I am most concerned about the homeless and poor in the United States. We are supposed to be the richest country in the world, but it is hard to believe. Why are we willing to help foreign countries and not help our own people? This I do not understand. The poor are getting poorer, and the rich are getting richer.

Everyone wants more money and more power. People in the medical profession, utilities, and insurance companies are robbing the poor. Food prices continue to rise, so how do poor families feed their children? Cereal is $2 and $3 per box, and even the price of postage stamps is going up.

Why not take a little cut in salaries, starting at the federal level? That would be a good beginning, and perhaps others would follow. Dorothy Wallace Waldoboro

I was disappointed to read about the problems Bill Rae and Wayne Walker have received with their efforts to provide a shelter for the homeless. So often we find ourselves in agreement with others that something has to be done for oppressed people — whether they be the homeless, AIDS victims, or minorities. Yet we don’t want it to be done with our time, our money, or in our proximity. Out of selfishness we want it done elsewhere with someone else’s time and money…. Lonnie V. Scott Bangor