Sid Kelly diminishes humanity of low-income people
TO THE EDITOR,
I am writing in response to Sid Kelly’s April 20 editorial, “Accepted Assistance.” Kelly’s thesis appears to be that low-income Ohioans are using their SNAP benefits to purchase things they don’t need. The word “need” comes up a lot. One person doesn’t “need” crab legs. Another doesn’t “need” an iPhone.
All this talk of need got me thinking. What do people need? We need hydration. We need vitamin C to ward off scurvy. We need calories, fats and proteins. Do we need crab legs? Do we need phones? Do we need a Downtown ballpark? Do high-income Ohioans need the money they get from the home mortgage interest deduction?
More importantly, do people need choice, agency or free will? Do people need to make their own decisions about their own life? Maybe they splurge once in a while on their favorite foods. Maybe they have a phone that doubles as their computer. Or maybe, as Kelly argues, these people are prioritizing things we wouldn’t prioritize. Just like Toledo using their tax dollars to build a stadium and wealthier individuals using their tax credits on vacations or second homes, low-income Ohioans deserve the respect of being able to make choices with their benefits. That agency is a need. And Kelly’s judgment of that need only serves to diminish the humanity of our lowincome brothers and sisters.
There is another need. I need your readers to understand that no one “approach[es] assistance as a vacation” as Sid Kelly claims. To qualify for SNAP (food stamps), a household must be under 130 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. That’s less than $1,270 per month for a single person. About $2,580 per month for a family of four. Some vacation.
These people — our neighbors — are hungry and desperate. These benefits help them put food on the table. There is no value in shaming them for occasionally buying crab legs or saving up to buy a phone.
— L. Russell Allen, Columbus
Disappointed in Collins
DEAR MAYOR COLLINS,
I am writing this letter on behalf of my family who are property owners in Toledo, who have attended the public schools and have invested their time and money into businesses in and around Toledo. We are committed to the success of Toledo.
I am very disappointed to hear that you will not entertain any plans to privatize the Toledo Express Airport. I hope that you will reconsider your position. The business at Toledo Express Airport has been shrinking for a number of years. Paul Toth, president of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, has stated that “we continue to see great growth, good numbers,” in referring to the airports. Where are these numbers? Where is the evidence to support this statement?
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority may have been the right group to manage the Toledo airports in 1973. However, it is 2014 and our economic situation is different. Under the current management, we have lost tax revenue, traffic volume has decreased, putting us at risk for reduced federal funding, and we have seen a decrease in economic development.
If we want the situation to change, then we need to change. We need a thorough review of the current management of the Toledo airports. We need to consider credible alternative solutions like the Treece plan. The taxpayers deserve the opportunity to hear the details of the proposal in a public forum. Improved management equals more tax revenue to improve schools and more jobs to help put Toledoans back to work. Now is the time to get out in front of this issue before it is too late. Let’s be proactive!
I have started a Facebook page www.facebook.com/SavetheToledoAirports and I have sent this letter to Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins and the Toledo City Council.
— Jim Wuwert, Toledo
Murphy’s law
TO THE EDITOR,
I just finished reading Tom Pounds’ Publisher’s Statement on the State of the Region in the April 20 issue of Toledo Free Press. I read the advice of Tom Murphy and I thought it to be very timely. Pounds’ column states, “Murphy said Pittsburgh invested in its cultural community and reclaimed the waterfront. Those are both lessons we should well heed.” Having just spent this past Saturday at 419 Day, I am very proud of how Toledoans support their cultural community. There are so many cultural opportunities available and people around the area show their support in so many ways.
However, what about the waterfront advice? We are about ready to sell out some reclaimed waterfront to ProMedica. People fought hard to open that area up to the public by getting rid of a hideous government issue building. Are we really going to give up this land for a parking garage? Are there alternatives? Some say that placing the garage underground is too costly. I think it would be worth the cost — in the long term.
I would suggest that people look no further than the University of Cincinnati. They have created acre upon acre of green space by placing parking structures underground. The aesthetics of the campus have changed drastically, making it a much more inviting campus. There is no doubt that enrollment has been positively affected by these decisions.
Like Pounds, I hope we can heed Murphy’s lessons. Let’s look at alternatives to another ugly parking garage blocking the view of our waterfront and taking up valuable space that could be enjoyed by generations of Toledoans. As Murphy stated, “You need to think of Toledo, not as it is today, but as it can be in the future.”
Will we heed this advice or settle for most expedient?
— Mark A. Smith, Toledo
