To the Editor:
Our country and state continue to teeter on the cliff of economic disaster and no one seems able to fix the problem. Good men and women that genuinely want to make a difference get to Washington or Hartford and discover that things inside the political system are not as simple as they look from the outside. And too often, good bills don’t get passed because, gee, where is the money going to come from? I have a solution.
I propose a moratorium for one to three years on all the billions of foreign aid dollars sent overseas to countries who despise us and everything we stand for. Face facts: We cannot buy their love.
Imagine what a difference that money would make in our own country. Medical and dental clinics could be established in poor neighborhoods. Schools could be repaired and modernized. At-risk children could receive basic health care, nutritious meals at school and safe places to go after school, like the seriously underfunded Boys and Girls Clubs that provides fun and help with homework. Our degraded, dangerous infrastructures could be repaired. All these things would provide numerous jobs.
James Carville said, “It’s about the economy, stupid.” I would add: It’s about the children.
Four caveats: (a) This money will not go into the black hole that is the General Fund. (b) Politicians at all levels of government will keep their hands out of the cookie jar. This money is to benefit the people, not pet projects or re-election. (c) A person of unquestioned integrity (think Nelson Mandela) will be put in charge and a strict accounting of all money will be made at regular periods. (d) Our bloated bureaucracy blocks change. It must be pruned and streamlined to get the money where it needs to go faster.
We need to think out of the box if we are to save this country and state. I, for one, am unwilling to sacrifice my country to try to appease our enemies. Appeasement doesn’t work. It merely delays confrontation. Let’s take care of America and make her strong again.
Connie Jagodzinski