Aug 18, 2003 2 min read

In 2002, only 41 percent of registered Fayette County voters cast a vote in the gubernatorial election. As a percentage of the population, only 38 percent cast a vote. These numbers embody a considerable amount of apathy and apparent disinterest in a county where the election of local, state and national officials should foster considerable, if not overwhelming significance. We can do better. Let us consider some startling facts. According to the Center For Rural Pennsylvania, 46.3 percent of households earn an income of less than $17,500; 32 percent have not graduated from high school; the poverty rate for children under 18, sadly, is 30 percent, and the unemployment rate in Fayette County, as recently as April was, 10.6 percent.

Nationally, under the current administration the unemployment rate is at a 10-year high; the burgeoning federal deficit is at a 50-year high, and 74.7 million Americans struggled without health insurance for all or part 2002. Eight out of 10 uninsured Americans are in working families, not merely unemployed. This is simply wrong and unacceptable for the richest and most advanced nation in the world to deny care to sick families simply because they cannot afford it, unlike every other industrialized nations in the world. We can do better.

This is not a time for apathy and ambivalence. Rather, it is time to take action. First, we must register to vote, thereby ensuring a voice in the political process that influences every facet of our collective lives.

Second, we must elect a president who is responsive to the issues that confront us everyday as a community. A president who concedes that the recent irresponsible tax cut benefiting the richest 2 percent of Americans is better directed toward the basic needs of our country – healthcare coverage for all Americans, better education, drug coverage for seniors and job creation.

As the Democratic governor of Vermont, Howard Dean guaranteed health insurance for 92 percent of adults and 96 percent of children in his state. In addition, while lowering taxes and the unemployment rate, Gov. Dean enhanced funding for education, improved prenatal care and created higher paying jobs. Most importantly, he achieved this economic and social justice while balancing the budget in each of his five terms. Support Howard Dean as the Democratic candidate for president in 2004.

Patrick Kwasny

LaBelle