OBAMA: Hearing Idaho's sad story

Congressman Raul Labrador thinks President Obama could learn from talking with Idahoans. Labrador’s comments followed the president’s Idaho visit. The venue was Boise State’s Caven-Williams Sports Complex, named for two families who helped provide money for its construction. Labrador suggested Obama might “reflect on the journey of these two Idaho families who worked hard, played by the rules, became successful and generously shared their success with our community. Idaho families work hard and value individual responsibility.”

Our president should talk to Idahoans — the many who couldn’t leave work to hear him speak. There are folks who work two jobs to support their families. There are folks who are minimum wage workers — Idaho is a leader nationally for the percent of workers earning minimum wage. These folks can’t afford higher education for themselves or their children. Some are parents of the nearly one in four Idaho children who are food insecure. These Idaho families work hard, play by the rules and value individual responsibility but are barely getting by — not donating money for a sports complex.

By talking with a representative cross-section of Idahoans, he would confirm the importance of his efforts to give middle-class Americans a fighting chance.

SHIRLEY RINGO

Moscow