Letters to the editor for June 19
Medicare and Medicaid serve the people
Secure domestic tranquility, promote general welfare. . .
These words from the preamble of the U.S. Constitution tell us where those who formed our democracy promised to use our tax dollars.
So let’s do just that. The People’s money is best used to provide equity and access to basic human needs: food, shelter, health care, education, emergency response — all considered soft infrastructure.
The things that cost the most — food, clothing, health care, child care, housing — are the very areas the GOP refuses to support.
It’s our tax money!
Write and call your federal representatives and senators.
Demand that Social Security be funded. Raise the cap to $400,000. Fully find the Affordable Care Act. Fully find Medicare and Medicaid, including prescription drugs and mental health.
Why? Without this priority, we’ll see more and more living on the streets. Street people? They’re getting older and older. Begging for help. Every religion teaches us to feed, clothe and shelter. So does our constitutional history.
Demand that for every dollar spent on war and defense that $1 be spent on health care and education.
Liza R. Rognas, Olympia
Voting Democrat?
Regarding the letter to the editor, “Please don’t vote Republican,” in The Olympian June 9.
Mr. Shanewise asked us to not vote Republican. He blamed Republicans for every societal ill, from climate change to gun violence to the destruction of our democracy.
Whether we’re talking state or federal level, the last time I checked, Democrats control everything. They control the White House, the Senate and House of Representatives. At the state level we have more of the same. In fact we haven’t elected a Republican as governor since 1981. That’s over 40 years.
And we want to blame Republicans? Under Democrats, inflation is through the roof. Been to a gas pump lately? Immigration is a complete mess, the border is a dumpster fire. Crime is out of control at both the state and federal level. Remember the “summer of love” where cities across our country burned, police cars were fire bombed? Don’t even get me going on homelessness (street people).
Let’s not forget the Democrat Extreme Green Climate Agenda. Democrats are trying to pack windmills and solar panels down our collective throat. We can’t power this country that way. Maybe some day, not today.
One famous definition of insanity is: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So, if you want more of the same, vote Democrat.
Jack T. Moore, Lacey
On the 50th anniversary of Pell Grants, I’m celebrating
On June 23, when the federal Pell Grant program turns 50, I’ll be celebrating what this program has meant to me and the approximately 80 million Americans who have been able to access post-secondary education opportunities through these grants.
Since the 1970s, Pell Grants have enabled low-income students the chance to obtain a post-high school education. Last year, 90,000 Washingtonian students from low-income backgrounds received nearly $360 million in Pell Grants to assist with college expenses.
I was raised by a single mom who, when I was 8 years old, was diagnosed with breast cancer. During the 2008 recession, she lost her job and our house, and we were left with medical debt. Both Pell Grants and the Washington College Grant helped put into reach my degrees from South Puget Sound Community College and Saint Martin’s University. Now, armed with a master’s degree from Columbia University, I am entering the Peace Corps.
The pandemic has pulled the rug out from under students living on low incomes. College enrollment and financial aid applications are down; we are on the cusp of losing a generation of students. Increasing support for the Pell Grant will allow for students to receive additional aid and more students to be eligible, providing those with working-class backgrounds access to post-secondary education.
Pell Grants helped make the dream of college possible for me, and re-investing in this proven program will lead to higher, steadier incomes and secure, fulfilling careers that strengthen our families and our economy.
Kelsey Monaco, Tumwater