Letters for Friday, March 27

Pull off the rose-colored glasses

Is Suzanne Rebro (“Baumgartner supports election integrity,” March 25) living on the same planet that I am?

Maybe this is an “alternate” Baumgartner reality where the “Christians” think it’s OK to bomb people and grab – innocent until proven guilty – folks off the streets?

In her universe most U.S. citizens already have IDs? Does that mean the homeless, mentally ill folks and retired people who have lost their spouses and loved ones and can’t find their paperwork? Those just don’t exist in her universe? How many folks does she know who may or may not have proof of citizenship?

Maybe she knows that “most people” can afford $40 and go to the driver’s license office and purchase a new license or has she gone down to the office lately and realized that there’s really a need to have a computer or smartphone to navigate the system?

I am so sorry for her that her blinders may eventually come off and the rose-colored glasses that the MAGA folks are lying about will help her see the reality of what the world is and it’s not a pretty sight.

Dear Suzanne, please go out and work in a food bank and/or shelter and see what is really happening to us. May God bless her and the blind who will not see.

Mary Naber

Spokane

Progressive tax system best for society

The wealthy have benefited the most from society, but folks such as Steve Sontag (“Millionaires should get ready to move,” March 20) think they should get a break. What’s needed is a progressive tax system, where those who can pay more.

ITEP, 7th Edition, “In 41 states, high-income families are taxed at lower rates than everyone else. … Similarly, 42 states tax the top one percent at a lower rate than the bottom 20 percent, while 46 states tax the top one percent less than the middle 60 percent of earners.”

“In 35 states, low-income families are taxed at higher rates than everyone else despite having the least ability to pay. Six states plus D.C., on the other hand, tax low-income families at lower rates.”

One of the arguments Republicans have made for a long time is the false claim that income tax is the only type of tax people pay. It’s not true and taxes take a large chunk out of working-class disposable income while barely denting that of the upper class. Washington having taxes that bear heavily on the poor and middle class while not having an income tax helps that unfairness. The millionaires tax is one way of changing things.

Republicans continue to push the proven failure of tinkle-on economics. It has caused the greatest accumulation of wealth by the 1% in history and they’re happy to recreate the feudal system. Taxes need to be progressive and capital gains taxes need to go back to what they were the last time we had a budget surplus, under the Clinton administration.

David Teich

Spokane Valley

98% survival rate changes the dam debate

We’ve all heard it: “Fish can’t survive dam turbines.”

That claim has been repeated for years, and it’s been a central argument against the lower Snake River dams.

But something important has changed.

At Ice Harbor Dam – one of the four lower Snake River dams – a new generation of turbines is delivering fish survival rates of about 98% during passage. These turbines are specifically designed to reduce pressure changes, eliminate injury points and move fish through more safely.

In plain terms: Fish are getting through at rates comparable to a free-flowing river.

That’s not a small improvement. It’s a meaningful shift.

Because if turbine passage is no longer a major source of fish mortality, it raises a bigger question: What happens to one of the primary arguments against these dams?

These are the kinds of solutions people say they want: real improvements that support fish and reliable, affordable energy for communities across Eastern Washington.

We should always push for better outcomes. But we should also be willing to recognize when progress changes the equation.

If these results hold and expand across the system, this isn’t just an upgrade.

It’s a gamechanger.

Chelsea Martin

Spokane Valley