Letter to the Editor

Your view: Another view

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Dana Horn's letter of Feb. 17 complains vigorously about the cuts to social programs that are included in the new federal budget. I agree that the amounts of the cuts are a problem. I disagree in that I don't think the cuts are large enough.

Horn makes broad, sweeping and unverifiable statements designed to tug at the heart strings - 300,000 "working" families hurt by food stamp cuts. Is it a sadder situation if the family is "working" than if it is not? Low income home energy assistance cuts will mainly hurt families with elderly and disabled. How could you possibly know this? Three additional school programs that offer, among other things, math, science and foreign languages are being devastated. Gee,I thought math and science were everyday school classes and it would be interesting to have students speak English correctly.

Horn concludes by stating "the measure of a great society is how well we take care of our most vulnerable members." No, it is not. The measure of a great society is how much freedom its members have to live to their fullest potential. Certainly a society must take care of those who can't take care of themselves, but too many in American society today believe this category includes them when it does not.

Claude Kurtz,

Manchester