Not a fan of trickle-down policy

Not a fan of trickle-down policy

The Bush tax cuts were sup- posed to help the lower and middle class by trickling down to the working population. It has culminated in a recession and the destruction of the American economy. Greed has won out, and I am still waiting for my share. To allow tax reductions to continue will not help you and me, but the rich again will gain a wind fall, which they will horde for themselves.

The Republicans were in office for eight years, and what did you get? Lose your job to overseas. Lose your house due to poor bank management. Before you get caught up in the “Tea Party,” remember their party lost you your jobs. The administration is trying to get you back what you lost in those eight years. But, that can’t happen without your help.

Betty Culbert, Warren

Programs helping students cut

I am a lifelong citizen of this fair city and this is what I am burning on.

For the past 11 years or so, I was involved in various schools in the Youngstown City School District as an aide, intervention/behavior specialist, truancy advocate and, as of last year, tutor. I wanted to make a difference in these kids’ lives and I interjected life lessons into my curriculum.

What has made me distrustful of this failed system is what I’ve seen the last two years while I’ve been involved in truancy and tutoring programs. Each time a program is deemed successful, it gets cut. Why? Where is the money earmarked for these programs going?

The county claimed it needed to cut the truancy program to save the budget. Well, if the government already doled out that money beforehand, county leaders, show me the money. Then the tutors in the schools find out brass eliminated all tutor programs, and now we’re out of jobs again. And who suffers? The kids, you know, the kids who we, the city schools, care about.

With the truancy program, we kept attendance up, but that was cut. Now they cut tutors who were helping get test scores up. What’s next?

Abdul Harris, Youngstown