph

'Audit the Fed' bills

need to pass

Have you noticed that our elected officials such as Sen. Claire McCaskill talk about reducing the federal budget deficit but rarely talk about paying off the national debt? (Reference the Oct. 16 News-Press article "McCaskill wants task force to focus on deficit.")

The national debt can never be paid off under the private Federal Reserve System because money is never created for the interest that the Fed continually charges us for printing our money. There is always a shortage of money under our current system. The Treasury Department could bypass the Federal Reserve and print interest free "Treasury Notes."

Our economy is on the path to collapse unless the "Audit the Fed" bills (HR 1207 and S 604) pass. Currently, 303 representatives and 30 senators have cosponsored the bills that would make the Fed transparent and accountable to the people. When the Fed's unethical, thieving banking practices are disclosed, the public will probably rightfully demand it be abolished.

I will be doing a book-signing event at Borders on the North Belt Highway on Saturday, Nov. 14, for my book "Secrets of Our Hidden Controllers Revealed." My book explains more about our banking system problems and why so many of the public's opinions about banking must be changed in order to return our country to the one envisioned by our Founding Fathers.

Larry Flinchpaugh

St. Joseph