Letters for Nov. 11

Idaho is betraying its most vulnerable citizens

I am very dismayed over Gov. Little and Co. proposed permanent budget.

Cuts to essential services, especially Medicaid and services for the incarcerated are a failure both morally and functionally. By extracting $41.6 million from Medicaid, a lifeline for our sickest and poorest citizens, the state betrays the fundamental commitment to human dignity and the preferential option for the poor. A society’s moral leadership is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable, and these cuts inflict harm on those who can least afford it.

Despite these painful reductions, reports project the state will still have a $56.6 million budget deficit. Inflicting suffering through service reductions and pay cuts is pointless if it fails to solve the fiscal problem.

This is an indictment of governance that chooses moral injury without achieving fiscal solvency. I urge our elected officials to abandon this failed approach, uphold democratic accountability to all, and find a solution that is both fiscally sound and morally just.

Arthur Galus

Boise

Feed the hungry

Imagine your world changed for the better. Imagine no person going hungry. Is it possible? Of course it is. We have the capacity to feed everyone.

Let’s start with the neighborhood, Spokane, with the county, etc. The news report from National Public Radio Nov. 7, said the ratio of government SNAP money to private donations is around nine to one. It went on to say, that it is impossible to get enough donations to cover that gap. Is it? That’s the challenge.

How can we give nine times the amount of food and donations right now? What if everyone tripled their efforts? If I gave $10/month, could I give $30? That’s triple. If I shop weekly and set aside $10 each time; that’s $40/month. If I gave nothing before, and now I gave $10/week or $5. Wow! I will let the news guide tell you where to give.

Here are my suggestions: Second Harvest, Caritas, Transitions for Women and Children, Our Place, etc. You do the rest. We can do this for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Let this be your gift.

Karen Contardo

Spokane

Reporting on local news is important

In a recent issue of the Spokesman Review, there was a letter complaining that the Spokesman Review does not provide enough coverage of national news stories. The point of local news outlets, such as the Spokesman, is to educate and inform the local community on local issues. If individuals want national news coverage, there are many news outlets that literally provide 24/7 coverage of national news stories.

The only way that people are educated on local issues, which in fact impact them more than what is going on nationally the majority of the time, is by having strong local news coverage.

In fact, the Spokesman has been doing great coverage of how decisions in Washington, D.C. will actually impact our local community on top of their great coverage of local issues. I for one support the decisions by the editorial team at the Spokesman and hope they keep up the good work. That is why I remain a strong print subscriber and recommend everyone who has the resources to do the same.

Andrew Anderson

Spokane