Earned benefit
Re “Report: Over a third of Va. veterans receive Social Security” (A2, Aug. 21): I recently went to a roundtable in Virginia Beach about the impact Social Security has on our local citizens and specifically our veterans here in Hampton Roads. The discussion included a recent study detailing who actually receives benefits and real-life stories from three local veterans. I was glad to see coverage of this event and study.
I would like to highlight an important point from the roundtable: Cuts to Social Security’s staffing and local offices threaten to break the contract on these important services, affecting not only veterans but every recipient in our region. Our state and national politicians love to tell us that they aren’t cutting funding for essential services, but do in fact cut these services by reducing workforce and offices. As the legitimate beneficiaries for Social Security benefits continue to rise, these reductions will have an impact on the access to these benefits for all our seniors and veterans.
Social Security is an earned benefit, not an entitlement, that most of us have been paying into since we were teens. The real-life stories shared by the veterans who depend on these benefits to afford groceries, prescriptions and housing here in our community reveal the major impact these cuts will have. Our local officials should not be standing idly by as these programs are ripped apart. Rep. Jen Kiggans and all leaders must stand up to protect Social Security and keep the promises made to our seniors and veterans.
Jeff Schimmel, Virginia Beach
Communicate
I have the highest regard for Virginia Wesleyan’s administration and its board members, some of whom I know personally. It pains me to say, however, that they have not earned a passing grade in Stakeholder Communications 101.
After retiring from a 30-year career with Norfolk Southern, a Fortune 500 company, including 11 years as its chief corporate communications officer, I taught a graduate-level class at Old Dominion University in stakeholder communications. I told my MBA students over and over, “communicate, communicate, communicate.” All stakeholders should be brought into important changes like rebranding as early as possible, through market research, focus groups, whatever it takes to let them know their opinion counts.
If Virginia Wesleyan leadership had followed these simple steps, I truly believe they could have saved themselves a lot of reputation headaches.
Bob Fort, Virginia Beach
Not smart
Re “Erasing the Past” (Our Views, Aug. 8): The editorial references an embarrassing statement made by President Donald Trump: “The Continental Army freed airports from the British occupation.” Now this “very stable genius” (Trump’s self-assessment) and his administration are attacking the basic constructs of our society’s health, wealth and education. Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is canceling funding for potential life-changing mRNA vaccine research. New restrictions on accessing COVID-19 vaccines will needlessly put people at risk. And with the EPA’s diminished oversight monitoring greenhouse gas emissions coupled with Trump’s blessing to increase fossil fuel production, it will result in increased air and water pollution.
Trump’s tariffs leading to higher prices and inflation, according to the Yale Budget Lab, will cost the average household an additional $2,400 this year. Plus, new legislation gives the wealthy a disproportionately large tax break at the expense of most Americans, further widening the income gap.
Trump also has cut funding for many universities and federal student-aid programs. With these actions, it seems Trump’s goal is to make us sicker, poorer and dumber. Sicker and poorer seem likely. But dumber? Americans elected Trump despite knowing that he is a power-hungry authoritarian, convicted felon, sexual assaulter and serial liar. Realistically, how much dumber can we get?
Ken Powders, Chesapeake
