Letters to the editor for Oct. 28

Biden gets blamed

Recent political ads on TV have been blaming Biden for the inflation problem that we are experiencing. However both Trump and Biden approved COVID aid packages that have been partly responsible for higher prices.

In addition, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, which cut corporate income taxes from 35% to 21%, did little to help middle- and low-income Americans, but greatly benefited upper-income Americans who collect most of the dividends corporations pay. Those tax cuts not only led to more spending, but resulting deficits of over $500 billion have increased the size of our national debt.

In recent efforts to buy a car, I have found there are shortages and consequently higher prices and a wait. There are supply chain disruptions and automakers can’t get the computer chips they need to make more cars. Shortages like these are more likely due at least in part to the “Great Resignation” of 2020-21, when many people retired or quit work either to be with the kids as schools closed or out of an effort to avoid COVID.

The Ukraine War has caused grain shortages around the world, driving up food prices both abroad and here as other nations rushed to buy more American grain. Can these problems and OPEC’s 2-million-barrel-a-day cut in production be blamed entirely on Biden? I’m skeptical.

Finally, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, originally a Trump appointee, failed to recognize growing inflation last year.

Brian LeTourneau, Olympia

Correcting Editorial errors

I was bewildered by the inaccuracies of your endorsement article for the 35th Legislative District senate seat.

First, you misrepresented Julianne’s location. She lives in unincorporated Shelton. She has been forthcoming about being raised in Massachusetts, then living in California, before making rural Mason County her home.

I am a third-generation Californian and the child of a third-generation Washingtonian. Most everyone in this region arrived recently from somewhere else, including the candidate you chose to endorse. Yet only Julianne has earned the support of both Squaxin Island and Skokomish Nations, the only true locals of this district.

However most egregiously, you distorted her view on clearcut logging. Her proposals would A) bring all of Mason County together to collaborate on a sensible transition to climate-smart regenerative forestry; B) provide more good-paying jobs to local people converting sickly, unsustainable tree plantations into biodiverse, healthy natural forest; C) ensure better-quality timber for the wood products industry, D) promote the natural carbon sequestration cycle that can store 3 times more carbon per hectare than the Amazon rainforest; and E) provide more climate change resilience for our community.

None of The Olympian’s endorsement interviewers live in the 35th LD. It is highly presumptuous of you to speak about what would be best for those of us who actually live here. What we are “heavily dependent on” is NOT logging nor the forest products industry but rather clean air, clean water, and a stable climate — necessary components for a stable economy and liveable future for all.

Zephyr Elise, Shelton

Vote Independent

Before I was elected to represent Olympia in the 3rd Congressional District, I was the Clark County Auditor and twice the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State.

That is why I have a particular interest in this statewide office and supporting the independent candidate, Julie Anderson. She has served nine years as Pierce County Auditor and is the recipient of numerous awards and recognition for her many accomplishments overseeing elections.

But there is another reason. We should make the state’s top election official non-partisan. Since 2020, this statewide office has become highly politicized in some states, thus threatening the sanctity of our election system. Whoever is elected should not be beholden to a political base that may undermine election outcomes but to an electorate to ensure trust and confidence in certifying election results.

Both candidates for this office are credible, but it’s time to set a precedent for making this office independent — an example for other states across America’s heartland.

Don Bonker, Bainbridge Island