What’s at stake
Four years ago, when Donald Trump was a candidate against Hillary Clinton, he said, “I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican. Every other Republican is going to cut Medicare and Medicaid — but I won’t.”
Medicare is health care for those 65 and older, and Medicaid provides health care for the poor — so that was good news to most voters. But this past year, Trump’s budget proposed a $1.9 trillion cut to Medicare and Medicaid as well as a $26 billion cut to Social Security.
Luckily, these dire cuts did not pass in Congress.
This past August, Trump announced his plan to “cut payroll taxes” and said that if he won on Nov. 3, he would make these cuts permanent. But the problem is that the payroll tax is what pays for Social Security.
Recently, the Social Security Administration spelled out what the Trump plan to cut the payroll tax would do: Social Security payments to the elderly would end in 2023, and Social Security disability payments would end in 2021.
In a healthy democracy, the will of the people should prevail. About 70 million Americans receive Social Security. And it is so popular that over 70% of all Americans want to increase Social Security payments.
Have you noticed lately that it’s the Republicans in the Senate who have been denying the continuation of desperately needed income to the economically ravaged Americans in this COVID crisis? The Republican Senate is refusing to extend unemployment funds, give monies to support small businesses, or do something to stop evictions.
I just hope that voters are aware of all that is at stake in this election.
Noelie Rodriguez
Hilo
Testing flawed
This is regarding taking a COVID-19 test before arrival in Hawaii within 72 hours of departure.
So you take the test on Monday, then you go to the store, pick up COVID, then go to the gas station, pick up COVID, then go home with the COVID you have three days to contract.
Hawaii’s politicians are giving everyone three days to go out there and pick up COVID before their flights to Hawaii.
Your symptoms, if you have any, will start in four to five days. Which is one to two days after you arrive in Hawaii.
There are already cases of people doing this, it just happened on Kauai.
COVID-19 tests should be taken at the airport, prior to departure.
Now, they are bringing COVID into Hawaii. Many people will die, and after that, we will establish testing prior to departure so that people are unable to contract COVID before departure.
Common sense right?
Dennis L. Chaquette
Keaau
