Give part of rebate to less fortunate

This is the week that the federal tax rebates begin to show up on many tax filers' bank accounts via direct deposit. Oh, we've seen and heard the polls and surveys that state that a surprising percentage of recipients aren't going to run out and splurge on jewelry, electronics, dining out, etc., but are planning on paying existing credit card debt, utilities, gasoline and even add to their investment portfolios. And, now with the cost of basic foods increasing at an alarming rate, many families will put the rebates into their weekly grocery budgets. Wise choices, but certainly NOT what the government and retailers have hoped for.

Well, I have another choice that the fed and retailers would frown upon, donating to charitable organizations. Just as the working class families of America are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with everyday expenses, it is many times more difficult for the needy, homeless, disabled, elderly and unemployed Americans to meet their basic daily needs. I find it depressing that 14 percent of the U.S. homeless are veterans. These "heroes" can't even find a warm, sheltered bed to sleep in at night. And tens of thousands have come home from the current wars wounded and disabled, adding to the already overwhelming numbers of disabled Americans.

I say, let's NOT wait for a disaster to occur, a 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, flooding in the plains, etc., before we offer assistance to the much less fortunate of our brother and sister Americans. I say, let's do it without being solicited by a Hollywood or Rock 'n' Roll celebrity.

I say, let's just do it because it's what a compassionate, giving, and righteous American does!

Alfred N. Godinez

Prairie View