Letter Response

I think Connie Farone-Maslock's panic stricken letter of June 30th to the Richmond Times Dispatch informing us that as a state employee, she does not have enough money left to pay for insurance, medication, or car payments after she is done paying her gasoline, electric, and telepone bills is symptomatic of the problems of modern America, which is oblivious to the opportunities that surround all of us. Ms. Faraone-Maslock commutes from her home in the beautiful Northern Neck to her job in Richmond every day. She believes that she should get relief from the State government to help fund her commute. Why should she get relief when she has so many options available to her? Assuming she is a good and skilled employee, she could get a job closer to home and would save hundreds on gasoline each month. She could work for a promotion or look for a higher paying job. She could take on part time, home-based work to earn additional dollars. She could move closer to her job in Richmond. No one is owed a home in the Northern Neck and a cheap commute to work in Richmond. The point Ms. Faraone-Maslock misses in her letter is that she lives in the land of opportunity, and before the Commonwealth steps in to meet her need in time of crisis, she should exhaust all the options available to her. It is my strong belief that if she does this, she will not have to write the RT-D again asking for a handout.

I am thinking that this is not going to get published...I also wanted to let the author of the letter know that most people are in fact in the middle class...by definition. Middle class can fluctuate in its affluence, but most people are middle class. I know this fact did not support her request for a handout, but sometimes facts are, well, inconvenient.