Letters to the editor Feb. 6
Penalizing poverty
I read the recent article in The Guardian, “A Montana town is waging war on its unhoused citizens. One shelter is fighting back.”
What do we fear from these folks in our parks and alleyways? Bodily harm? Getting mugged? Litter? Loss of revenue? Absolutely there is validation in addressing all those concerns, and ways to do so with empathy, financial frugality and with police cooperation.
It appears that fear is driving our county commissioners, City Council and mayor to reduce the tools in their quiver until they’ll have nothing left with which to hit their target — unless their target is to destabilize, dehumanize and drive these folks out of our valley. Will they then gloat and point to cities like Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland to justify their actions, knowing full well that the west, for decades, had addressed homelessness by buying these folks bus tickets to those same cities?
I realize this is a complicated issue that requires a multi-faceted approach to truly make a difference. Our elected officials seem to lack the curiosity to learn, or refuse to acknowledge, the many reasons folks in our community, and throughout our nation, wind up without a place to live. Penalizing poverty and taking away the few resources available to our community is ineffective and inhumane.
What are we afraid of? People driven to desperation are very frightened and can be very frightening, but how can we allow our elected officials to repeatedly and intentionally drive these folks further into desperation?
You may accuse me of being naïve and think that if I’d been mugged, threatened, physically or sexually assaulted, I’d see things differently. The truth is that I have experienced all those things, but what I fear more than anything else is losing my humanity.
— Heidi Long, Kalispell
Failing leadership
It is with great sadness that I read Flathead County Commissioner Brad Abell’s words in an article in The Guardian claiming that the breakdown of the American family “began with black families” and that, “It started with the Black population of the United States.”
What concerns me here is not that Mr. Abell hold’s those views within the confines of his private life (as abhorrent as I might find them to be) but that he espouses them from the elevated perch of the county commissioner’s office and is literally advertising them to the world under the seal of the Flathead County. Who, specifically, would want to come visit Kalispell if they thought they would be surrounded by such bizarre, racist sentiments? What company might want to open a branch if they thought this was a common sentiment of our workforce? I tender that most would be repulsed by such possibility.
As a counterpoint to Mr. Abell’s claim, I think it is necessary to point out that Black families did not cause the rapid rise of housing costs and the resulting housing shortage, nor the prevalence of medical bankruptcy, nor the psychological traumas inflicted on children through abuse and neglect, nor the flooding of our communities with opioids and other chemicals of destruction. Nor, I should add, did Black families strip away the mental health services that could help stitch back together those families that experience crisis in our community. Black families don’t have that kind of power.
Mr. Abell was elected to govern this county, to enhance its reputation in the eyes of the public, rally our cause to corporate America as a good and vibrant community, and to approach complex problems in a clear-eyed and sober manner.
Mr. Abell’s recent remarks painfully show how he is failing us all.
— Steve Moore, Kalispell
Double taxation
Forty-one states plus Washington, D.C., do not tax Social Security benefits.
Nine states, including Montana, still tax Social Security benefits. Of those nine states, West Virginia is phasing out Social Security taxes in 2026. That will leave eight states still taxing Social Security benefits.
Contact your state legislature representative and the Governor’s Office and ask them why is Montana taxing Social Security benefits? This is double taxation.
— Bill Peterson, Helena
California faucet
Better plant a bigger garden this year. Last week President Donald Trump ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release water from two reservoirs in northern and central California so he could proclaim that he “turned on the water” after the Los Angeles fires.
All of us who grew up in the west have been taught from childhood, “Don’t ever waste water.” But this is exactly what happened. Will that water reach southern California for firefighting? No. Is it even geographically possible for water from those dams to reach areas where firefighters can use it? No. It’s 500 miles away, on the other side of a mountain range.
Water in these reservoirs is held for agricultural use in California’s Central Valley. The Central Valley produces one quarter of the nation’s food. Half of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts are grown in the Central Valley. Now that the water released is going to waste because crops are dormant in winter, water managers predict there will be a shortage in hot summer months, when farmers need that water for irrigation.
Will farmland for 25% of the nation’s food production be short on irrigation water? What does this wasteful release of water mean for you? For US consumers? Expect higher prices on groceries, and expect shortages and empty shelves.
— Stephanie Brancati, Big Arm