Social Programs

I am still wondering why we spend taxpayer money on government-run health care, free contraceptives and the like while we lack qualified teachers. The key to independence from government programs is a good education. We have a fresh crop of newly graduated teachers in Maryland with new ideas and techniques that will help our students succeed without government handouts. Yet there are no teaching positions. Baltimore County has 2,000 applicants for 30 positions, and I'm rounding the numbers.

I recently read the article, "President talks economy, jobs in Baltimore" (May 18). In one of the last paragraphs, Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican, is quoted as describing President Barack Obama's visit to Baltimore as "another photo op on a campaign-style tour. " He said that "the president talks a good game but … he never walks the walk. " To an extent, Mr. Harris is absolutely correct. If President Obama is to sharpen his approval ratings, especially after the IRS fiasco this past week, it would be ideal to push legislation to revive his old "fight for the middle class" campaign he started all the way back in 2008.

Back in the Cold War, it was guns or butter. We got guns. Here in the culture war, it's highways or butter. We get highways.Congress, which pretty much means its Republicans since this is their show, is scrambling to find ways to pay for an epic cement-pouring bill. The Senate wants to spend $214 billion over six years; the House, $217 billion.Highways for homiesOur senators and representatives are the Jackson Pollocks of asphalt, action-painting the map by flinging out a freeway here, dripping a connector there, splashing a highway to nowhere for Senator Wastrel's homies.

When economic times are tough and the daily headlines remind us of our nation's deficit challenge, it's easy to use misinformation and anecdotes of abuse to demonize certain entitlement programs. Unfortunately, this has the unintended effect of stereotyping whole groups of people as lazy, unmotivated or, worse yet, committing intentional fraud. First, it was those living on the edge of poverty and relying on Medicaid for health care and other critical support services who took the hit. Now it's the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

Now that sequestration is upon us, our nation's leaders continue to debate which federal programs provide the best bang for the buck. When they ask how effective Head Start is, many legislators have cited the Head Start Impact Study. It concludes that although Head Start consistently closes the achievement gap and prepares many of America's poorest and neediest children for kindergarten, by third grade most children across the nation outperform and outscore children who attend Head Start.

WASHINGTON -- Drawing on public outrage over the Rodney King verdict and the race riots that followed, minority leaders from around the country pledged yesterday to take to the streets in a campaign for racial equality and increased social spending."

WASHINGTON -- With the temporary spending authority for scores of federal agencies scheduled to expire next week, Republicans in Congress offered yesterday to pass a budget for the rest of the 1996 fiscal year and to increase spending on social programs by $4.5 billion -- if the White House would agree to a deficit-cutting deal.But the administration continued to press for an additional $8 billion in spending and none of the political strings that Republicans wanted. President Clinton and several of his senior Cabinet members spent the day arguing this case before an array of audiences.

"There are no options but bad options," said state Treasurer Lucille Maurer of the painful decisions Gov. William Donald Schaefer is about to make in cutting $450 million from the state's current budget to balance the government's books. There will be layoffs, major cuts in social programs and big reductions in aid to schools, colleges and libraries. Even worse, far larger cuts may have to be made in social programs to eliminate an $800 million deficit next year.Yet the state of Maryland is trapped in a vicious cycle.

Regarding your editorial on the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's vice-presidential running mate, the question of vision you raise can be restated in terms of whether government has become too large and pervasive in the lives of average citizens ("With Paul Ryan, Romney bets on the wrong vision for American," Aug. 11). Certainly the escalating deficit has been in part the result of big government spending on social programs which, while beneficial to many, we simply cannot afford anymore.

Some churchmen take exception to some of President Barack Obama's positions on matters of faith. I suggest these men of faith take a closer look at the true meaning of religion. All three Abrahamic religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - have as their central theme the commandments to protect the widow and orphan, to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. That is termed social justice. All this talk about contraception, in my mind, is just superficial chatter totally missing the central message of religion.

