William Hemmel: Disappointment, disagreement with new LDS letter-to-editor policy

To The Daily Sun, 

I am writing to express my disappointment and disagreement with your new letter-to-the-editor policy. You state, “Going forward, we will prioritize letters that focus on state and local issues” and “This shift reflects a simple truth: the daily decisions that shape our communities are made not in Washington, but right here in New Hampshire.” I could not disagree more with such a myopic and unrealistic political view.

When a New Hampshire resident sees their health insurance premiums soar by 20, 30, or even 40%, that decision was made in Washington. When a SNAP beneficiary goes without food for a week or two, that cruel outcome was also decided in Washington.

When a local store or restaurant is forced to close because employees cannot show up — or have been deported — that is not a decision anyone in New Hampshire made or wanted. When a rural hospital shuts its doors due to federal changes in Medicare payment systems, that too is a consequence of Washington’s choices, not ours.

When major green-energy projects lose federal funding and electricity prices rise, those decisions do not originate in New Hampshire. And no one in this state voted for the tariffs that have blown a hole in many families’ holiday budgets.

Yes, local governments can repave roads, install traffic lights, and spruce up downtown parks. But they can do little about rising unemployment, inflation, or the many other challenges that ultimately depend on federal action. Tip O’Neill famously said, “All politics is local.” That may have been true in his time, but it is not true today. Most of the political decisions that shape our daily lives are national in scope — and ignoring that reality does a disservice to your readers.

William Hemmel

Moultonborough