Letter for May 26

Local federal employees also affected by DOGE cuts

My heart broke, again, while reading another article about the depression, stress, death and suicide caused by the random, scattershot vengeance being taken against “Big Government” in the firing of federal employees. The new administration aims to “save money” with these broad-brush layoffs.

But the mean-spirited heartlessness of these layoffs can be measured not in dollars but in plans thwarted, hopes for the future dashed and lives ruined. Federal employees in our own area have been impacted–in research, in public safety, in resource management (WSU, Spokane County, Hanford, too many to list).

I am disgusted by the disregard and lack of respect the Trump administration has for our government’s public servants. They chose public service over higher-paying jobs in the public sector because of their desire to serve their fellow Americans. They are not the enemy. One line in the article moved me to write this letter. An NIH employee said, “Federal workers aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. We’re real people who are hurting and, in the worst cases, dying. Why don’t people out there see that? Why doesn’t anyone care?”

My response: We do see it. We do care. We phone and email our representatives in Congress regularly. We speak out on your behalf. We honor your work and bemoan your loss of it. Likely things won’t change until the next election. But there will be change. In the meantime, I’ll support and respect all public servants. Because I know they work for me.

Scarlett Hepworth

Spokane