Cuts will target all of us

Last month, all but one Republican member of the U.S. House voted for a budget resolution that would dramatically cut Medicaid to pay for rich people’s tax breaks. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently determined that Republicans cannot make the spending cuts they want without taking an ax to Medicaid or Medicare or both. All to make wealthy people wealthier.

Many people will suffer if these programs are slashed, and the damage will have huge ripple effects. Rural hospitals are particularly vulnerable; Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, our major provider, derives 74.3 percent of its payments from Medicare and Medicaid. The facility is still recovering from the financial impacts of COVID-19, the need to hire traveling staff to fill gaps, and long stays for patients in an older-skewing population. Even as OMC is seeking a partnership to keep its services sustainable, starving Medicaid and Medicare could doom those efforts. This poses a direct and acute threat to our community.

While we must strongly urge our own representatives to oppose the cuts, it is the Republicans who most need to hear from their constituents. Tell your friends and relatives in red states and districts: these cuts will target all of us. They will not just harm individuals, but close down hospitals and health services that whole communities depend on. Their representatives need to hear from them now.

Janine Blaeloch

Sequim

No bunnies

With spring and the Easter holiday almost upon us, I would like to remind people to please not buy baby rabbits that are sometimes sold this time of year. Here are some of the reasons:

Sometimes rabbits are purchased as an impulse buy because they are cute and they are a symbol of Easter. Unfortunately, when they grow to be adults and/or people tire of caring for them, they are often released into the wild.

Domestic rabbits are not meant to live in the wild and do not have the same natural survival instincts as wild or native rabbits. They often have a difficult life in the wild and are often killed by coyotes or other predators.

If they do survive in the wild, they can breed with other domestic rabbits that have been abandoned, increasing the population. If rabbits are kept, they are often housed in tiny cages with inappropriate food and water.

Some rabbits are released in neighborhoods or the forest because animal shelters are frequently at capacity and the ones they already have are difficult to get adopted.

Rabbits can make wonderful pets if they are cared for properly. They are intelligent, playful and can be affectionate. If you are thinking about getting a rabbit as a pet, please go to your library or online and research their care. Also please visit your local animal shelter that cares for rabbits to adopt one.

Anita Shearer

Sequim