North Carolina should value “food security” as much as national security

After the November elections, Congress will vote on the Farm Bill and the final versions of the fiscal year 2019 budget and spending bills. The Farm Bill contains support for nutrition programs including the highly efficient and effective Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps keep food on the table for people who are struggling financially.

This election season provides a good opportunity for voters to ask candidates what they are doing to reduce poverty and increase opportunity? If the candidate responds with some version of “we can’t afford anti-poverty programs,” ask them how much is being spent on the enrichment of military contractors compared to what’s spent on SNAP?

The candidates probably won’t know, so be ready to provide the answer. Visit www.nationalpriorities.org for an income tax “receipt” that shows where your tax dollars go. In 2017, the average North Carolinian paid $11,604 in federal taxes, of which $280 went to SNAP and $1,279 went to military contractors.

We are often cowed into unquestioning support for high military budgets with the mere words “national security.” It’s time we demand of our representatives that the federal budget prioritize “food security.”

Betsy Crites

Durham

Modern doublespeak

Since thugs destroying public property are now designated heroes and crowds of unruly people who scream at elected officials and block streets can no longer be called mobs, it appears that George Orwell’s novel “1984” is coming to fruition. Doublespeak is being disseminated regularly by the Ministry of Truth (mainstream media).

Get ready to observe more and more additions to the Newspeak Dictionary, where hundreds of words were destroyed regularly so that they could not be used by people to think in a rational manner. My humble advice to all reasonable folks is to follow the old observation about art (I’m not sure what art is, but I know it when I see it) and recognize vandalism and mob rule when you see it. Don’t be misled by attempts to put perfume on those pigs.

Paul Duffy

Rocky Mount

No straws, please

I am a star rank scout in troop 226 of Apex. I am writing this letter to you to discuss the matter of pollution, specifically plastic. Plastic is a huge problem for our planet.

Many animals have died because of plastic, and beaches have been covered in plastic trash that has been discarded into the ocean. Sometimes, the BPA (the chemical Bisphenol A) in the plastic can get into the water and put harmful chemicals in our body that could potentially cause cancer. More often, however, animals consume it and are found dead with an assortment of bottle caps and plastic sandwich bags in their stomachs. Plastic is also terrible for the environment. The piece of plastic that you may have thrown away today or yesterday will take one thousand years to degrade.

Eliminating plastic completely is an almost impossible task, but we can all try to minimize the amount we use. Ask for no straw with your drink at a restaurant, or don’t throw away your plastic bottle and instead recycle it. It would make our world a much better place.

Ethan Williams

Holly Springs

Individual laws

The proposed amendments, whether or not you agree with any or all of them, should more properly be individual laws, not changes to the constitution.

Dana Mochel

Carrboro

Climate change

Regarding “NC community leaders share concern for climate change” (Oct. 8), most of those surveyed have accepted that climate change is real and that more flooding and water pollution like that experienced with hurricanes Matthew and Florence is inevitable. Suggestions of ways to adapt to this reality included increased distance between homes and waterways, more wind and solar energy production to limit CO2 emission, a network of flood controls, and relocation of people.

All of the above will require wise investment in people and infrastructure. So far, the federal government has provided $211 million in individual post-disaster assistance, flood insurance claims, and low-interest loans. Much more funding will be required in the months and years to come.

For perspective, in 2016 the IRS collected $73.3 billion in individual and corporate income taxes from North Carolina. While many in our state are suffering from the ravages of hurricane Florence, billions of public funds that came from their pockets was sent to Washington and squandered on needless wars and military operations overseas.

Joe Burton

Raleigh