Iran war: Human toll
I find it depressingly characteristic of the U.S. today — and maybe always — that the main concern of the war in Iran is rising gas prices and not the thousands of people who have been killed, wounded, psychologically damaged and otherwise severely hurt.
Neal Starkman, Seattle
Fuel economy rules: ‘Deluded plan’
Re: “Trump sharply scales back fuel economy rules for new cars” (Sept. 28, Business):
This administration has made some seriously misguided (if not outright criminal) calls over the last 20 months. But this new edict to reduce fuel efficiency goals in cars is so ridiculous as to be positively laughable.
Here we are in the worst gas crisis the country has faced (yes, I was a driver through the early ’70s), and he wants cars to be less efficient with our fuel resources.
What a boon for the electric vehicle market and foreign car manufacturers. This is an unbelievably deluded plan that further illustrates the president’s detachment from reality.
We are better than this. We must do what we can to reduce Trump’s ability to destroy our country. November’s midterms are our chance. Please vote.
Carol Ann Dedrick, Tacoma
Homelessness: Not a pretty picture in a world-class city
Re: “Seattle ranks fourth among world’s top cities in new report” (Sept. 28, Data):
I read with pride that Seattle ranks fourth in the world among top cities. This spectacular report noted an estimated $632 billion in GDP in 2025.
Then I thought, fourth in the whole world with large GDP? How is it that we rank as third worst in the country for homelessness crisis problems? That can’t possibly be Seattle. How can the fourth top city in the world allow homelessness to turn into a crisis and then let it continue to grow? The King County Regional Homelessness Authority has spent nearly $1.1 billion since 2021.
Something is really wrong with this picture. Those of us treating those who are homeless at street level know the answers and how to correct the situation, but our local leaders refuse to listen no matter how many times we tell them the answers. How do they think by doing the same thing over and over each year somehow it is going to improve?
Peter Moote, SUDP, MSW, Seattle
Capitalism: ‘Limits and dangers’
Re: “Why so many institutions caved to Trump” (Sept. 16, Opinion) and “He spent 11 months inside DOGE. Now he wants to set the record straight” (Sept. 21, Nation):
New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg wrote that philosopher Susan Neiman “cites research showing that ‘the longer people study economics, the more selfish they become.’ … The more the logic of capitalism pervades the rest of life, the less room there is for compassion, honor or heroism.”
Washington Post reporter Elizabeth Dwoskin quoted Tyler Hassen’s memoir about his time on the Department of Government Efficiency team: “In the private sector, there’s an understood bargain. You’re hired to create value. If the value disappears, so does the job. It isn’t personal. It isn’t cruel. It’s the operating system of capitalism.” This self-serving explanation misrepresents how capitalism works. Workers who create value can be underpaid, abused and fired, while the boss who made the bad decisions keeps his property and his power.
Goldberg’s column demonstrates a more humane understanding of the limits and dangers of capitalism.
Adrienne Weller, Seattle
Alaskan Arctic: Worth saving
Re: “Oil interests threaten life in Arctic refuge’s fragile coastal plain” (Sept. 19, Pacific NW Magazine):
The article on threats to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska from potential oil development reminds me of what has been lost in the Lower 48.
We’ve all heard historic accounts of salmon so numerous they clogged our Northwest streams during seasonal runs. We know the history of mass bison herds across the Great Plains, now gone. Also now sadly legendary are the skies blackened by passenger pigeons as they migrated across the East and Midwest.
America everywhere used to have the wild landscapes and rich legacy of creatures now still hanging on in the Alaskan Arctic. Those animals still inspire, and in particular through birds connect us to that thread of life worth remembering and celebrating.
We are not so poor we can sacrifice this last bit, and our grandchildren will wonder why we didn’t save it when we still could.
Rob Smith, Bainbridge Island
Head Start: Win for kids, families, country
Re: “Trump rolls out a Trojan horse to destroy Head Start” (Sept. 22, Opinion):
Is there any helpful federal program which this administration does not want to cripple or destroy?
Reading Joel Ryan’s op-ed spotlighting the proposed new rules for Head Start, purportedly to reduce the federal burden, was yet another gut punch.
Head Start has decades of research proving the experience increases school readiness and high school graduation rates while additionally lowering rates of incarceration and substance use. This is a win-win for kids, families and, ultimately, our country. Success in school leads to better futures and decreased public assistance.
Despite the proposal’s soothing promise of “empowering states and local authorities to meet the unique needs of children and families in their communities,” it yanks the financial rug out from under Head Start by, among other punitive decisions, cutting staff, lowering professional requirements and salaries, and imposing documentation changes that increase difficulty for families to enroll.
The Health and Human Services proposal is like the big, bad wolf disguised in grandma’s ruffled nightcap waiting to attack Little Red Riding Hood.
As stated in the op-ed, public comments are accepted until midnight Oct. 6 in the Federal Register at st.news/headstart.
