I’ve paid into Social Security for over 60 years. Have they used my money wisely?
When I was twenty-eight, our government wanted to put my life, or at least my limbs, in danger to fight in a war the purpose of which I could not understand, and to kill people with whom I had no quarrel.
Now that I am 80, many in our government want to restrict or even eliminate Medicare and Social Security. Military operations, the purpose of which I don’t understand, have been financed by using funds that I have been contributing to since I was eighteen. Where will the money come from to redeem the government bonds in the Social Security Trust Fund?
The most honest, decent and intelligent Republican president in my lifetime, Dwight Eisenhower, said in 1954: “Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history.”
The two presidents who prosecuted the Vietnam War left the stage in disgrace, but Johnson, and even Nixon, had redeeming qualities totally lacking in the current president. He and his party want to pursue policies that will destroy our country. An only slightly better outcome will be that they destroy themselves first.
Tom Kirby-Smith
Greensboro
Wake Tech bond
There are so many reasons to support the Wake Tech bond. As interim president, I’ve quickly learned what an integral role Wake Tech plays in this community. It serves one out of every ten adults in Wake County with higher education and specialized training for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Students rely on Wake Tech to open doors to a brighter future, while employers count on Wake Tech for the skilled workforce they need to succeed and prosper.
As Wake County’s population grows, so does the need for new Wake Tech facilities. Our bond projects will create new opportunities for thousands of students. It will help train more first responders, health care and IT professionals, and hands-on automotive technicians. These are the jobs that make a difference in our community, and enhance the quality of life for all of us.
This bond is a critical investment in our future. The bond will help keep Wake County competitive and our economy strong. I hope you’ll vote yes on the Wake Tech bond.
Dr. William Aiken
Wake Tech Interim President
Electoral votes
If the writer of “Tyranny of the minority,” Oct. 23, actually believes that popular votes should be used in lieu of electoral votes, as a people we only need the votes of a handful of states, primarily the states of New York and California. The founders of this country realized the lunacy of that approach hundreds of years ago.
Harry Richardson
Pittsboro
Act now
Re: “14-year-long oil spill verges on becoming one of worst in US history,” Oct. 23. Read this article and weep. An oil spill triggered by a hurricane in 2004 is deemed unfixable and threatens to keep dumping up to 700 barrels of oil daily into the Gulf of Mexico until 2100. The Trump administration’s response? Throw our coastal resources, including the increasingly hurricane-vulnerable Atlantic coast, open to oil and gas exploitation.
The World Health Organization finds that 7 million die from air pollution each year; fossil fuels cause much of this, especially coal.
America can never be “great again” if we keep investing in ecocide. We need to act now with all our compassion, our intelligence, and our resources to restore the viability of life.
Nancy Corson Carter, PhD
Chapel Hill
Improving healthcare
Citizens are extremely concerned about having good health care for themselves and family. Yet U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, who represents North Carolina’s 6th District, has voted to gut the Affordable Care Act.
What does he offer in its place to make sure the millions of satisfied folks able to obtain coverage under the ACA continue to do so? From Walker’s issue position: “Instead of mandating health insurance, we should focus on market-based solutions — including tort reform and enabling plans to be sold across state lines — which will help bring the cost of health care down without creating additional bureaucracy or increasing the national debt.”
Again, what specifically does he offer other than red herring talking points? Republicans have no actual replacement or improvement legislation for the ACA. Candidate Ryan Watts supports the ACA and will work to enhance it. He has my vote.
Bert Bowe
Pittsboro