Showing the World that Americans Care

When I read the story about the Kitsap volunteers heading to the Bahamas to help with the recovery from Hurricane Dorian (Kitsap Sun, Sept. 4, 2019), I felt proud of our community and country. Volunteer efforts throughout the world show that we care.

The U.S. administration should not be impounding funds for foreign aid that has been appropriated by congress and we should definitely be part of the world’s climate change goals to mitigate global warming. In one very specific way the U.S. can show that we care about the people in the rest of the world is to commit to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund brings together many countries and non-profit groups such as the Gates Foundation to save the lives of about 5 million people per year.

I am hoping that the U.S. Congress can commit to cooperating with other nations in a positive way that shows we care about all people in the world and not just ourselves.

Bill Budd, Port Orchard

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Here's a way to help working families

The recent Associated Press article (“Report: Deficit to exceed $1 T next year” Aug. 22) is hardly encouraging but not too surprising when it's been estimated that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would add $1.9 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years.

This 1,000-plus page 2017 tax bill was crafted behind closed doors and did not receive a public hearing in either chamber before being quickly pushed through in various stages in the middle of the night.

Eighty three percent of the tax cuts are going to the top 1%. And now the U.S. corporate tax revenue is more than $100 billion lower in 2018 because of this tax bill. Our President wants to slash funding for critical programs like SNAP (food stamps), regarding education, etc. to try to make up the difference. The richest 1% of Americans own a whopping 40% of total household wealth and Trump's 2017 tax law is making the wealth divide much worse. Economies depend on consumer spending and that spending comes mostly from the bottom 90%.

In politics, as in life, priorities matter. The Working Families Tax Relief Act would help rectify the destructive path we're on. It would significantly boost income for working families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. 44 million families would benefit and lift 11 million kids above the poverty line. We need the Working Families Tax Relief Act in any upcoming tax legislation.

Donna Munro, Bremerton

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Community waiting on response to Poulsbo shooting

Almost seven weeks ago on July 3, a citizen of Kitsap County, Stonechild Chiefstick, was shot at Muriel Iverson Williams Waterfront Park in Poulsbo amidst crowds gathered to watch fireworks in celebration of our country’s Independence Day. The Kitsap County Incident Response Team (KCIRT) is investigating the shooting. No report or statement has been issued to date.

Given the fear and uncertainty expressed by residents of Kitsap County since the shooting, the Kitsap County Council for Human Rights expresses our support of the Suquamish Tribal Council’s request, published in the August 7, 2019 issue of the Kitsap Sun, that at the “conclusion of the independent commission investigating the incident” the following concerns are adequately and transparently addressed:

— What led the police to use deadly force rather than any of the many non-lethal methods available to a trained and well-equipped police force • What led to the decision to discharge a weapon in a crowd of people, including many families and young children

— Whether law enforcement authorities will make an objective determination about whether to prosecute this shooting.

— What role racial profiling may have played in the incident

The mission of the Kitsap County Council for Human Rights is twofold. First, we are tasked with advising county government and Kitsap County residents on issues related to discrimination, violence and harassment based on race or national origin, religion, age, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, or economic status. Second, we are to promote equitable treatment of all citizens and reduce prejudice through the development of prevention policies, education, resource, referrals, and advocacy.

In our opinion, an adequate and transparent response to the concerns raised by Kitsap County residents and the Suquamish Tribal Council are necessary to promote equitable treatment of all citizens in Kitsap County.

Marcie Mathis, chair, Kitsap County Council for Human Rights

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Climate policy can help the middle class

Which weighs more: a ton of bricks or a ton of CO2?

For those of us who are not scientists, it is hard to understand how a gallon of gas, which weighs about 6 pounds, can create 20 pounds of CO2. So when we drive, or fly, or heat our homes with oil, we are adding CO2 into the thin layer of atmosphere that surrounds our earth. CO2, unlike oxygen, absorbs infrared radiation and then re-emits it. 

That’s why burning fossil fuels is causing a climate crisis.

