Letters to the Editor: Stop obstructing the health board's important work
Welfare and work expectations
More Americans are receiving government welfare benefits than ever before. Partly due to COVID-19, Congress drastically expanded welfare eligibility and eliminated work requirements. Mr. Biden is now looking to create new entitlement programs without work requirements.
In 1996, prior to voting in support of welfare reform, then-Sen. Joe Biden said the following: “The culture of welfare must be replaced with the culture of work. The culture of dependence must be replaced with the culture of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility”. That statement represented the views of 24 moderate democrats who joined 54 republicans who supported the bill that then-President Bill Clinton signed.
Fast forward to 2023. ... Mr. Biden has flip-flopped to an extreme liberal position of eliminating work requirements for welfare payments to able-bodied adults. That action is undefendable at a time when the nation has over 9 million job openings. Nearly every hospitality, medical and service business in Emmet County has a help wanted sign posted.
In two short years, the Democratic administration’s uncontrolled spending and short-sighted energy policy has caused more harm to our nation’s economic well-being than any prior administration. The lunacy must end. November 2024 can’t come fast enough.
Joe Daly
Petoskey
Stop obstructing the health board's important work
Having attended the last three board of health meetings, including yesterday’s which ended in a ridiculous inability to approve an agenda, I am calling on the Emmet County Board of Commissioners to remove Rich Ginop as one of our representatives on the board of health.
Mr. Ginop’s role on this board is obstructive and an embarrassment to citizens of Emmet County. He insists on promoting a resolution to limit the Health Department’s ability to protect the public health in a pandemic, despite being informed by the Board of Health’s Chair and Attorney, and the Health Department Director that this is not allowed under the Public Health Code. This is nothing but political grandstanding and an effort to hamstring the legitimate and important work of the department.
At the meeting May 2, Mr. Ginop refused to allow consideration of a very promising grant proposal, which would have provided school nutrition programming to students in three counties. There were many members of the public in attendance, several representing school districts that would be served by the grant, anxious to speak in support of this grant. Mr. Ginop voted against allowing discussion and that testimony to take place. When that effort failed, he then voted against approving the agenda, which effectively halted the Board of Health meeting before it even began.
The Health Department of Northwest Michigan has important work to do. This obstructive behavior is not serving the voters of Emmet County, nor the citizens of the other three counties represented by Mr. Ginop on the board of health.
Commissioner Koontz previously volunteered to continue his service on the Board of Health. I urge the board of commissioners to replace Mr. Ginop with Mr. Koontz. We need someone who will be constructive and open-minded in this role.
Martha Lancaster
West Traverse Township
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Letters: Stop obstructing the health board's important work
