Restore the child tax credit, the big tent of the Democrats: PD letters

Freeing children from poverty

EDITOR: In new poverty data, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the child poverty rate rose 1.3 percentage points last year, to 13.7%. That means millions of children are living in poverty. The data also shows that without the child tax credit, 2.4 million more people (most of them children) would be living in poverty. But that's still less than half the people who were helped when the expanded tax credit took effect in 2021.

Years of data show that the child tax credit is one of our most effective tools for reducing child poverty. And politicians know this. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and Senator JD Vance have called for an expansion of the child tax credit.

I urge all of this year's candidates to make expanding the child tax credit a top priority when the new Congress and administration take office in January.

Carol Bostick

Novato

Fit for teaching?

EDITOR: Do you think a high school teacher could keep his job if he told his students that Haitian immigrants are eating the pets of Springfield residents?

CARL REYNOLDS

Santa Rosa

The big tent of the Democrats

EDITOR: As an ideological centrist, I believe in a small, focused government that has a responsibility to take care of our country's future — taking care of defense, the environment, infrastructure, and social services that state or local entities cannot efficiently handle. I support our individual freedoms, with the understanding that we must have enough empathy to support the freedoms of others. Our elected officials should not poke and block and fight over the right and the left. They should work together, compromise, and implement real solutions.

Thirty years ago, the Republican Party began a problematic shift that made me increasingly uncomfortable. Now it has moved so far to the right that there is nothing left for me. I registered as a Democrat. It is the party that gets things done. For everyone. Health care is a right. Democracy is worth defending. Rebuilding our aging infrastructure is a priority. Protecting the environment. Addressing national emergencies. And supporting threatened countries in the event of unprovoked attacks.

One could argue that “the left” is just as bad as “the right.” But there is a broad spectrum in the Democratic Party and an area where reason prevails and facts count. That is no longer the case in the Republican Party.

JEFF GEBHARDT

Petaluma

Unsustainable agriculture

EDITOR: There are many negatives about Measure J. To me, they are mostly illogical thought explosions. It's not really about breaking into chicken coops or Berkeley or vegans, as these hypocrites would have us believe. Those are just asides. The real issue is climate change. I think enough of us now believe it is man-made to justify action. It's easy to calculate the percentage of the 35 billion tons of carbon released into the air each year that comes from livestock. It's easy to calculate the amount of water needed to raise those animals. It's simply a question of sustainability, and animal agriculture doesn't pass that test. Like the horse-drawn carriage or faxing, it's time to move forward.

As for job losses, there's a reason you don't see any numbers on that. According to an article in the journal DownToEarth, 1.6 million additional jobs are created when production is switched to plant-based farming.

Instead of ranting and demonizing, as one candidate did in the debate, we should be discussing this rationally, like adults. It takes 7,800 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. Animals produce more than 30% of carbon. The debate should be: is this existential or not?

BOB MARKETING

Petaluma

A thank you to RFK Jr.

EDITOR: The sound DM McCurdy heard—”John F. Kennedy turning in his grave”—most likely came from the author of “Profiles in Courage” giving his nephew a thumbs up for perhaps the bravest political endorsement of the century (“Kennedy's endings,” Letters, September 3).

By supporting Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rebuked America's leading political dynasty and alerted the public to the Democratic Party's takeover of power by a vocal left-wing minority – a shift that has led to a massive increase in illegal immigration, a drastic increase in the cost of living, underfunded and under-resourced law enforcement, pro-criminal bail policies, and lax voting regulations.

Not surprisingly, cities suffer from the influx of illegal immigrants whose welfare payments are paid for by American citizens. And as has been reported, several violent crimes have been committed by illegal immigrants, often after they have been deported multiple times.

RFK Jr. deserves a shout-out for advocating policies more in line with those of his father and uncle. The other sound you hear, by the way, is that of the Founders turning in their graves at the thought of a major American political party clinging to power on the abortion issue.

LEO LANE

Petaluma

You can send letters to the editor to the following address: [email protected].