To the editor:
After helping in the local food pantry last week, many things went through my mind. One was the story shared by a person receiving a box of food from our local food pantry for the first time: The man lost his job and went to work for someone who paid little and didn't even give breaks. He and his wife could not stretch the small paycheck through the month.
Then I thought about all the comments in the paper, on TV and radio about the debt. We sure have very short memories. Most people forget that during President Bush's era the federal budget grew more than $4 trillion, a 71.9 percent increase. Many forget that the bailout money for the big banks was under Bush's watch.
Why are people worried about the deficit now? Why weren't they worried in 2001 to 2008? How did the debt grow? Two wars, a tax cut for all those making more than $250,000, paying select contractors to rebuild the infrastructure that we destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan, bailout of Wall Street, etc.
Another cry I have heard, is to repeal the Wall Street reform bill. Some blamed Gov. Ted Strickland for losing jobs during his term.
People forget that John Kasich and Rob Portman supported NAFTA (which caused Ohio to lose 50,000 jobs) and other trade agreements (91,800 more jobs), which did the damage to the country and to our state.
The collapse of the Lehman Brothers in 2008, where Kasich was a CEO, and other huge financial institutions which were permitted in the Bush years to run rampant without any type of regulation, finished the economic disaster.
"The economic downturn has taken an extremely heavy toll on our state and our nation. Businesses large and small downsized their work force or shut their doors, leading to dangerously high unemployment rates. Job losses have slowed since the recovery act was passed in February 2009. In fact, through the first four months of 2010, 100,000 new jobs were created in Ohio - more than any other state," stated Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
Then, this past 18 months, those who have complained about spending for health care and extending unemployment benefits are saying no to regulation of Wall Street and anything that would benefit the common person in this country.
I would like Kasich, Portman and John Boehner to spend two days at our food pantry in Lower Salem. I would challenge them to live one week on the box of food that we give to a household. They need to listen to the people who are so grateful for what we are able to give them. Some can't afford to buy the gas to pick up the food. Some can't get unemployment compensation.
People need to get the facts before they vote. We need a governor, senator and legislators who will work for the people on Main Street and not on Wall Street.
Margaret Meeker
Lower Salem
