Readers share their perspectives on the challenges faced by nonprofits assisting those losing SNAP benefits, critique a column about China's litigation influence, and express concern over the lack of checks and balances in today's government, citing examples of perceived governmental overreach and lack of accountability.
Readers share how nonprofits are overwhelmed helping those who are losing SNAP; disagree with a column about China ’s litigating; and ask where are the checks and balances in today’s government. Re: “‘Working but still hungry’: SNAP recipients who are employed face precarious times,” online story.
Enough already. Those of us in the trenches trying to help families navigate these extremely uncertain post-pandemic times are ready to “cry uncle.” We’ve more than doubled our budget through private fundraising while serving five times as many families, meaning we have found ways to be more creative and cost effective.We’ve expanded capacity and added interventions to help families troubleshoot their dire circumstances. We push families to work, to learn a trade, to try harder. We served 2,100 families last year . When I started in 2016, we served 400 families annually. Now families face a cessation of SNAP benefits? That is a $500-$1,000/month hit to the budgets of extremely low-income and largely working families who are already homeless/recovering from homelessness and in our emergency shelter, our supportive housing program, etc.Thousands of families in our broader community will face this reality, as the story noted, and we absolutely do not have room for them in shelter. We cannot sustain a dramatic inflow of even more families with children into the homeless response system. The inn is full and already overflowing. Enough already.Re: “Stop China’s predatory litigation — Congress can address security threat by closing funding loophole," by Dick Armey, Oct. 24 Opinion.Former U.S. Rep. Dick Armey claims that “litigation investment is one of the more recent — but too often overlooked — ways that and other adversaries have tried to influence the American economy and gain a competitive edge.” He gets it wrong. Litigation financing in the U.S. already faces tough oversight. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States screens foreign capital for national security risks, closing the door on the kind of influence Armey imagines. Moreover, China doesn’t need lawsuits to steal American innovation. It does that faster and cheaper through hacking, counterfeiting and forced tech transfers. What Armey calls a threat is actually a lifeline. Litigation funding gives small inventors a fighting chance against corporate giants that infringe, intimidate and outspend. It keeps justice from being auctioned off to the highest bidder.Far from being the villain, litigation funding ensures patent fights are won on merit and not on whose pockets are deeper.When I was in elementary school, my teacher wheeled in a TV to our classroom, so we could watch the historic Watergate hearings. The country was in shock to learn of President Richard Nixon’s clandestine corruption. Back then, the checks and balances worked, and Congress held the president accountable. Today, amazingly, the corruption is completely out in the open. The president is selling his own meme coin, accepted a $400 million jet as a gift from a foreign country and just demolished the East Wing of the White House without congressional approval.Our founders were prescient, anticipating a demagogue, and established the separation of powers to prevent any branch of government from having all control. Congress has abdicated its checks and balances.How about these optics? The president of the United States leaves the country all the way to Asia while the nation he was elected to lead is suffering and struggling with a major government breakdown. What does such action say about his priorities and leadership?The CEO of Cracker Barrel decided to change the new logo back to the iconic logo with the old-timer man after losing millions in stock value in one day. The CEO apologized, saying, “We could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”They were wrong for trying to change it to seem more woke because Cracker Barrel would not feel like the unique old-fashioned, nostalgic place it is without its popular logo.The government is closed down, and people who will suffer most are those who depend on government-funded benefits or paid by the government to protect and serve. Democrats don’t seem to be worried about this, as they continue to get their pay and protection. I ask myself, why is there no negotiation to open the government? I had to think about the negotiation process. Then I thought about a comment from Barbara Bush, “When did compromise become a dirty word?” In my opinion, why doesn’t compromise apply in this situation? To reach a compromise, both negotiating parties have something to give up to get what they want.The Democrats are offering to continue the subsidies in the flawed health care funding that were due to expire. The only thing that the Republicans have to offer is the government is open for business. Does that sound like a negotiation? The Republicans only asked to approve a continuing resolution that maintains the spending status quo. Democrats have proposed and received approval of CRs in the past with the cooperation of the Republicans. Yet, Democrats want to negotiate. Their desire is not negotiation but extortion. For the betterment of the people of the United States, Democrats need to get rid of their Trump Derangement Syndrome. It isn’t working, and their refusal to open our government only hurts the people whose votes they want.
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