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Neighborly advice
Dear Editor,
Lately, I have been thinking about how quickly we have come to see the label before we see the person.
Democrat. Republican. Conservative. Liberal. Christian. Nonbeliever. Immigrant. Gay. Straight. We hear a label, see a bumper sticker or read something on social media, and we think we know who that person is. We make assumptions before we ever hear their story. Somewhere along the way, we have forgotten that behind every label is a human being.
That person has hopes and fears.
They have people they love. They have experienced loss, disappointment, joy and probably more than a few mistakes along the way. They are trying to make sense of their lives, just as we are. We may have very different ideas about politics, religion or the direction of our country, but those differences do not make either of us less human.
I am not suggesting that we stop disagreeing. I certainly do not intend to. There are things I believe strongly, and there are times when I believe we have a responsibility to speak up, especially when someone is being treated unfairly or when I believe something is simply wrong. Respect does not require silence. It requires remembering that the person with whom I disagree is still a person.
That seems especially important right now.
Our national conversation has become so angry and so personal that disagreement can quickly turn into contempt. We stop listening. We assume the worst. We talk about people instead of talking with them. And once we decide that someone is the enemy, it becomes much easier to dismiss anything they say.
I worry about what that does to us.
Here in Warren and Warren County, we are still neighbors. We see one another at the grocery store, at community events, at church, at school activities and around town. We know that the person across the street may vote differently than we do. They may worship differently. They may see the world through a completely different lens.
But they are still our neighbor.
Maybe finding our way back to one another begins there. Not by pretending our differences do not matter, but by refusing to let those differences erase the person standing in front of us.
Listen before judging. Ask before assuming. Disagree when you must, but do not forget the human being on the other side of the disagreement.
Before the politics, see the person.
Before the label, see the neighbor.
That does not solve everything. But it might help us remember who we are and what we owe one another.
We are still one human family.
Doug Hearn,
Warren
Painful choices
Dear Editor,
What is going on? This is crazy. President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" generously awarded 45% welfare tax breaks to the wealthiest top 5% and cut back SNAP payments and eliminated medical coverage for many lower income individuals and working families.
As a result there are unprecedented requests at Food Banks and Food Pantries while Fat Cat welfare recipients make generous political contributions to their benefactors.
What is more crazy is that polls indicate 46% of voters with household incomes of $50,000 and lower voted for Trump and plan to vote for Trump's Rubber Stamp supporters. What are they thinking?
This situation is reminiscent of CBS's former late night show host, David Letterman's interviewing people on the street. Many had no clue. It was hilarious but the low level of awareness was sad, very sad. Still is.
Don Scott
North Warren
Save Social Security
Dear Editor,
We seniors spend our whole lives working hard and paying into Social Security -- we shouldn't pay needless taxes when it's finally time to collect the benefits we have earned.
If Congress had indexed the $32,000 married-couple threshold to average wage growth since 1984, it would exceed $96,000 today. Likewise, the $25,000 single-filer threshold would sit above $75,000 today if it had kept pace with the SSA's average wage index.
The income thresholds triggering that tax have never been updated for inflation.
Social Security benefits became taxable in 1984, with thresholds never adjusted for inflation. The new $6,000 senior deduction offers partial relief but leaves original tax rules unchanged.
Eliminating the $184,500 cap on income subject to Social Security taxation is needed now!
An increase is expected. It's not enough for seniors to keep up with rising costs for goods and services. Last year, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) pointed out that premiums for Medicare Part B rose by 9.7% for 2026 — from $185.00 to $202.90 — more than three times the 2026 COLA of 2.8%. The premiums also grew faster than the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in 2024 and 2025.
TSCL has long pushed for Congress to overhaul the method for calculating COLAs, calling instead for a system based on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) -- which is "specifically based on the spending patterns of Americans 62 years of age and older," the Bureau of Labor Statistics says.
TSCL bases its projections on the same metrics used by the Social Security Administration to calculate the annual COLA for retired beneficiaries. However, the group has long argued that this data (i.e., the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners, which itself is a measure of the change in prices for common consumer goods and services) does not take into account the costs that elderly Americans are paying for things like medicine, housing and groceries.
Congress has reintroduced the Social Security 2100 Act, which would use the CPI-E to calculate COLA changes, but TSCL says the bill's future is grim.
"The bill is the gold standard for Social Security reform and accomplishes the majority of changes older Americans want to see for the program," TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton said in a press release, noting that while the bill is unlikely to pass, "it should."
In addition to the benefits the Social Security 2100 Act could have on COLA adjustments, TSCL argues it could extend the program's lifespan for another three decades.
Rep. Mike Kelly, Sens. John Fettermen and Dave McCormack, please, please aggressively advocate for my sensible, highly important, and doable recommendations and vote “Yes” for the broader Social Security 2100 Act for we seniors’ Social Security today!
Jim Martin,
Millcreek Township