Letters for Sept. 29, 2024

Help those who refuse to help themselves to leave

Steve Berde asks in a letter to the editor (“What would you do differently?,” Sept. 18) what conservatives would do differently to reduce homelessness. I can’t answer for others, but here is what I would do.

First, quit subsidizing it; and by that, I mean encouraging people to become or remain homeless by providing shelter and amenities with no restrictions. This allows people to remain homeless for years and use drugs and alcohol while doing nothing productive with their lives. It also encourages young people to give it a try. This inevitably leads them down the path to addiction.

If we want to get serious about our homeless crisis, we need to establish some rigid rules: nobody is allowed entry to any shelter while under the influence of or carrying any drugs or alcohol. Further, every able-bodied person allowed into a shelter or provided food and clothing must provide 30 hours per week of community service such as picking up other homeless people’s trash, weeding public green areas, scrubbing off graffiti, etc.

This will have the twofold result of causing those who refuse to help themselves and society to leave while reducing the exposure of our youth to drugs and criminals.

There is a truism that states “If you want more of something, subsidize it. If you want less, tax it.” I have lived downtown for 25 years, see it every day, and speak with homeless people often. Many admit they are here because they were driven out of other towns by the above recommendations.

Hal Dixon

Spokane

We need a solution

After the recent uproar at a meeting downtown, a landslide vote to outlaw homeless camps and general public displeasure with the status quo, what will it take for our local government to understand that its No. 1 priority is to get the homeless off the streets?

The emphasis here is, “off the streets.” Sue Lani Madsen’s recent Spokesman column (“Homelessness is not an identity,” Sept. 5) featured Robert Marbut’s well-researched conclusion that the solution to homelessness is to treat those involved clinically. It is undeniably true. But how do we actually do that?

I have long connected the closure of mental hospitals (Thank you Ronald Reagan) to our current problems. But the main issue is our inability to force people into treatment. In a culture where we somehow have concluded that we must not force anyone to do anything, no matter how destructive, this is the major barrier.

May I suggest the solution is to first of all be allowed to force people on the street in destructive patterns to get help. We used to do that. We then need to create a facility where everyone must go who is unwilling to attend the many treatment options available. If this looks like incarceration, so be it. If the county had proposed such a facility rather than a “new jail” in the last election, I think it would have passed. Why not call the location something like the Place of Help and Health?

My property taxes have gone up another $1,000 this year. Enough excuses. Let’s get serious about solving this interminable problem.

James Becker

Spokane

Ferguson has the right attitude to protect Washington

Regarding the debate between Washington gubernatorial candidates Dave Reichert and Bob Ferguson. I was shocked at Mr. Reichert’s attitude. His rhetoric sounded like Chicken Little – with “the sky is falling” threat of fear. He said that Washington state was in a terrible state due to the “poor choices” that were made from previous administrations.

I don’t know all the details of federal vs. state moneys, but has he not seen the progress in Spokane? How about our river’s waters being cleaned up, roads paved, Riverfront Park renovated, the beautiful Post Street bridge finished, wonderful new libraries that are high tech and so educational. The new Flett and Yasuhara Middle School honoring well-deserved teachers.

The other issue is about a woman’s right to choose. Reichert says he will “enforce the law,” but he admitted that he’s against abortion – read between the lines, please.

I encourage our young women to ask their mothers and grandmothers to tell them what it was like when it was illegal. I know my aunt had three backstreet abortions in San Francisco in the ’ 30s –she survived but was never able to have children after that. Ladies, birth control is not 100% effective, and if you have a mistake, do you want the right to choose?

Please vote for Bob Ferguson. He holds powerful special interests accountable when they don’t play by the rules, defends our civil rights, protects Washington’s environment and wildlife, and stands up for working families and the most vulnerable in our state.

Mary Naber

Spokane

Lucky to have Ferguson

It’s complicated, this modern American life. I binge science lectures and podcasts, wander Google Scholar, and gorge on humanities (history and social studies for context) to keep up. It’s comforting to know smart people are working out complex problems and innovative solutions for today. And tomorrow if we’re lucky.

I’m feeling lucky about Bob Ferguson for governor because Bob is smart, an internationally ranked chess champion, who could have a corner office in a prestigious law firm anywhere. But Bob has a penchant for public service. Double lucky!

Ferguson’s record defending taxpayers of Washington is a brag board of consumer protection and financial recovery from corporations defrauding and price-gouging residents. He negotiated a better opioid settlement for Washington communities to address the crisis and support law enforcement.

Ferguson is a tireless advocate for women and children, veterans and military families, environmental and public health, and public safety. Ferguson is on our side.

I hate to lose a sharp attorney general currently producing curative rain on a world inflamed with injustice, but Ferguson has earned my trust to manage all the moving parts of governing. Intelligence is vital for the highest office in Washington state, and I’ll bet on Bob’s brains any day.

It’s refreshingly easy to vote for Democrats top to bottom over Republican plans for tax shelters for unpatriotic tax evaders, state-run child trafficking and plans to kill family farms.

Janet Marugg

Clarkston

Support Molly Marshall

We support Molly Marshall for County Commissioner District 5 in the upcoming election. Molly has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities by leading aircrews at Fairchild before retiring from the Washington Air National Guard as a lieutenant colonel. Her concern for safety and the long-neglected infrastructure of our neighborhoods predates even the heightened dangers and inadequacies presented by increased wildfire danger.

Molly recognizes that developments comprised of thousands of single-family homes were allowed permitting in the Latah Valley without the benefit of supporting adequate infrastructure, such as police, fire and roads required for citizen safety. Molly was co-founder of Citizen’s for Latah Valley calling for a moratorium on further indiscriminate development in Latah Valley until comprehensive planning and funding resources can be determined to ensure neighborhood safety and practical enjoyment for our community.

On the other hand, her opponent, a career politician, withheld information on toxic contamination sourced from the airport, where he sits on the board, and which dangerously affected community water supplies. Refusing the state’s cleanup orders, he faces a recall petition filed by the Clean Water Accountability Coalition.

Could your neighborhood be next to be irretrievably impacted by wildfire or poisoned groundwater? Join us in protecting our neighborhoods by supporting Molly Marshall County Commissioner District 5.

Richard and Linda Kayne

Spokane