Please speak up.
Karen Prince, Kenmore
Healthcare: A symbol of what ails for-profit system
Re: “Áegis Living founder’s Hunts Point estate hits market at $71M” (Sept. 23, Business):
The founder, CEO and owner of Áegis Living, an assisted-living and memory-care chain, has listed his Lake Washington home for sale. The listing reveals a dwelling of such opulence and luxury that it is an offensive commentary on the lifestyle of the uber rich.
But more off-putting is where that wealth came from. Áegis is a luxury for-profit chain serving senior citizens in 37 sites in the Western U.S., including Washington. Some of the owner’s wealth was accumulated at the expense of Áegis employees, already among the most underpaid category of healthcare employees in the U.S. Evidence is shown by a $16.25 million class-action lawsuit settled by Áegis in 2021 alleging understaffing in its facilities.
The Áegis system is one example of the damage caused by elements of the for-profit healthcare system in the U.S.: Money that could be retained in the system to maximize quality of care and ensure livable wages is siphoned off into extravagant dwellings and lifestyles.
One might think that the owner would be embarrassed to have his lifestyle on display in his hometown, where relatives of Áegis patients reside.
Bruce Amundson, Shoreline
Healthcare: Overhaul payment system
Re: “Hospital AI vs. insurer AI may be pushing medical costs higher” (Sept. 28, Business):
During my 30 years as a practicing primary care physician, I had difficult conversations with my patients encouraging them to change behaviors that were leading them toward catastrophic problems. Many did not heed my advice, not for lack of understanding; they were just too comfortable to change until a disaster occurred.
This article points out that “A.I. may … force a difficult conversation about how doctors and hospitals are paid.” Those conversations have been going on for years; A.I. may just be exposing and exacerbating the catastrophic problems we know are developing in our healthcare payment systems.
The authors write, “Insurers and hospitals could agree that the system needs to be much less complicated …” A system of capitated care in which a per-member-per-month fee covers all of the patient’s primary care and preventive services addresses the need for simplicity and cost containment. Our healthcare payment systems need behavioral change.
John Vassall, MD, FACP, Seattle
Clean energy: Good news on solar
I love seeing good news in The Seattle Times. “Judge rules EPA illegally terminated $7 billion solar program intended to help poorer Americans” (Sept. 18, Nation) was just that: good news. Thank you, Seattle Times, for publishing coverage on issues that show how our country wants solar power, clean energy and some financial support for this critical energy transition.
One of my favorite lines from this piece is this: “In May, for the first time, solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal.” This shows that the switch to solar is happening. Yes! But we know that we need to be doing this energy-shifting faster. And support for communities is essential to clean-energy building. So, high-five to the federal judge who ruled that the Solar for All program should stay.
Jobs, solar power, increasing the rate of accessible solar power — all good. May this momentum build and build and build. I want to do a happy dance for good climate legislation and rulings by judges that affirm it. Yes!
Bobbie Morgan, Bainbridge Island
Ethics: An idea for government leaders’ finances
As I watch my retirement shrink, I cannot help but notice how rich President Donald Trump, Congress members and the rest of the 1% have become. How can this travesty be stopped? There is a solution.
Why not make the president, all members of the Cabinet (and assistant secretaries), members of the Supreme Court, federal judges and all members of Congress place their assets in a blind trust? If one does not know how a decision affects one’s portfolio, maybe the best choice is more likely to be made. Furthermore, make it a felony for anyone (including aides and family members) to violate the blind trust. Will it work? I don’t know, but it may be worth a try.
I know it will never happen — there is just too much money involved, and we are a nation subject to greed. We as a society would have to demand our politicians propose the rule and then hold their feet to the fire until it is passed.
Just a thought.
Randy Freburg, Woodinville
EPA: ‘Protecting polluters’
Re: “EPA eliminates rule that limits planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants” (Sept. 14, Nation & World Politics):
You’ve got to be joking.
When I read that the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to repeal rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants, I was incredulous. Apparently, this will “unleash” American energy, reduce costs and protect grid reliability.
With this logic, police departments could save money by eliminating laws against murder, speeding and theft. As a physician, I could save time and money with a declaration that smoking is healthy and that broken bones will eventually heal all by themselves.
The agency says greenhouse gases from generating plants don’t contribute much to pollution. This must be reassuring to the families breathing wildfire smoke, enduring record heat and paying higher insurance premiums resulting from the climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
Perhaps the EPA could also repeal the law of gravity. Think of the savings on ladders, stairs … and airplanes! The real joke is that the EPA is charged with protecting public health but treats clean air as an annoying obstacle to energy abundance.
I’m proud that Washington invests in clean, reliable energy. We deserve an EPA that protects humanity, rather than one protecting polluters from accountability.
Johannes Dankers, M.D., Redmond
