By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Gwinnett’s largest taxpayers are firms with multiple locations in the county. Georgia Power Company paid the most taxes in Gwinnett, $4.5 million, followed by Publix with $3.9 million and Wal-Mart with $3.5 million. This is followed by t
he Mall of Georgia, being taxed at $3.2 million.
The largest individual taxpayer is Cisco, with its campus in Lawrenceville taxed at $2.7 million. For the top 35 firms paying taxes, see the chart supplied to us by the office of Richard Steele, our tax collector.
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Some American companies outsource telephone call center jobs to other countries. That’s nothing less than losing jobs for Americans. While it may be cheaper to operate call centers in other countries, still that’s jobs employing people in those countries, not Americans staffing those jobs.
There’s no telling how many companies have moved their customer service offering to overseas locations. While some of those employed in these foreign offices speak English quite well, still anyone calling these sites and getting overseas people on the line can only hope that we can understand their diction…and they understand ours.
It’s another case of saving money, perhaps, but causing problems with the customer. Shame on American companies outsourcing these good jobs. Bring those jobs home!
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Editor Billy Fleming, down in Blakely, Ga., writes about people who believe God is on their side. He says: “The right question is are we on His side?”
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Ever wonder why we call it a “pick-up” truck?
Seems old Henry Ford, who made the first trucks in this shape, shipped these vehicles to his Ford dealers in crates, so that the dealer had to assemble the vehicles using the crates as the beds of the trucks. The new owners had to go the auto dealer to get his new vehicle, hence he had to “pick-up” the truck. That’s what this guy tells me that’s where the name for this vehicle came from!
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New name? We like the way State Senator Brandon Beach approaches the mass transit issue. Speaking before the Gwinnett Rotary Club recently, the senator, whose full-time job is head of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, wants to change MARTA’s name to one which is more expansive, and really tells another story. He wants to call it the
Atlanta Transit Link!
Beach
A new name must also bring new distinction to that transportation line. The system needs to be more broad, and bring in more of Atlanta, which the name implies.
Not only that, but MARTA might some day be more than just heavy train and buses. It might some day provide light rail, say along the perimeter highway around Atlanta. That would be less expensive to build, and with adequate units plus linking with MARTA stations, could provide an alternate source of transportation for a lot of people.
That would suggest a perimeter link, at least from Doraville to Cobb County. And though it may take forever, Gwinnett needs some sort of rail system to connect with the Doraville station. Waiting will only delay the improvement!
All in all, Atlanta just needs more ways to get around in something besides automobiles. We look forward when Atlanta Transit Link might be operable.
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