Letters: Readers discuss foreign assistance, the GOP tax plan and charter schools
Strengthen U.S.
Please join me to honor the holiday spirit of giving by contacting our elected senators and representatives with one important message: The best way to continue this giving tradition — and American exceptionalism — is to support a robust U.S. foreign assistance budget.
Accounting for roughly 1 percent of the federal budget, this tiny investment benefits every person on earth. The proposed steep cuts to foreign assistance in the 2018 budget would cripple U.S. humanitarian work in global health and hinder economic stability.
These cuts also would cost lives, leading to increased global conflicts, threatening our national security and creating more health crises.
As an advocate for the humanitarian organization CARE, I urge both Congress and Senate to protect and sustain current 2017 foreign-assistance funding levels for next year. CARE also encourages legislative oversight of any government reorganization or proposed cuts to U.S. Agency for International Development personnel.
Congress must approve a budget that protects lives and maintains our nation’s standing in the world.
Join me in telling Reps. Ron Estes, Lynn Jenkins, Roger Marshall and Kevin Yoder and Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts that this holiday, Americans and millions around the world would be grateful for their support of a robust U.S. foreign assistance budget.
Elysia Chao
Overland Park
Who’s helped?
After several legislative defeats, Republicans are doubling down on their new tax plan, thinking that will please the voters by showing they can accomplish something.
But is cutting taxes on the super rich and increasing the national debt going to help?
Is cutting my Medicare and millions of people’s health care through the Affordable Care Act — a requirement to help mitigate the deficit problem caused by these tax cuts — going to help the Republicans?
Republican strategist Michael Steele suggests concentrating on tax reform or rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. While tax “reform” seems to be a hidden agenda for cutting taxes on super-rich donors to Republican campaigns, infrastructure improvements would require more spending — hardly the time to cut overall tax receipts or shift the burden to the middle class.
Recent elections are going the right direction: Replace lawmakers and administrators bent on messing with our Medicare, harming our access to insurance and flying in the face of their own claims to want to reduce the national debt.
Gordon Elliott
Overland Park
School policy
The members of MORE2 in Kansas City, along with the Metropolitan Congregations United for St. Louis, stand in opposition to the attempt by unconfirmed board of education members to call a closed-door meeting with the intent of removing Margie Vandeven as education commissioner. (Nov. 14, 4A, “School leaders push against efforts to oust commissioner”)
The board is designed to be independent and non-political. Vandeven has worked diligently to gather a team dedicated to moving education in Missouri forward. We support her efforts and deplore this attempt to politicize the board and remove her from office.
Newly appointed board member John T. “Tim” Sumners must continue to balk at Gov. Eric Greitens’ attempts to stack the board with people who will vote to oust Vandeven. He is rightfully concerned with learning more about his role before taking such a drastic step.
Greitens’ duty is to nominate candidates to the board, and that’s it. The state Senate then confirms the appointees. Our senators should be troubled by the governor’s maneuvering behind the scenes.
Let’s be clear: Greitens has one idea to improve Missouri’s schools, and that is to expand charter schools. We urge him to work with our school communities to improve education in Missouri.
Jan Parks
Metro Organization
for Racial and
Economic Equity
Kansas City
Follow the money
The Republicans say they want to lower taxes to increase income for working families. Then why not just lower income taxes for the poor and middle class? Why confuse the issue by lowering taxes on the wealthy and corporations with the hope they will increase wages to the working poor and middle class?
Could it be because the wealthy and corporations make the big campaign contributions?
Ed Stine
Prairie Village
Public, private
Charter schools are public schools. The Star’s editorial board members should know that by now. I suspect they do, but the Nov. 14 editorial “Politics? Strong-arm tactics? Gov. Eric Greitens, at work again” implied otherwise. (13A)
Kirk Farmer
Kansas City
This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss foreign assistance, the GOP tax plan and charter schools."