Letters to the Editor

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Federal budget proposal would hurt the poor

Recently, there has been much debate concerning the Republican budget proposal. If this would pass, it would affect millions of the poor, middle class and disabled. I worked in a nursing home with 80 beds, and approximately

80 percent of the residents relied upon Medicaid to help pay their costs. With Medicaid, you must give up everything you have worked so hard for in order to qualify.

I have seen many World War II veterans and Korean War veterans who have put their lives on the line for our freedom. We have many of our fellow Americans fighting an unjust war in the Middle East, which is spending more money than most of us can even fathom. I call this war unjust because we were told it was because of weapons of mass destruction, but no such weapons have been found since the war began. Yet almost 2,000 of our young men and women have fought and died, and many more have served bravely because our nation has asked them to.

I think that we need to begin looking at our own domestic problems and stop these vital cuts that the Republican budget proposes to carry through with. Do we want to tell our older generation that they must decide between eating or paying rent instead of getting medication that is vital to their health?

There are many other cuts that have been proposed, and I encourage everyone that has a heart of compassion to look at these cuts and determine where our nation’s priorities really are. Do we value our freedom for the upper class, but let the poor, old and disabled fend for themselves?

Let’s put aside the partisan politics of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” Let’s look back at the United States, and put our values back into action to help our poor, elderly and disabled.

-A. Joel Brown, Muncie, Ind.

Federal programs that help the poor, elderly and middle class could be cut

The Republican federal budget proposal would slash $35 billion to $50 billion from vital national services for the poor and middle class, including:

• Medicaid—the last resort health care option for millions of the young, elderly, poor and disabled,

• Student loans—the only way millions of Americans can afford a higher education,

• Food stamps—a highly efficient government program that helps feed more than 20 million families every month,

• Pension guarantee and unemployment insurance programs—crucial safety nets for workers who lose their job or pension benefits.

Is this what we should be supporting as Catholics? I don’t think it is. Catholics give more to the poor than any other non-governmental group. We teach compassion and rights of all people. I hope all Catholics stand against these cuts.

-Michelle Leonard, Indianapolis