Gun permit costs rise

Perhaps you were convinced, as I certainly was, that the state and county budgets were in peril and that drastic cuts in spending and benefits were needed. Perhaps you even felt, as I did, a moral responsibility to cut back on every possible government expenditure, including new equipment. After all, several Georgia counties have increased their tax rates by more than 20 percent to cover shortfalls, and Dougherty County Commissioners have gone to great lengths to avoid increasing taxes, even to the point of unpaid vacations and reduced benefits for employees.

We must have been misled. The Georgia Legislature is in a much better position than we ordinary citizens to know about our local and state economy, and yet they have come down with a new and expensive requirement for weapons carry permits that promises to triple the county