Letter to the Editor-Re: Maalouf

I was rather perplexed whilst reading a column by Maalouf entitled “Democrats are Alienating Pro-Lifers.” Could this be: Maalouf supporting a Democrat?
Indeed, it is not “fair” to decline a person’s candidacy based solely on one issue-in this case, being Tim Roemer’s stance on abortion; however, I don’t see the Democrats’ wariness over his becoming chairman stemming from this one issue.
I could beat the abortion bush a million times, but that’s not really the point here: the point being that there are more issues that Roemer stands for or is opposed to than just abortion. Finding out these issues just takes a little time and research-two things required of a journalist before publishing such a column.
Roemer also supports the death penalty (sort of a contradiction to the whole point of valuing life), and these personal retirement accounts that Bush is traveling the country trying to promote (emphasis on “trying” here).
Bush’s plan to help the current situation involving Social Security relies heavily on strong investment gains in financial markets that are already economically boggled down by an aging society.
These accounts are, of course, voluntary, but the decision of whether or not to allow this sort of reform affects us all-especially younger generations. If projected gains aren’t worth the investment because of demographics, why should the government borrow trillions of dollars for a plan that is not going to solve the current problem of a dwindling trust fund?
Dick Cheney put it bluntly last week: $754 billion will be borrowed over the next decade with trillions more having to be borrowed in subsequent decades. This administration is already under tough scrutiny over its record deficit of $427 billion. These personal retirement accounts will only add to this deficit if the money is continually borrowed. And Bush still thinks that his tax cuts can become permanent. He must be on something.
So as one can conclude, with a little research, Roemer does not only differ on some key Democratic issues, but he is also supporting a Social Security program that will drive us all into debt. It is clear that the Democrats are only trying to protect the best interests of our generation, and those to come.
Erin L. Joyce
WCU Alumna