Readers on Trump's 'big beautiful bill,' LGBTQ+, homeowners insurance

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2 days ago

We are very disappointed in all five Republican members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation who voted "yes" for a federal spendthrift budget bill that adds $3.8 trillion to the national debt while threatening the health and welfare of the poorest Oklahomans. They are not representing the people who elected them by voting to slash funding for Medicaid and the SNAP food stamp programs in favor of tax shelters for the wealthiest Americans.
Oklahoma is a poor state. If our tax dollars go to billionaires rather than helping the poorest citizens, the federal government has already indicated states, including Oklahoma, will be asked to contribute more in state taxes to fund safety net programs that we already paid for.
These demands will come at a bad time. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the Republican-led Oklahoma Legislature's new bill that will trigger a .25% tax cut beginning in budget year 2026 if revenue exceeds the fiscal year 2023 baseline by $300 million. This cut in available state funds is expected to lower available revenue by $108.2 million, according to Senate staff and the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
Oklahomans voted to expand Medicaid to 200,000 Oklahomans through the petition process after state legislators ignored the Affordable Care Act provisions to expand health care for 10 years. This vote tells us that health care is a priority for the people in our state.
The spendthrift bill our congressional delegation supported is an obvious transfer of wealth from Oklahoma and America's poor and middle class into the already well-stuffed pockets of the nation's richest 1%. We see it for what it is.
― Jody Harlan & Tim Wagner, Yukon
When I was young but old enough to understand the significance of the ceremony, I was baptized into my church and given a leather covered King James Bible with my name embossed in gold. I tried to read it through but after great effort, gave up. It was hard to read through, and I found killings, family abandonment, rapes and even a beheading. I decided to let my parents and my minister pick the passages I should read and live by. Since then, I have been given many Bibles, from the Gideons, the Red Cross in Korea and other churches as I've moved around. It's even free on the internet.I read "The Glass Castle" some time ago, found it excellent and recommended it to my wife and she to our daughter and to her ladies' book club in our church. It was one of the great books the Oklahoma State Department of Education tried to ban. For the life of me I cannot remember an unseemly passage in it. The Bible would be banned if the same people were reading it for the first time.I don't understand the need to put Bibles in our public schools. A child should be guided by his minister and parents as he reads the Bible, not by a busy schoolteacher. Other religions such as (Satanists) would then be able to put their material in our schools. We will get more Sean Sellers who led a (Satanism) club at Putnam City North High School until he was caught murdering three people and executed at age 17. Also, it is against the law. The founders wrote that the government shall separate itself from any religion. Public schools are run and owned by our government. To violate the Constitution and spend $3 million of our tax dollars for expensive Bibles that most every family already has several copies of is foolish and wrong. Ryan Walters must have an ulterior motive.― Dr. David Brinker, Oklahoma City
More: Christian nationalism is being forced into OK schools. It's a war on reality. | Opinion
How sad to read the vicious comments of Dillon Awes about gay people, Jews and others, cloaked of course, in religion. As I have grown old, I have watched the 'Family Values' shouters: Billy James Hargis, Jimmy Swaggart, Ralph Shorty, Paul Pressler, Jared Woodfill (I could fill the page). Look up these 'family values' stalwarts.
When I attended OBU and Moody Bible Institute before volunteering for Vietnam, the Jesus I studied wouldn't have run with Dillon Awes. Jesus came to rail against the chest beaters, the pious hypocrites that prayed loudly so that others might see them, those who used religion to be cruel, to control, to hurt others. Jesus came to remind us that the sins of the flesh are not nearly as egregious as the way we treat our fellow human beings. Jesus lived and died saying that, 'I accept responsibility for humankind's failings and my love, God's love, extends to everyone.' His entire message was to ask us to treat others with love, compassion and understanding.
I cannot tell you that my two tours in Vietnam with the 4th Infantry Division, K Company 75th Airborne Rangers accomplished anything good, but I can tell you that the men I served with, 100% volunteers, believed they were fighting and dying so that ALL Americans might have equal rights, equal opportunities. ALL AMERICANS, not just those that Dillon Awes thinks have a right to live.
I teared up as I wrote this. What have we become?
― Jack Werner, Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City church leader Dillon Awes' position that LGBTQ+ people should be executed is profoundly ignorant of longstanding recognition by relevant national associations.
Sexual orientation and gender identity have for some 40 years been deemed normal human characteristics ― neither sickness nor sin ― by the American Psychiatric Association, Psychological Association, Medical Association, and National Association of Social Workers.
Awes' judgments, his obsolete, incorrect and detestable stereotypical beliefs about LGBTQ+ people are unworthy of any otherwise normally functioning person who can read and write.
― Nathaniel Batchelder, Oklahoma City
More: Is hail really to blame for Oklahoma's high insurance rates? Why weather experts say no
Lately, there's been growing concern — and even criticism — about rising homeowners' insurance rates in Oklahoma. I understand the frustration. Some have asked whether the Oklahoma Insurance Department, and I personally, are doing enough. So let me set the record straight.
First, let me tell you what the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) does regarding rates. Contrary to what some believe, we don't set them. We don't approve them. Oklahoma, like 37 other states, uses a 'file-and-use' or 'use-and-file' system. Our job is to ensure that those filings are lawful, non-discriminatory and transparent. We monitor the market closely, enforce consumer protections and act when companies break the law.
Now I want to talk about why rates are high, because they affect all of us. It's not only because of hail! Oklahoma is one of the most disaster-prone states in the country. We face tornadoes, hail, wind, wildfires and floods — many times, all in the same year. These natural disasters have caused significant damage and massive payouts by insurance companies. In 2023, insurers in Oklahoma paid out $129 in claims for every $100 they collected in premiums. That kind of imbalance simply isn't sustainable. Even after some improvement in 2024, payouts are still at $97 per $100 in premiums. When companies consistently lose money, they raise rates — some even stop writing new policies and leave the state. Luckily, we are not seeing an exodus of companies.
Oklahoma consumers have choices because of the way our state works. Over 100 licensed companies write homeowners insurance in Oklahoma, and more than 50 are actively doing so. Competition in the market helps keep prices in check. OID is also pushing forward and working on long-term solutions. One example is the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes grant program, which helps homeowners fortify their homes against severe weather. Stronger homes mean fewer claims and lower premiums.
I do hear your concerns, and I share them. Nobody wants to see costs go up. But I want you to know this: Our team is fighting every day to ensure Oklahoma's insurance market remains fair, competitive and focused on protecting you. That's our mission. That's our commitment.
— Glen Mulready, Oklahoma insurance commissioner
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK insurance commissioner speaks up about homeowners' rates | Letters