Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com
Stimulus should support working families
With the debate raging in Washington over a new bill to help our country recover from the economic damage done by coronavirus, we need U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to push for a comprehensive response.
As a small-business owner in Bangor, I know the impact that COVID-19 and the required shutdown has caused. More than 70,000 Mainers have filed for unemployment, the state and town budgets are being crushed, and thousands have lost access to health care through their jobs and are relying on MaineCare.
Collins is in a good position to ensure that any legislation helps Maine people and not just special interests.
First and foremost, any stimulus bill should help small businesses, while also helping working families that have been hard hit. Cities and towns need help, or they will be forced to cut important services that residents rely on.
Any recovery bill should include more money for MaineCare, which provides health insurance to low-income Mainers and helps hospitals. And we need to make sure people don’t lose their homes during this economic crisis.
Our whole country is in this together. Congress should put aside partisanship and make sure that any stimulus bill helps working families hurt by COVID-19 get back on their feet.
Josh Parda
Eddington
Social Security a trusted friend
As an older Mainer — I am in my 90s — I want to write in to tell you that I am deeply grateful for Social Security. It is my only means of support and I depend on it. Fortunately, Social Security is currently reliable and hopefully will stay that way. After all, Aug. 14, 2020, is the program’s 85th birthday!
I worked hard all my life, since I was 11 years old, but I still don’t have quite as much money as I had hoped to have for these retirement years, given the cost of everything, but Social Security has always been there to sustain me. At my age, it is a wonderful thing to have a check every month that you can count on. Especially right now, many seniors are having a tough time and that steady monthly income really makes a difference.
I’ll be interested to see what the candidates have to say when it comes to keeping Social Security strong for me, my friends, my family and for future generations. They should do whatever it takes to ensure the financial security of the aging population. Social Security is a trusted friend that you can depend on!
Margie Higgins
Bangor
Cancer fight continues
Cancer doesn’t stop for a pandemic. Every day, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) continues its lifesaving work to fight cancer through public policy.
I lost both of my grandfathers to cancer — one before I was even born. Countless other loved ones in my life, both family and friends, have had their lives either disrupted or cut short by cancer. These lives and their impact on my own, compel me to advocate as part of the ACS CAN team, and further the lifesaving mission of the organization. Right now, due to COVID-19-related fundraising declines, that mission is being threatened like never before.
The good news is, there are generous organizations out there stepping up to help ACS CAN during this difficult time. I want to thank Cary Medical Center of Caribou for sponsoring ACS CAN’s “ Lights of Hope Across America” event, taking place in communities coast to coast on Sept. 12.
Thanks in part to Cary Medical Center’s generous support, hundreds of luminary bags will be displayed across Maine to honor cancer patients and survivors, and ACS CAN is armed with additional resources to advocate for cancer research funding, access to healthcare, and other priorities. You can help us make a difference.
Bethany Zell
Caribou
Where were the masks?
I was stunned by the picture in the Aug. 1-2 BDN of the crowd watching the large aircraft landing at Bangor International Airport. Not a single mask was in evidence nor was social distancing evident. Was it the camera angle?
Come on Mainers. Our state is a leader in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. But not for long if the behavior in that picture is the new normal. So, let’s exhibit the common sense and caring we are known for. Cover up, practice social distancing and we can get through these tough times together.
Wyllys Terry
Castine