Now that sequestration is upon us, our nation's leaders continue to debate which federal programs provide the best bang for the buck. When they ask how effective Head Start is, many legislators have cited the Head Start Impact Study. It concludes that although Head Start consistently closes the achievement gap and prepares many of America's poorest and neediest children for kindergarten, by third grade most children across the nation outperform and outscore children who attend Head Start.

Op-ed contributor E Dee Monnen explains how the rich not only are "job creators" but engines of economic "growth" as well ("How taxing the rich hurts all of us," Dec. 12). Never mind that the jobs are likely low-wage, part-time with no benefits. The rich, it is said, should be exempt from taxation based on their incomes. To do otherwise would jeopardize their mission as entrepreneurs, i.e., profit and growth. For reasons of supposed intellectual and moral superiority the rich are often seen as worthy of specialized treatment.

Regarding your editorial on the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's vice-presidential running mate, the question of vision you raise can be restated in terms of whether government has become too large and pervasive in the lives of average citizens ("With Paul Ryan, Romney bets on the wrong vision for American," Aug. 11). Certainly the escalating deficit has been in part the result of big government spending on social programs which, while beneficial to many, we simply cannot afford anymore.

I am still wondering why we spend taxpayer money on government-run health care, free contraceptives and the like while we lack qualified teachers. The key to independence from government programs is a good education. We have a fresh crop of newly graduated teachers in Maryland with new ideas and techniques that will help our students succeed without government handouts. Yet there are no teaching positions. Baltimore County has 2,000 applicants for 30 positions, and I'm rounding the numbers.

Some churchmen take exception to some of President Barack Obama's positions on matters of faith. I suggest these men of faith take a closer look at the true meaning of religion. All three Abrahamic religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - have as their central theme the commandments to protect the widow and orphan, to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. That is termed social justice. All this talk about contraception, in my mind, is just superficial chatter totally missing the central message of religion.

And now for something completely different: an exotic financial instrument designed to help vulnerable Americans — not drive them into foreclosure. Today, the White House plans to ask Congress for permission to conduct a $100 million test of "social impact bonds," a promising, experimental investment scheme out of England designed to get better results from publicly funded social services by harnessing the discipline of the private market. Under a social impact bond arrangement, investors put up the money to run privately managed social programs.

I recently read the article, "President talks economy, jobs in Baltimore" (May 18). In one of the last paragraphs, Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican, is quoted as describing President Barack Obama's visit to Baltimore as "another photo op on a campaign-style tour. " He said that "the president talks a good game but … he never walks the walk. " To an extent, Mr. Harris is absolutely correct. If President Obama is to sharpen his approval ratings, especially after the IRS fiasco this past week, it would be ideal to push legislation to revive his old "fight for the middle class" campaign he started all the way back in 2008.

State lawmakers gave governor a viable budget The Sun's editorial "Cruel and usual" (April 29) fails to recognize the difficult challenges that faced the budget committees of the General Assembly during the 2003 legislative session. It also fails to recognize that the actions of the Assembly preserved and expanded many important social programs in Maryland. When the session opened, the state faced a $1.8 billion budget deficit for fiscal years 2003 and 2004. The legislature was also challenged by having to work with a governor who was unwilling to craft a viable, long-term structural solution to our budget woes.

Most Americans would not know the name Robert M. Ball, but all owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Starting with Social Security just four years after its enactment, he spent the next seven decades improving and defending the most successful and popular program in the nation's history. Friday, a building on the Woodlawn campus of the Social Security Administration will be dedicated to him, just over three years after his death at age 93. Mr. Ball was a giant. The longest-serving commissioner in the history of the program, he was instrumental in Congress' enactment of the Disability Insurance program, Medicare, and the automatic inflation protection that beneficiaries enjoy, among many other achievements.

I found Sonia Kumar's letter ("Improving Juvenile Justice," Readers Respond, Aug. 18) to be very interesting, but very one-sided in believing that more programs will improve a juvenile's situation. In part this is true, but I believe that a major part of the problem is the lack of facilities, as there are those children that do need to be removed from society, to protect other children and society. Also, the court must not only look at the individual youth on a particular offense, but the total situation and how their behavior fits into the total picture.