Workers deserve a fair wage
Today, as a culture, we have a way of making snap judgments about people. We judge immigrants and the mentally ill. We judge people struggling with addiction, and we judge those with little education. We judge adults on food stamps and the homeless.
And with little information, backstory or justification, we act in ways that hurt people. I believe that’s what’s happening today to people in the minimum wage debate. For many people I’ve talked to about the issue, I hear a lot of snap judgments about those who earn low wages, making broad generalizations that demonize thousands of people without just cause.
But for those who actually know minimum wage workers, we know that there are teenage bread winners supporting younger siblings. We know firefighters and EMT’s saving lives today who make less than $12 per hour. We know there are seniors going back to work because Social Security income doesn’t go far enough. There are single moms working multiple jobs and scraping by with bare minimums. College students are struggling to cover out-of-pocket costs for school, and victims of domestic violence often take low-wage jobs after fleeing their homes.
These people do not deserve to be judged. They are doing the best they can with what little they have. They’re working their hearts out to get ahead, and for that they deserve respect. They also deserve a wage that ensures they earn a fair share of the profits they make for big businesses.
Gail Crowley
Bangor
Clinton the experienced candidate
Would you take your pickup truck to a novice or to a certified mechanic? Would you ask someone on the street or a skilled jeweler to repair your wedding ring? Wouldn’t you call a trained technician to repair your home’s oil burner?
Experience matters. It is usually based on training, education, working with skilled mentors and time on the job. Along the way we usually make some mistakes, but we learn from them and get better.
Six weeks from now we will be voting to elect the next president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world — someone who literally has his or her hands on the nuclear launch codes. I believe we need to elect the candidate who has deep, meaningful experience in fighting terrorism, improving the economy, fighting for equal rights for all and knows how to get things done in the wacky world of U.S. politics.
I believe Hillary Clinton is that person and hope that when the nation votes on Nov. 8 we will put aside partisan politics and vote for the candidate with the right experience to lead this country and the free world.
Roy Hitchings
Camden
Build a better future
Robert Kennedy said some see the world as it is and ask, “why?” Others see the world as it could be and ask, “why not?” Today, though, many people don’t even ask “why?” Many don’t ask why the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. Many don’t ask why the richest 20 individuals in the country have the same cumulative wealth as the bottom 152 million Americans. Many don’t ask why we have an entire class of Americans who work full time while homeless. Many don’t ask why the wealthy have lower tax rates than the middle class.
Many have simply accept these things. Many have accept that this is how things work and that we have no power to change it. I simply don’t accept that. I don’t accept that we can’t make our economy work for all of us. I don’t accept that children have to go to bed hungry, and I don’t accept that the poor have to keep dying because they’re sick.
That’s why I’m fighting back. I believe we can have a world that works better, but the question is, as Robert Kennedy said, “why not?” Wages are too low. The rich aren’t paying their fair share in taxes. Schools are underfunded. There is inadequate health care coverage.
That’s why I’m voting yes on Question 2, to increase school funding, and on Question 4, to raise the minimum wage, as well as for candidates who will support Medicaid expansion. We have the ability to build that kind of a better future together.
Dawn Hicks
Bangor
Gratwick for Maine Senate
I consider Geoff Gratwick to be a friend of mine. I also strongly support him in his wish to continue serving as a state senator, representing District 9 — parts of Hermon and Bangor. This statement, I believe, must be put in perspective with my political history. In 2012, I was hired by the Maine Republican Party to fill a Republican National Committee position for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. After attending training at the committee’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., I assumed the position of field director, overseeing the majority of GOP field operations in the 2nd District.
Shortly after completing my tenure with the GOP, I met Gratwick. In the four years since, I’ve had the personal opportunity to get to know Gratwick and his family, and I can truly say I hold them in the highest regard. Having had ample opportunity to work with many of Maine’s current and former legislators, I can personally attest that Gratwick is not a “politician” in the pejorative but instead embodies the concept of a “public servant.” There is no question in my mind that Gratwick’s ethical stature is incomparable to his opponent, Republican Laurence Willey. For those voters who do not know him, Gratwick is a retired longtime Bangor physician and resident, and he remains active as a volunteer in area groups.
At a time when state and national political climates have reached the epitome of divisiveness, Gratwick’s contagious optimism, community-oriented attitude and palpable intelligence are precisely what Maine needs to keep Augusta grounded.
Ryan C. Warner
Bangor