ANS -- Letter to Joe Manchin

I wrote a letter to Joe Manchin and sent it to him by snailmail.  Here is what I said:  

--kim

Senator Joe Manchin

306 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510

 

 

Dear Senator Manchin –

I know that many people are trying to persuade you to change your position on the Build Back Better plan.  Here is my attempt – I hope I bring up a couple of points no one else has come up with. 

By scuttling Biden, you are scuttling the most pro-union president we have had since FDR. I suspect that the Unions you depend on will see that too. 

The reason for being "fiscally conservative" and not spending a lot is so that, when the need arrives, you have the means to spend generously and thus fix the problem. That's where we are now. 

We have, or should have, been saving up to fix infrastructure, and that does include things like help for childcare, because that's how the modern world is structured.  There are times when spending conservatively doesn't really fix the problem, it just kicks it down the road, making it worse and more expensive in the future. 

Finally, at the risk of being overly spiritual, I would urge you to think about why you feel you need to protect your coal income at the risk of the whole planet?  Why do you need a lot more money than you already have?  How much is enough?  Or, is it not about the amount, but about keeping ahead in the game?  How important is that game when the cost is dire? Ultimately, isn't it the person who can afford to drop out of the game, the richest of all?

 

Thank you for considering this,

Kim Cooper