Letter to the Editor: Too many federal programs a big part of fiscal problems

We are living in a precarious time! We are about to elect a president who hopefully will guide us out of this financial disaster that is partially caused by too much government.

According to the government accountability office the following are some of the examples. We have 82 federal programs to improve teacher quality; 80 programs to help disadvantaged people with transportation; 80 programs for economic development; 47 programs for job training and employment; 20 separate programs to help the homeless; 15 different agencies overseeing food safety laws and one of the most outrageous examples is the 56 programs in 20 different agencies promoting financial literacy, while our government itself is on the verge of bankruptcy!

As citizens we must demand sweeping and deep cuts in the duplicative waste in government spending that is threatening to weaken this nation and leave it a shadow of its former greatness.

I am a retired educator and I was a superintendent in the 70s when the state and federal government started forcing their way into finance and with it the rules and the hurdles to jump. That is why the 82 federal programs to improve teaching are especially ludicrous.

That is when the state started taking money away from local districts and giving them a smaller portion in return. Thus, we had the start of special levies. Five mills was the limit and that was supposed to be adequate. Unless you haven’t paid your taxes you know the rest of the story. For several years the federal money depended on how well the district wrote their grants, and jumped through the hoops. I know how to write grants and I was offered two positions where I would have no other responsibilities. I rejected both offers, as federal and state control is not the answer for quality education.

Gerald W. Ray

Spokane