Sanders’ candidacy for president marks hopeful future

Much of our population lives in poverty while very few are exceedingly rich. The American people are hurting.

Everything is costly and wages have not proportionally gone up. Our health care, infrastructure, education, justice, and service industries are failing. Unemployment and underemployment are high. Mortgages are commonly under water. Young people fear going to college with outrageous tuition and interest on loans exorbitant, plus slim chances of landing a well-paying job.

Discouraging young people from education does not forecast a bright national future.

We rank high in three areas: Incarceration rate, gun deaths and unending wars. Repealing the Glass-Steagall Act and enacting Citizens United added to the mix. With political campaigns now consuming enormous money, it’s big corporations — not common men — our legislative system serves.

This lays the ground for the amazing grassroots surge to elect democratic candidate Bernie Sanders for president. He is immensely popular, particularly among millennials. Supporting Bernie Sanders is actually a call for a revolution — a fierce desire for changes sweeping over our failed political system.

Bernie’s America will be a country with more compassion, more equitable distribution of wealth and much more just law. Bernie’s America will be a country average people will enjoy living in again. He calls for a system much more equitably serving all, not just the exceedingly wealthy few.

Our political machine, like a steam engine off track, must be turned around.

Pam Krimsky

Highland

Real solutions needed to combat climate change

This letter is in response to Michael Kahn’s Feb. 13 article published in the Poughkeepsie Journal (“Making changes can help ward off climate change,” Feb. 13).

This article made me think about my friends and family who live in the Northeast and enjoy spending winters in Florida’s warmer weather.

There has recently been a flood of media coverage regarding the streets of Miami. The shoreline there has moved to the pavement and the streets of South Florida are regularly flooded during high tides.

Residents of South Florida are alarmed about local consequences of climate change. These conditions will only worsen if our government continues to ignore the issue. We need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to limit the effects of climate change. The chances that our great country will indeed take real action have recently increased due to the creation of the Climate Solutions Caucus in the House of Representatives.

This caucus was organized by U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-FL and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-FL. Its goal is to bring together both Republicans and Democrats to develop national policies aimed at solving climate change.

Michael does an excellent job writing about climate change. However, he doesn’t address real solutions. Putting a price on carbon needs to be part of the solution. A revenue-neutral carbon fee with all monies collected returned in equal measure to all American households is a wonderful means to accomplish our goals.

Let’s get our feet wet with solutions, not sea water.

Jody Schoenfeld

Columbia County Chapter

Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Local drivers should be aware of speed limit

I am a resident of the City of Poughkeepsie and travel Wilbur Blvd. several times a day.

Twice recently, I have been passed by cars whose drivers apparently think I am going too slow at 35 mph, even though the speed limit is 30 mph. And I have not seen the city or town re-mark the roadway recently — it is still a double yellow line.

Maybe if people gave themselves a few extra minutes to travel to their destination — instead of putting people’s lives at risk — it might be a better and safer option.

Perhaps a few extra traffic patrols during morning and evening commutes could provide another option: A suspended license and public transportation.

Michele Curatolo

Poughkeepsie