Letters to the editor: PPP forgiveness, social events, rudeness
Editor’s note: The deadline to submit letters to the editor related to the elections is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23.
PPP forgiveness
President Trump called an end to negotiations over additional COVID-19 relief and asked Mitch McConnell to focus on confirmation of Amy Barret until he “wins the election.” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said lack of further support would lead to a weak economic recovery. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo and Rep. Russ Fulcher march in lockstep and are nothing more than their lackeys.
Idaho businesses are begging for Congress to act on unanswered questions from the original Paycheck Protection Program. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has called for granting blanket forgiveness to the smallest businesses if they certify their spending as called for in their loan applications. The American Bankers Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants support the proposal. Businesses and bankers will spend countless hours, and incur unnecessary fees, completing complicated SBA paperwork if this proposal is not passed.
This spring the IRS issued statements saying businesses could not deduct expenses with PPP loan proceeds that are forgiven. This was not Congress’ intent, yet, they have failed to resolve this discrepancy.
I get questions every day from my clients on these issues. Our elected officials need to serve their constituents. If not, I believe the voters know what they need to do on Election Day.
Steve Severn, CPA, Boise
Social events
There is an endless list of things that I worry about during the ongoing pandemic. Children are not reaping the educational benefits of in-person learning. Our friends and families, especially those that are vulnerable, are forced to socially distance. Idahoans have lost jobs or housing, or experienced financial setbacks. During this time, politicians and political groups must respond with care. Politics is important but no fundraiser, or social event is worth putting at risk the health of our community. Last weekend, the Ada County Republicans hosted an event with 750 people in Eagle. The event violated the existing health orders in place that are necessary to keep Idahoans safe from coronavirus. Events like this put lives in danger and hamstring our efforts to get back to normal. No political event is worth putting our kids even further behind in their education, increasing the time we have to stay physically distanced from family and friends, or risking more cases of the deadly and highly contagious coronavirus. Politics is about building a better community, but that never should come at the expense of the health and safety of our communities.
Erik Steven Berg, Boise, chair, Ada County Democrats
Rudeness
Last week when I was participating at the State Street Demonstration for American Values a sweet young woman held a homemade sign that simply said, “Be Kind.” A car driving by with a Trump bumper sticker made an obscene gesture at her. I felt sorry for her. I also felt sorry for the person driving the car. It appears that the Republican “R” has come to represent “Rude.” Watching the presidential debates I could not help but think how rude the president was as he continued to talk over and interrupt Vice President Biden. I saw it again while watching the vice presidential debates as Mike Pence continually talked past his agreed-upon two minutes and talked while Kamala Harris was speaking. It is sad that the Republican Party has become the party of “Rude.” I hope our country votes to remove the “Rude” and return us to “Respect.” Can we at least “Be Kind”?
Respectfully,
Thomas Neale, Boise
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 10:36 AM.