Editorials / Opinion

Repeal the sequester The Seattle Times editorial board recently concluded that “sequestration was envisioned from the start as a punishment for being bullheaded, not as a solution.” [“Editorial: The roaring effects of federal budget cuts,” Opinion, Aug. 2.] As a member of The Can Kicks Back, the millennial outreach partner of the Campaign to Fix the…

Corporations need to pay I really appreciated reading Deana Knutsen’s guest column on remaking the U.S. tax code without hurting health care. [“Bring balance to U.S. tax code,” Opinion, Aug. 7.] She hits on a key question: When assessing our tax structure, what kind of legacy will we leave for future generations? Under our current tax system,…

Bring back funding When state and federal programs are cut because of sequestration or austerity, our entire society suffers [“Cuts to food program hurt hungry kids, educational goals,” Opinion, April 19]. As members of Bread for the World, we study the effects of hunger and poverty, and see the beneficial results when programs that help poor and…

Raise ticket prices Sequestration requires the Federal Aviation Administration to cut its budget by $637 million [“Some flight delays over FAA budget cuts,” News, April 23]. Since America’s airlines carried 736 million passengers last year, here’s a radical idea for the Congress to debate for the next 10 years: Raise the price of a ticket a…

Groups should be more creative So John Clark, chairman of biological structure department at the University of Washington School of Medicine, fears sequestration may force him to lay off just one researcher from his lab [“ ‘Hutch,’ UW descend on D.C. to lobby on sequestration cuts,” NWMonday, March 25]? I have two suggestions: Humbly submit a…

Cuts to Head Start will affect families, society I have a child enrolled in the Virginia Searls Head Start program located in Bothell. I think making a 5 percent budget reduction to Head Start will be harmful for a lot of families that can’t provide preschool education [“How budget cuts could affect you,” seattletimes.com, March…

Appreciation of history is more important than a vacation The Seattle Times reported that President Obama has canceled all tours of the White House as a result of staffing reductions prompted by the sequester, tours that are overseen by Secret Service personnel [“No more White House tours, thanks to budget cuts,” seattletimes.com, March 6]. Yet…

Deficit should be dealt with on micro level I am no fan of the sequester: Some of the programs cut by it are vital programs that should never have been touched [“Nobody budged,” page one, March 2]. But seeking a grand bargain is a recipe for a long, drawn-out battle, and will probably entail numerous capitulations…

Priorities called into question On March 2, The Seattle Times rightly headlined in bold type on page one the news that the federal government sequestration budget cuts have been put into effect [“Nobody budged”]. As a result of the sequestration, numerous programs will be cut that are crucial in helping people climb out of poverty…

Sequester will prove damaging for the arts Thanks to the Oscars and my wife’s extensive library, I started reading “Life of Pi.” Yann Martel is brilliant, even to the point of writing an incredible preface. I was struck by the closing words in his author’s notes; “If we, citizens, do not support our artists, then we…