Letters to the Editor: We should share the burden of pandemic’s economic fallout

Share the burden

This letter is in response to the recent Herald-Leader opinion piece on the furlough of medical staff at the University of Kentucky. We are constantly being told that “we are all in this together.” But those making the decisions to lay off or furlough people all have a steady paycheck with no cut in salary. I suspect that this is so across the community. Oh, how they are suffering like the rest of us! After all “we are all in this together.”

John Moore, Lexington

More horses!

Lexington is considered the “horse capital of the world,” so during this slowdown in business why doesn’t the Herald-Leader make a special effort to educate the public about our great equine history, its personalities, economic benefits, and the contributions it makes to our region and the commonwealth. The equine industry provides more than 100,000 jobs in Kentucky, fosters a huge tax base, and spreads international prestige and goodwill. Tourists flock here for our history, racing, pageantry, and the business aspects of horse sales, equestrian events, breeding, and farm visits. Winston Churchill wrote, “There’s something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” It’s true.

For the last six weeks, the paper’s sports section has been solely devoted to University of Kentucky basketball and its history. Daily we have relived every detail of games, championship stats, and player personalities. We’ve had enough. As sports fans, we need something new, exciting, and stimulating, and it’s not more basketball drivel. To paraphrase playwright William Shakespeare in “Richard III, “ A horse, a horse! My kingdom for some horse coverage!”

Robert Adams, Lexington

Derby date

Dr. Deborah Birx of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus team recently announced that the social distancing requirement will have to continue through the end of the summer. Summer ends in mid-September. With this in mind, I wonder why the Kentucky Derby was moved to Sept. 5, when it will probably have to be run without any fans in the stands. Derby officials could have done that this weekend, on the traditional first Saturday in May.

Charles Buckley, Lexington

Economic gulf

The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is already immeasurable, and not because of the lockdowns. This crisis has reexposed the devastating wealth gap in this country with the disparities between essential workers.

I applaud the heroic efforts of our healthcare workers who are putting their lives on the line and saving so many.

Still, I wonder: Have we forgotten that other essential workers also putting their lives on the line for us, like those helping us check out at the grocery store, mostly don’t even have health insurance or a living wage? Remember that when someone makes the tired argument that universal healthcare and a raised minimum wage are just to back up lazy people.

Meanwhile mega corporations, who have spent billions buying their own stock and have furloughed millions of workers without pay, are receiving handouts left and right. Why do small businesses, the true drivers of employment in this country, have to jump through so many hoops to get their lifeline during this? Why does the pain of crises always fall on citizens doing their best and not on reckless corporations?

I hope this time ushers in a new era of empathy and understanding with our fellow Americans.

Barton Lynch, Lexington

Praise for most

As a lifelong proud American and Kentuckian for almost 81 years, it has become clear that my fellow citizens, as a whole, are the most caring, generous, and charitable people on the earth. Ordinary citizens have been doing extraordinary things during these difficult times.

I am referring to the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers who are exposing themselves to serious health problems and even death to take care of their fellow citizens. Included are the police and firefighters, who face danger every day.

The list includes food industry workers, truck drivers, store clerks, gas station attendants, and others who provide vital services. The school teachers and administrators cannot be left out because they are providing some semblance of normalcy and structure for our children. All the above should be honored, admired, and thanked by all of us.

Deliberately omitted from this list are most politicians, political pundits, editorial writers, and those bomb throwers disguised as thoughtful writers of letters to the editor. As extraordinary as the first list? Hardly.

James Todd, Lexington