The retirement years
It is good to hear some people don’t need another $1,400 stimulus check this year. Good for you. However, please note: you are in the vast minority.
I recently read 64 percent of Americans are retiring flat broke. Many will have to declare bankruptcy just to get rid of outstanding debt. There is a substantial group that will have less than $50.000, and most will have less than $100,000 for retirement.
Through no fault of their own many people will be living in poverty within a few short years after retiring. Wages did not keep up with inflation. It’s hard to save for retirement and pay for the necessities of modern living. Then, in recent years, we have gone through two major recessions, where people found themselves unemployed and having to draw from their 401ks or other retirement funds. Once a person draws down their retirement, it is next to impossible to replenish it in time for any meaningful retirement. Consequently, many seniors are now having to work into their 70s, and quite a few people think they will never be able to retire. This fear goes all the way down into Generation Z now, the very generation that is just entering the workforce.
Now is the time the United States needs to reconsider the plight of senior citizens. My suggestion is it needs to guarantee a person can retire with at least 75 percent of their average of the last five years of income. If people cannot do that with what they have, the government will cover the rest. This is done in Europe. We can do it here. OK, there might need to be a change in our taxing structure to cover it, but it can be done.
No one should live their golden years impoverished.
Wayne H. Beebe
Pullman
Cults don’t govern
Again, I must comment on the machinations of our learned columnist Dr. Chuck. (Pezeshki, His View, Feb. 13). I recognize how difficult it is to maintain a position above the “coliseum.” Unfortunately, this spectacle is deadly serious for our democracy. The rule of law is at stake. The president of our country clearly instigated the events of Jan. 6. Then seeing what he had wrought, did nothing to protect the congress, staff and police. All this in service of his delusion that he would be able to overturn the results of the election.
The elephant in the room (that our op-ed columnist fails to recognize) is that the Republican party is no longer acting in a manner consistent with the vision of our founders. Nor is it consistent with more than two centuries of convention. We no longer have a functioning two-party system to carry out the governing for which the columnist opines. The fact of the matter is that the majority of the Republican party have become members of a cult. The cult of Trump. To expect some sort of normal government to solve the “big issues” is delusional. Good faith efforts to work through these issues with members of a cult will render the same results we have seen for four years ... gridlock
It is impossible to develop the compromises needed to govern with representatives of a cult living in a different universe of facts. We will be living in this quagmire until fair elections can purge our system of these cultists. Sadly, many of the cultists see violence as the only way they can maintain power. The imminent acquittal of the dear leader signals we are in for years of turmoil in how this country is governed. I hope that we can get back to the “fundamental pragmatism” of an effective two-party system.
Rob Anderson
Pullman
Ignoring the facts
Once again Republicans have ignored the facts and acquitted Trump. The prosecution offered plenty of proof of Trump’s call for violence and reversal of a legitimate election. Republicans, like Sen. Risch, allowed Trump to not be held accountable for his words and actions. They do not deserve to serve in the senate.
Kathy Graham
Moscow
Spineless party hacks
On Feb. 13, our senators Crapo and Risch had the opportunity to stand up and be counted. Did they stand for the rule of law or the rule of the mob? They chose the mob. They repudiated the solemn oath of their office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies both foreign and domestic.
Their votes to acquit Trump have aided and abetted the seditious and traitorous scum that attempted the failed putsch of Jan. 6. They have put their own positions of power and parochial interests above the good of the country. In the next several election cycles let us elect senators that are not spineless party hacks who violate the public trust, but rather patriotic statesmen who understand the rule of law under our Constitution. I am a registered Republican and have been for decades.
D.J. Eschen
Moscow
Truth about green hypothesis
The faith of many, including President Biden, in the global warming/climate change hypothesis totally apart from the science amazes me. In the past two years a number of places around the globe have experienced record or near-record cold and snowfall. There are at least a few scientists predicting that we are headed for a cooling period or possibly another ice age. Most of the powers behind the global warming/climate change propaganda are pushing for a global government or a reduction in earth’s population rather than being concerned about a real possibility of global warming and/or climate change.
Locally we have experienced a small amount of warming but it has been good for crops and plant growth. President Biden’s executive orders returning the U.S. to the Paris Climate Accord, shutting down the Keystone Pipeline and mandating conversion of the government vehicle fleet to electric are premature, will damage the economy and significantly raise taxes and energy costs. China, at 2.5 times the production of carbon dioxide as the U.S., has no intention of reducing emissions at this time. There is no scientific evidence that spending trillions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will produce any change in the climate. Wind and solar energy production can only compete with nuclear and fossil fuel energy in limited situations.
However, as technology continues to improve, they will gradually play a more important role in energy production. The government should encourage this technology without hurting the economy. Solar and wind energy production goes down in the current cold weather when reliable energy is most needed. They have not been dependable in Germany or California.
We need the mainstream media to tell us and the government the truth about the green energy program before those pushing this spurious hypothesis cause our economy and low-income households major harm.
Larry Kirkland
Moscow
