It comes as no surprise that Donald Trump gave a presidential pardon to former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The two are kindred spirits in their disdain for immigrants — legal or otherwise.
It was only last summer that Mr. Trump said he wouldn’t get a fair trial in regards to his now defunct Trump University because the judge had a Hispanic name.
“He’s a member of a club or society, very strongly pro-Mexican,” Mr. Trump said, which, he alleged, would mean U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel would innately be biased against Mr. Trump.
The Honorable Curiel, born in Indiana, is a descendant of Mexican grandparents.
The former sheriff is in hot water for imprisoning people because they “looked like illegals” crossing the U.S. border. Arpaio refused to stop the racial profiling despite a court order and was sentenced to six months in prison.
In return for Arpaio’s support for his candidacy, Mr. Trump pardoned Arpaio on Friday night.
IT DOES NO GOOD to get twisted in knots about Mr. Trump, who has the lowest approval rating of a president in U.S. history.
So let’s talk about what actually will make America great.
Healthcare for all
No one should be denied access to health care just because the cost for fees and services is beyond their means. The Affordable Care Act got us headed in the right direction with its goals of universal care and lower costs, but obviously had some glitches. Some proposals to take us forward include:
A) Let people who make too much to qualify for Medicaid buy into the program;
B) Allow those younger than 65 to buy into Medicare at some point, and
C) Expand federal subsidies for the middle class to purchase health insurance.
A living wage
In Kansas, you can get away with paying employees $7.25 an hour, rock bottom in the country, along with 13 others.
It’s time the federal minimum wage reflected a living wage. And no, paying people more will not bankrupt the boss. Studies show that better pay yields higher productivity, less turnover and less absenteeism. It’s a win-win.
Better jobs
Though unemployment is low, we all know there are those who have stopped looking because they don’t have the necessary skills to compete in today’s more sophisticated market. That’s not going to change — nor do we want it to. Thanks anyway, but we don’t want to dig ditches or mine coal.
So what’s necessary is to offer more and better access to programs that train for today’s jobs. Johnson County Community College, for instance, has a division called Green and Renewable Energy. In it, students earn certificates in how to be solar and wind technicians, solar water heating technicians, and the like.
Locally, our community college and the new career tech program in LaHarpe would be ideal places to train students for jobs with the upcoming wind farm.
IN SHORT, we must hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire and demand that they fulfill their pledges to take us in a more productive direction. We know the way.
— Susan Lynn
