Letters to the editor for March 26

Support state funding for conservation projects

Black Hills Audubon, with approximately 1,300 members spanning the 22nd and 35th legislative districts, and parts of others, is deeply engaged in conservation and environmental education. Robust funding for conservation projects in the state’s capital budget would help protect and restore wildlife habitat, while bringing the joys and educational values of wildlife watching to both adults and children. Such activities are a major factor in the quality of life of many Washingtonians.

State conservation spending has been key to making our communities safer, cleaner, and healthier places to live. In Washington state, investments in outdoor recreation and habitat protection support $26.5 billion in annual expenditures and roughly 264,000 jobs, according to Earth Economics.

While wildlife observation and walking, hiking, and travel in the natural world are only one driver of this economic activity, the community building and mental health benefits that stem from immersion in the natural world are unquestionable. There’s a good reason so many more people have taken up birding and walks in natural areas during the COVID pandemic.

Our area is home to important restoration projects funded by the state, including the Kennedy Creek floodplain, as well as the boardwalk replacement at the McLane Natural Area. These are just two examples of the projects our state funds to preserve our wildlife habitat and public access. These efforts are critical in a time when more and more Washingtonians are discovering the joys and health benefits of outdoor recreation.

Samuel Merrill, Olympia, Conservation Committee Chair, Black Hills Audubon

Permanent tax credits needed to help working families

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act 2021, passed by Congress and signed by President Biden, some of you have seen your checking account “miraculously grow” or have received your stimulus check directly in the mail. Others have had unemployment extended. State, local and tribal governments as well as schools and child care programs have received grants. There is more federal aid for the pandemic response both in our country and globally! Because we know this pandemic is not over until it is over for all!

This act will improve the lives of so many people. But perhaps the most significant step in helping to lift working families and their children from poverty is the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). These two key changes to the tax code will help cut child poverty in half in the U.S. But as stated in the bill, they are temporary. I agree with Rob Richards’ letter in The Olympian, March 24, which spelled out how financially helpful these programs are. To truly affect the lives of our working low-income citizens, we must make these extensions to the EITC and CTC permanent.

I thank Sen. Murray, Sen. Cantwell and Rep, Strickland for voting to pass this act, but their job is not done. They must make these changes a permanent part of our tax law so working families do not slip back into poverty. Please let them know.

Helen Henry, Olympia

Balance wealth without ‘going all the way’

In the ancient Roman democracy, there were two economic classes: Roman aristocrats (patricians) owned land, and the lower class plebians largely did not, but wanted to.

In America, the divide is not so much over land as over wealth and income. This divide touches such issues as interest rates, salaries and wages, rents, unionization, social welfare benefits, and taxes.

The Roman historian Livy wrote, “Political decisions always have been and always will be influenced by party spirit and concern for property.” Livy reported that aristocrats suppressed the plebians because they thought the commoners had a goal to expropriate their lands entirely. Republicans seem to express a similar fear about theft of their wealth by socialist progressives today.

Re-balancing of wealth and income does not have to “go all the way.” It never did in Rome. It can be done reasonably, and perhaps by the states, so as to avoid one rigid national policy for all.

Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross, Utah, Olympia investor