But just like the seniors, when they get the notice that there will be no cost of living increase for that year, the other side of the notice tells them their Medicare deduction will be increased to cover higher cost. Medicare to Social Security equals salaries and benefits to tax revenues. So from Jan. 1, 2018 on, while personnel costs go up, sales tax will remain the same. Just like the seniors if the benefits stay the same but their Medicare portion goes up, there is less left to live on. So while the seniors go into savings, or do without, the city will have even more negative choices, and they are as follows: layoffs, reduced services, reducing the fund balance or higher property taxes. In all the options, they mean some sort of financial pain to someone. In the city’s case, it is the taxpayers. The fact of the matter is when you sign up for Social Security, you signal that you no longer want to grow and expand but rather want to slow down and enjoy your retirement and final years. Well I guess our city fathers have decided that the city no longer wants to, or is able to, grow and prosper. They have decided we can no longer grow or expand. They want us to lie down, roll over and enjoy our last days. Hospice should be notified and advised, because our city’s fathers, those that we gave the privilege to represent us, they have in return done what?
They have given the city and its residents a death sentence! We are now terminal on life support and borrowed time! The DNR form has been signed!
Bruce McLean, Kingston
(Editor’s note: An astute reader pointed out a math error in this letter that unfortunately I, an English major – not that that’s an acceptable excuse – did not catch. One-half of 1 percent of $24 million is $120,000, not $1.2 million. The Kingston Times regrets not checking the math.)
One casualty among many
Having been in the shopping center industry (yes, there is such a thing) for over 40 years, I have seen firsthand the rise of malls, the cannibalization of markets by mall developers and now, sadly, their decline. Hudson Valley Mall going into foreclosure is just one of the causalities of the shifting retail landscape from bricks and mortar to the Internet. Ironically, the Internet has been responsible for declining mall sales which has led to mall closures, just as 50 years ago malls impacted small downtown retailers across the country, forcing many of them out of business.
Malls are categorized by productivity and sales per square foot. The best are rated A, followed by the B and C malls which are most at risk. Major department stores and chain retailers have been forced to evaluate all of their locations with an eye to jettison their poor performers. The loss of Hudson Valley Mall’s Macy’s and JCPenney are examples of such business decisions. Without department stores, which have traditionally been the main customer draws to a mall, the smaller retailers suffer.
Among this gloom there is a silver lining for independent retail store owners such as the wonderful ones we have in Woodstock. Not only do they have a selection of merchandise not found online, but they provide personal, one-to-one customer service which a website cannot do. It’s one thing when an online retail site welcomes you by name as a result of a cookie placed in your computer, but that cannot compare to a warm “hello” and “may I help you” when entering a local shop.
So support your local businesses because they support the entire community.
Paul Kastner, Woodstock
I think that all of Maia Macek’s points about the Irish Cultural Center’s proposed building and site are right on the mark. Why were current zoning laws for that area disregarded? Who pushed the project through the planning process? Why would you want the residents of the block and the surrounding area to put up with the noise of a commercial event space? Doesn’t this type of enterprise belong on Broadway or the East Strand?