Why has the Republican Party chosen to shut down our government? U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz has said he does not like the way the government has been funded so he is closing it until he gets what he wants.

This is no way to run the country. The democratic system demands that everyone compromise or it doesn’t work. That is the situation we find ourselves in. We need our government to function.

A lot of our comfortable lifestyle depends on it. We have safe food because we have people inspecting the factories. We have safe air travel because we have Air Traffic Controllers. These people will not be paid if the government shuts down.

A shutdown is estimated to cost the economy $6 billion a week. Think of all the permit delays and inspection delays. We have good building codes for a reason. The government is the background we need to keep it running for our own comfort.

The “Freedom Caucus” is not truly interested in governing or keeping the country running in the best possible shape. If they were, they would keep to the deal they made last May to keep the government funded through next year. Or they could accept the deal the Senate has made. Republicans and Democrats worked together on a Continuing Resolution to keep the country running.

The “Freedom Caucus” has recently put forward a new Continuing Resolution of their own. It cuts WIC and Meals on Wheels among other social programs.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is on our side. She knows that a cut to these two programs means that actual people, children and the elderly will have less food. She would like to see a return of the $300 a month expanded child tax credit.

Is it the business of the government to feed everyone?

Yes.

It is the business of the government to “promote the General Welfare.”

The child poverty rate has gone up to 12% That means that one child in eight goes hungry. Pediatricians are telling us that they are seeing 1-, 2-, and 3-year-olds losing weight. When a very young child loses weight they also lose brain mass.

What we are losing when children lose brain mass are workers and citizens who can run the technologically advanced world we want to move into. We are sacrificing our future.

A malnourished child looses IQ points. A malnourished senior is less healthy. Both are a drain on Society because the are struggling. Each case needs immediate attention. That is why these programs are too important to cut. WIC only covers the most basic food, no sugary cereals, chips or candy, only plain generic cereal and plain, not chocolate, milk.

There are only two ways to balance the budget, Spend less or tax more. Republicans have lowered the tax rate on the wealthiest people while raising it on everyone else. The 2017 tax cuts reduced the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Wealthy people can deduct the cost of their yacht from their income. Working people can’t deduct their rent from their income the way homeowners can deduct their mortgage. There are a lot of ways to make the system more fair. The “Freedom Caucus” is not talking about any of those.

We need to go back to the tax structure we had in 1960. We had money for social programs then because the richest people paid their fair share. We also had a minimum wage that was closer to a living wage.

Bernie Sanders has proposed a 2% wealth tax on assets over $10 million. Elon Musk hasn’t paid any taxes in a while so it’s only fair. We can be sure he will not go hungry.

Money invested at the bottom does the most good.

We can use the farm bill to address hunger by giving every Senior Citizen and every child a $20 voucher for the farmer’s market once a month. That’s 55.8 million adults and 74 million children multiplied $20 going straight into local farmer’s hands every month. This would help more farms make a profit. Maybe even enough for farmers to quit their day job, or go off SNAP. Very few people are able to make a living off their farms because of the way subsidies are structured.

The problem is the “Freedom Caucus” is not interested in governing. They are interested in fighting. Who are they really fighting for when they close important government programs instead of compromising? They are not fighting for the average taxpayer. They are fighting for the wealthiest among us.

Will a few moderate Republicans put the country first and join with Democrats in the House? It would be setting a good example of bipartisanship. It would take courage. It would save us a lot of money.

Marie Tomlinson is a Fredonia resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com