Letter to the Editor: Look at how things are done here

To the Editor:

For the past couple of years, I have wondered what the heck is going on in federal and state government. But I haven’t had to worry about the government of Allamakee County.

In Washington, D.C. and Des Moines, the same party controls all three branches of government. These politicians have rammed through their agenda and have made no effort to work with the other party and no effort to listen to their constituents. As a result, we the people are the losers. I’m thinking, in one major instance, of how our state representative and other legislators voted to close health care clinics and leave thousands without access to health care, especially in rural areas.

Compare this to the Allamakee Board of Supervisors. Our supervisors listen to one another. They might not always agree with each other, but they work together for the good of the people they serve. I’m impressed that they have sensibly balanced budgets for the last four years. Compare that to the state representatives who voted to take $131 million from the state’s savings account to pay for corporate tax giveaways and then cut funds to local schools, state universities, corrections facilities and more. To make the insult worse, they then voted no on taking a pay cut themselves to help make up for the shortfall. What a mess.

The Allamakee Board of Supervisors has shown how government should work - talking over the issues, listening to each other’s views and coming to an agreement so that services can be provided and budgets balanced. State politicians should take a look at how things are done here.

Ellen Modersohn
Lansing