Pass the For the People Act

For generations, we’ve been told that money is power. It’s an axiom that continues to drive our politics. Despite being able to vote for our elected officials, once they reach public office, they’re all too often swayed by lobbyists and big money interests. Instead of representing the people, lawmakers spend the majority of their time fundraising, relying on large donors and holding court with corporations.

That can change, but only if Congress passes the For the People Act.
The For the People Act is a bold anti-corruption and democracy reform bill that would strengthen our democracy by reducing the influence of big money in our politics. It would enact limits on donations from lobbyists and increase the power of campaign contributions from everyday Americans by creating a small-dollar donor matching program.

These changes would open up new opportunities for different kinds of candidates to run for office – candidates that come directly from our communities and understand the problems we face. Instead of being beholden to the donors and lobbyists with the fattest wallets, our elected officials will be working for the people.

Without this type of bold democracy reform, our political system will never be truly democratic or fully representative and our government will continue to work only for the privileged few. It’s past time to build a better system for all Americans – which is why I’m urging Congress to pass the For the People Act.

Rozena Higgins
Duluth, Minnesota

We need wolves

Trying not to hit deer on the road is not always possible. My aching neck reminds me of an accident from some years ago. We tried to avoid a deer on the road but my head hit a metal dash with soft tissue damage.

Emergency room staff didn’t suggest treatment, but if they would have seen me later, my head swelled like a globe with my eyes only able to see though slits.

Through the years I’ve gone to rehab services many times to alleviate the stiffness I developed from that accident.

Wisconsin wants 200 wolves killed. That will mean more deer in our gardens and n the roads.

Is that desirable?

Marilyn Swanson
Virginia, Minnesota

Tech skills wanted

I am disappointed and surprised that there is still a shortage of about 3 million skilled industrial and technical workers in the United States. It has not changed since I was in high school when parents and schools were mostly encouraging graduates to go to four year colleges. I did that, because I was interested in a religious vocation and finished minor seminary but did not continue into major seminary so I continued at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and graduated with Russian and Latin.

Neither my professors nor advisor bothered to ask me what I planned to do with my majors nor that I needed a teaching license to teach in elementary and secondary schools. I did get teaching positions in a Catholic grade and secondary schools but not in my fields. I did get a teaching license in Spanish (because I found that few Russian teaching positions were available since it was a “Commie Language” and Latin was eliminated from Catholic liturgy and schools.

Students should be able to major in whatever fields interest them, but advisors, teachers and professors have an obligation to properly inform them about future employment. I do not think that they should be discouraged from studying various fields to work as carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers. etc., because they could earn more than many liberal arts graduates like I. Community and technical colleges have become graduate schools since too many with B.A. and B.S. diplomas can not find lucrative positions to support families and pay for their college loans.

Mike Jaros
Duluth, Minnesota