Moving away from fossil fuels will be difficult and costly. There are policies which make it more equitable, such as a carbon fee and dividend. The people who use the most energy will pay more, and the proceeds will be distributed to all households. Most middle income Americans will come out ahead. H.R. 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, will help us transition to a more liveable future. Let your legislators know that you support climate action.

Join the Global Climate Strike on September 20th! Let your voice be heard.

Marty Bishop, Port Orchard 

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Simple policy would calm nuclear threats

Seventy-four years ago, America became the first and only country to use nuclear weapons against another country, in the bombings of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today, with 15,000 nuclear weapons around the world, many with explosive yields much greater than the two dropped in 1945, the threat of nuclear war remains unacceptably high.

The reality is that a "No First Use" policy for the United States would simply state the U.S. will not initiate a nuclear war.

Donna Moore, Bainbridge Island

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Affordable housing legislation would support struggling families

It’s good to see a detailed Op Ed addressing our pervasive national affordable housing crisis (“Only feds can fix affordable housing crisis”). Matthew Rieger lauds the new bipartisan legislation: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019. I noticed that our very own Sen. Maria Cantwell is one of the eight congressional leaders who introduced it.

Did you know that in the late 1970s, our country had even a modest surplus of affordable housing units for the lowest-income people? Adjusted for inflation, the federal budget for housing assistance programs 50 years ago was nearly three times more than it is today, despite significant growth in the number of low-income renters eligible for housing assistance. But President Trump wants to cut housing assistance even more.

In Trump’s 2017 tax code, $200 billion in tax cuts goes to the top 20% of households. We need to support struggling working families. Thank you, Sen. Maria Cantwell!

Donna Munro, Bremerton

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More Support for Alzheimer’s disease is needed

There are more than 110,000 living with Alzheimer’s disease in our state and more than 348,000 family members and friends acting as unpaid caregivers.

Fellow Washingtonians who joined the more than 1,200 attendees at the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C., said Congress was listening to their explanation of the burden that places on our state and nation.

This advocacy is important to me. As someone who has had a family member with dementia and as support group facilitator of caregivers of those with dementia, I have seen the heavy burden that families carry.

Legislators were asked to increase funding for Alzheimer’s disease research at the National Institutes of Health, as well as fund implementation of the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, which Congress passed into law last year.

Shockingly only 1 percent of Medicare beneficiaries with dementia have received a personal care plan available to them since 2017. Advocates asked members of Congress to co-sponsor the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act, legislation that will give doctors information about how to develop a plan for each of their patients. Planning is vital to helping patients, families and the community to move forward in the best way possible.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the country and ranks as America’s most expensive disease, which costs surpassing $290 billion in 2019. It is only through adequate funding and enacting reforms that we can meet the goal to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025. 

Please join me in urging Rep. Derek Kilmer to continue to invest in policies that address this national public crisis.

Karen Scott, Bremerton

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What do we lose when climate change occurs?

Have you noticed the changes around you? I no longer see moths gathering around porch lights. I have not seen starfish on the rocks at the park. But my greatest loss is the assurance of a safe future for my children because of climate change. It is here, and it is caused by burning fossil fuels.

Two acts in Congress will reduce fossil fuel use: The Green New Deal, or GND, and the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, or EICD. 

The GND is a broad, ambitious, aspirational resolution that will serve to move us toward a clean energy economy. The EICD is a carefully crafted bipartisan bill that will put a price on emissions and return the money to households. The economic effects this would have on each region of the US, and on all income quintiles have been studied. The studies show that the bill will not hurt the economy. It is endorsed by many economists. A similar bill in BC has been a success at reducing emissions without hurting the economy.

Climate scientist Dr. Steve Ghan, will discuss this bill at The Salmon Center in Belfair on Feb 28 at 6:30 p.m. It would be a first step in making the Green New Deal a reality. Visit Citizens’ Climate Lobby.org for an explanation of this bill.

Marty Bishop, Port Orchard

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