We are better off than in 2008

The column by Froma Harrop a while back showed me that we have come a long way from four years ago. It was a time when people had memories of the Great Depression, and I sure don’t want to go through that again. I worry about those are younger who would suffer most from it. The banks came close to going bankrupt and the auto industry was on the brink. The Dow Jones lost 800 points and unemployment rose. Homes quickly lost value.

Even Harrop, who had a job and health coverage, worried about government decisions she had no control over. She ends with the certainty that she is better off now. But I still feel terrible about those who have lost jobs and all who have had no health care until The Affordable Health Care Act was passed, or guarantees of a steady, full-time job. I don’t want to go back to the way government worked four years ago.

There is much to be done as we consider carefully which party has the poor and middle class and not the rich as their prime goal for the next four years. This is not a trickle-down economy that was tried and failed. The rich don’t care for regulations that I think are there to protect us and don’t want to be denied the tax break they now have.

This election is a critical point for us and I hope all consider carefully the issues at stake. Do not listen to the hateful speeches that often are paid for by nameless groups of people with more money to throw at TV adds that don’t stand up to scrutiny.

This country is the place I love and I don’t want it to be something I’m not proud of.

Sheila T. Burris

Elgin