Letters to the editor

Support excluded workers

Washington citizens are calling on the City Council to do something extraordinary and outstanding for our community. This type of opportunity doesn’t come along very often, but when it does you have to do the right thing. Support and fund excluded workers that live right here in our community.

Washington has the funds (American Rescue Plan) to give approximately 140 excluded workers in Washington the same $1400 per person checks that everyone else received last year. And why shouldn’t they get this funding?

These excluded workers live right here in our community, work in our stores and places of business and help to sustain our economy, yet they have been forgotten and left out of the stimulus relief. They are our neighbor, they attend our churches and their kids attend our schools.

Here are three good reasons to support this action:

It’s the right thing to do because trickle up economics works…”Give money to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night, anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow’s hands.” Will Rogers was right and guess what they use it for? Spending in the local economy. It is estimated that for every dollar of funding for these workers, there will be $1.20 of economic activity generated. Plus the city/county will see higher tax revenues. Not a bad investment is it?

Second, it’s the right thing to do because these excluded workers pay taxes all the time, whether it be local or state taxes, property taxes, taxes on water and trash service from the city, sales taxes at local businesses, taxes on electric bills. They support our community, they help their neighbors. And, they help you and I by being responsible members of the community.

Third, It’s the right thing to do if we really want to honor the memory of Dr. MLK Jr., who said, “As long as there is poverty in this world, no man can be totally rich even if he has a billion dollars.” Poverty in our community hurts all of us. We have a moral responsibility to help our neighbor.

It’s our job as fellow residents to look out for and help those in greatest need within our community. We have the capability to do this. But the Council will have to step up and make the choice between politics and helping people.

Helping those in our community is the highest priority and calling of a City Council member. This effort is just as important and maybe more important than our streets, sewers, and bodycams for the police. We are dealing with the lives of human beings.

We need to judge the quality of our community by how well the bottom economic rung is doing, not by how well the wealthiest are doing. Making Washington an inclusive community takes more than lip service. This is the moment where we will find out if people are more important than streets and sewers.

Dan Henderson

Washington

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