A one-party system hurts Idaho residents

I can remember the 1950s when there was as much discrimination in union towns as there was in red-neck, right-wing rural communities. The unions needed to sell the idea that the more people included, the better the economics were for all. I remember the union slogan from the ’50s. “There was Joe who did not know; discrimination costs you dough.”

In time as more people were included and unions become more powerful, conditions improved for the working class. Most workers saw improved standards through the 1960s until about 1980 when corporate leaders got the upper hand and conditions for the workers started to decline.

The same principle applies to the political scene. “People in North Idaho don’t know that the one-party system costs them dough.” We have three representatives in Boise. If your brain is wired “right wing,” you are entitled to two of them. The third one is very expensive. It means people like me are not represented. It seems a sin to support business or causes in North Idaho when these same needs are in parts of the country where the majority are more moderate. The reason we have three representatives is to include more people but human greed takes over and those with the power want all the power.

If three representatives are going to represent the same party and special interests, why do we need three? If we only had one, I would accept that an independent conservative like me couldn’t be represented in a predominately right-wing community. For those who truly want to keep jobs and economic growth out of our area, the one-party right wing system is effective.

HARVEY PINE

Sandpoint