Families

Family is a dying platform. If we don't keep what family values are left in today's world intact; our society will continue to rot. Children need the nurturing of loved ones not the forced bandaid of separation. Being taken from true family sites the child that they do not matter. This alone will cause them more trauma that will continue on to future generations.

I signed this not so much for me but for my dad who uses both and all the other seniors or struggling families they need these programs

I care about this issue because I am disabled after working and paying into social security for decades, and I have friends who are retired. This is insanity, it will cause millions to become homeless. It will cause children to starve. Just to give even more tax breaks to the ultra rich. This is America, We should do better!

After I signed up for the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)--the military equivalent of the 401(k)--I watched as the $8K that I'd saved up in five years' time dropped in the mid-2000s to $3K, as the government took back its share and scooped out my contributions along with it. It would be nothing short of a crime for the same thing to occur with Social Security. This is something we've paid into it with our taxes for decades. This program is a stopgap for millions of Americans who need it to remain housed, fed, and clothed, among other things. Removing it will not "save the government money"--it will only cause more economic trouble in a dozen different directions, and will cheat people out of their own invested funds. We trusted this country, and we invested in the United States with our Social Security taxes, and the U.S. invested in us. It was a promise for us to mutually look after one another--and one that should be kept.

Please, please protect our social security! We have paid into it our entire working lives and we need this. Government may run the program but that money is ours. If you cut it we want every dime we have paid into it returned. If not it's taxation without representation all over again along with outright theft and mismanagement that can't be blamed on anyone other than whomever cuts it.

I paid into Social Security for 52 years. The fund has been repeatedly raided by craven politicians. Any future shortage can easily be precluded by removing the cap on Social Security earnings and making billionaires pay their fair share!

We use our community centers regularly! First, there are very few quality job options for teenagers in N Portland. So my daughter worked hard to become a lifeguard. She started at Pier but that closed and now she works at Peninsula in the summer. We can’t afford a car. Taking a bus to the next closest pool is 45 minutes away. That’s lame!!! We’re in Kenton. Imagine the bus ride from St John.

Families deserve fun, positive, safe, affordable summer activities. The pool offers that. We’ve lost all our pools. It’s not like Peninsula is even close. Please don’t make it harder.

Finally, I am a nanny. I bring my child to Peninsula and Montavilla every week for affordable activities, of which there are few in Portland!! We are currently enrolled in her favorite gymnastics classes. We also use the open gym option weekly.

Please don’t take these positive pieces of our community. Do better. We deserve it!

We relied on SJCC for our kids' after school activities as my spouse & I worked full time jobs of varying hours. They offer high quality yet affordable activities. We relied on accessing their shower so we could bathe when our 100 yr old home had no working shower or bath for a spell! To lose this important community resource would have devastating consequences.

Our community centers are the heart of the community and a gathering space for people of all ages. It is unimaginable the loss that will be felt in the community (specifically N Portland) and people will suffer. Our community needs these spaces and the programs that they offer. They are a safe space for kids, and often part of the growing up process where kids have their first job and learn the importance of working hard, having fun and making an impact. Do not close our community centers.