Americans aren’t pariahs

Millions of Americans live in fear of losing their jobs, their healthcare, their citizenship, their nursing homes placement and their stewardship over their children’s education. It is hard to imagine that any voter expected that their actions could result in the denial of these rights and services. But if you think you won’t be affected by these and other cuts, think again. 

Case in point- the deliberations of the federal budget regarding Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance program. Eighty million Americans depend on these services. These draconian measures will directly affect health care for the elderly, pregnant women, children, low-income citizens and people with disabilities. But these reductions will affect everyone.

Health care needs do not disappear because of funding cuts. The costs of care are simply shifted to all of us. Providers cannot afford to absorb all of the costs for uncompensated care. If someone cannot pay their doctor or hospital bills, those costs will simply be shifted to all other payers- both public and private. If care is delayed, it will eventually result in care provided in higher cost settings- all for want of primary care coverage. And we will all pay in the form of higher insurance and medical bills as well as paying increased state and local taxes.

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Care for our most vulnerable citizens should not be optional. Instead, it should be considered an obligation and a reflection of our values as a nation. While Elon Musk who receives $ 8 million a day in federal contracts, has said that anyone receiving federal assistance is a pariah, it is fair to ask who is the pariah here. He calls those in need pariahs, I call them fellow Americans.

Call your congressional offices and make your voice heard.

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Kathy Sgambati, Carbondale

Jon Banks a ‘sensible and straightforward’ voice for city residents

Jon Banks has stepped up as a candidate for Glenwood’s city council. This presents us with the increasingly rare opportunity to vote for an intelligent, principled, considerate, and even-keeled person of integrity to help lead our community into a desirable future. 

Jon’s focus is sensible and straightforward. If a project enhances our town, serves our residents, elevates the future of our children and grandchildren, then let’s work together to bring it to reality.

Please vote for a better Glenwood. Vote for Jon Banks.

Jan Krische, Glenwood Springs

Trump’s executive order on English as the official language of the USA

The United States has a robust legal framework for language access. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the foundation of this framework. Past Executive Orders have expanded upon these specific protections and obligations by connecting language to nationality, defining language discrimination as a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Diversity is one of the hallmarks of the United States of America. At our core we are a nation of immigrants, with Americans coming from every other nation of the world, which means Americans also speak almost any language found across the world. Despite a tradition of English as the primary language, the nation does not legally recognize the primacy of any language, until the petty despots at the White House issued their callous and short-sighted executive order on March 1st of this year. 

As past statements and initiatives championed by this administration would suggest, this administration considers immigrants a blight on American society and ignores the rich cultural and linguistic history that immigrants have contributed to our nation. This order flies in the face of these cultural and linguistic contributions as well as the very fabric of our United States. Our children and our society as a whole are only enriched by the contributions of our multicultural ancestors, past and present. This order will only give further credence to the racist and xenophobes within our society that wish to further demonize and marginalize vulnerable communities. 

The spirit and cruel nature of the Executive Order notwithstanding, for as much as the current administration views themselves as above the law and able to disregard the legislative and the judicial branch, the issue of English language being the official language has already been settled by both branches and this demagoguery does not nullify established precedent without first addressing it at these levels of governance.

Jen Quevedo, New Castle