WORDS: Equality vs. equity

In your article of Feb. 4 regarding the city of Coeur d’Alene “Preparing for the Future” in which it read the planners and consultants recommended to the Council to focus on 4 areas; among them were “equity and inclusion.” President Biden just signed an executive order requiring all government verbiage be changed from equality to equity, and this verbiage has already trickled down to Coeur d’Alene?

Many think these words have the same meaning but the definition of these words is completely different. Equality means being treated equally. Equity means treating each individual person or situation according to their needs.

At the city level, who will make the decision of equity of need; a bureaucrat, a department head, the council, a lawyer. This is a slippery slope and the first level of socialism, government telling the citizen what they need. Please stop these baby steps before it is too late.

VIVIAN FARMER

Coeur d’Alene