Letters for June 11, 2023

Relieve student debt by cutting military dollars

On May 30, The Spokesman-Review published a statement by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers which she attributed to her father, “Seems like everyone’s anxious to know when the next free thing is going to be handed to them.” In my letter, I seek to examine this quote relative to how it applies to military contractors and to student-loan borrowers.

There are five prominent defense contractors who are “handed” billion dollar contracts from the defense budget (i.e., the U.S. taxpayer) with minimal oversight and little competitive bidding (CBS News, May 21). Even if you agree with how our tax dollars are “handed” out for “defense,” let’s examine one weapon in particular: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

According to retired Air Force Lt. Chris Bogdan, the projected cost of this weapon is $1.3 trillion. When you divide this figure by $20,000 (the amount of student loan forgiveness proposed by President Biden) this obscene figure would provide relief for 65,000,000 students if spent for education instead of war.

Ultimately, war results from a failure of the human imagination. Education provides curiosity to explore what is possible. Let’s “hand to” our young people a future where they can imagine a less violent world. Peace is precious!

Dr. Paul Grove

Spokane

GOP theatrics

The chaos-dependent GOP once again vies for political gain by dragging the nation to the brink of disaster in the “debt” ceiling theatrical production – costing all Americans in dollars, peace of mind and a stable government. They attribute their parties shortcomings, mistakes and misfortunes on the rest of us in order to protect their political seats.

Instead of the critical issues of gun violence killing children and families on a regular basis: Every year, 19,000 children and teens are shot and killed or wounded, and approximately 3 million are exposed to gun violence.

To cover this unfathomable destruction of human life in the disguise of Second Amendment rights is a pathetic, short-sighted view of the Constitution.

To continually attempt to cut programs that support families, we have the statistic from the Annie E. Casey foundation that 11 million kids in the U.S. face food insecurity.

The U.S. has the highest infant and maternal mortality rates.

Three reasons are cited for the disparities that make the United States an outlier compared with other high-income countries: unaffordable coverage, high costs and limited access to effective primary care to better prevent and manage chronic health conditions.

The number of people who line our streets due to loss of income, affordable housing, mental illness, addiction, loss of meaning and purpose in their lives is more than just a societal vulgarity. It is a commentary on our failures.

So, when are our elected officials going to do some real work?

Elizabeth Cobbs

Spokane

What will GOP do with our money?

Now that the debt ceiling package is a done deal, we are seeing the true evil of the GOP, of which Cathy McMorris Rodgers is a part.

Kevin McCarthy has just announced that he will appoint a commission to look at mandatory spending, meaning he is targeting Social Security and Medicare.

We, as American taxpayers, have paid into these programs all of our working lives. That is our money! I’d like to know what the GOP wants to do with our money, if not to use it for Social Security. Do they want to finance more income tax cuts for themselves? And why is our representative not standing up for us? Oh that’s right, she voted for this bill.

Per the Center for American Progress, “If not for the Bush tax cuts and their extensions – as well as the Trump tax cuts – revenues would be on track to keep pace with spending indefinitely, and the debt ratio would be declining.” But it seems that the GOP and our representative are more interested in making themselves richer. I hope they will be prepared for the increase in homeless people, this could potentially cause. Not that they care.

Carrie Cardenas

Spokane

Property tax valuations should be fair

Pend Oreille County Assessor’s Office will be mailing out property valuations for tax year 2024. Review the information and compare it with your property information (improvements and land value) on the assessor’s website. If you disagree with the changes (i.e., Marshall Swift class code, unfinished building to finished, structure/land square footage is wrong, etc.), it’s important for you to respond.

Contact the Assessor’s Office, have witnesses and document date/time/in-person or phone/employee’s name/describe the discussion and behavior as factually accurate as possible, which is crucial if you file an appeal to the county Board of Equalization. Ask witnesses to help you file, take pictures and testify.

Ask what appraisal methods were used to determine a fair value? Did Appraiser Trainee meet minimum qualifications according to RCW 36.21.015?

Request to review an Appraiser’s Manual, and Marshall and Swift Valuation Service Cost Manual. Explain why you disagree and include pictures of interior/exterior, square footage of structure/land, faulty foundation and unfinished areas. If you are familiar with the assessor or appraiser’s structure or land, use that as an example of why your property is overvalued.

Assist and protect seniors and vulnerable persons with disabilities in understanding the property valuation process/method and advocate if their property is overvalued.

If you disagree with Assessor’s Office and BOE, file an appeal to Washington State Tax Board of Appeals. It’s valuable information for WSTBA to be made aware of possible violations of ethics, professional practices, laws and/or regulations.

Gloria Wells

Newport

Stonewalled by Spokane Humane Society

I am writing to share my recent experience adopting from Spokane Humane Society. I am 34, I recently bought my home, and decided I wanted to get a companion.

The conversations with the Humane Society were cordial but left me feeling deceived. When I called for an appointment, I had a list of 10 dogs I was interested in meeting. I scheduled an appointment for 3 p.m. and confirmed that would be enough time before close. I was only able to meet three dogs before 6 p.m.

I had my heart set on Athena. I asked about her when I arrived and was told she requires a special handler, Amy. I found that odd. Their website lists the dogs available for adoption. You can see a bio with each dog’s special needs, and many are labeled management approval. To this day, Athena is not labeled management approval. But I was told Athena is treated as such so I could only see her when Amy is on duty.

When I identified a dog to adopt, I drove to the shelter to schedule an appointment for the following day. I arrived on time with money, leash and collar as asked. At that point, they reneged and said this dog is also management approval, although there were no issues the two days prior. They did not call me beforehand to have a discussion.

There are other shelters, and breeders, I can work with. I do not need the Humane Society’s approval.

Logan Stanton

Spokane

Where is I-1693?

Extremely disturbing to hear the news of the shooting death in Reardan of Shadrach Hall-Turner, (“Teen sentenced for reckless shooting,” May 31). And even more disturbing, the sentence of two and a half years in detention. Two and a half years is beyond outrageous. More like 10 years for involuntary manslaughter would be justice. For a young man to lose his life at such a young age is unimaginable. One should ask: where is I-1693? I-1693 stops all shootings by way of unsecured firearms by children. Shooting deaths from an unsecured firearm is felony in Washington. I guess I-1693 does not apply in Lincoln County. Maybe what Washington needs is more gun laws since the ones on the books don’t seem to work!

Alan Skinner

Spokane

Looking in the mirror

I have a good friend who, years ago, was very overweight and grew increasingly tired of looking in the mirror, finally realizing he had to take action. He went through an operation which resulted in him losing all his extra pounds. As an added benefit, his blood pressure dropped dramatically and his diabetes became controllable. He now leads a healthy, active life.

Looking in the mirror is relevant to what we continually need to do in our country. We shouldn’t be afraid to confront who we are and who we have been if we truly want to become a stronger country and reach our potential. Recent actions taken by legislators in many states to restrict taking a close look at who we are as a nation and who we have been are convenient roadblocks to us becoming a more healthy nation; the nation we profess to be.

Having the guts to look in the mirror and right past wrongs are what’s needed in order for our country reach its potential to be a great nation, as opposed to attempt being great again.

Howie King

Spokane