Improve, don’t destroy, healthcare, schools

It has been clear since Republicans proposed the Ryan Budget that destroys Medicare that the public, Democrats and Republicans alike, uniformly reject this idea. At a minimum, the public would like to keep exactly what they have, and many more would like to improve Medicare and even expand it to a single payer system of health care for all.

While I agree wholeheartedly, I ask why a unified public doesn’t stand up with the same vigor and demand that politicians across this country stop gutting education.

Education is not just a diploma. Education is the cornerstone of democracy and a civilized society. Yet our own Congress, and governor after governor, is slashing education spending with the stroke of a pen, leaving children, teachers and America’s future in the dust.

Like Medicare, we should be improving education not destroying it. Like health care, we should be extending access to a decent education to all individuals, not cramming classrooms, closing schools, and punishing teachers.

If, as Republicans claim, they want America to continue to be the leader of the free world, I fail to see how that will be accomplished by brutal budget cuts that destroy the very foundation of American society.

Lisa Kennedy

Libertyville