Letter to the editor: I am not a parasite

11,000 of my fellow Tompkins County residents voted for President Trump in 2024. I was not one of them, but I understand why so many did. I was shocked when the price of a pound of flank steak soared over $20. I see young family members struggle to find affordable homes to buy or rent. Many children still struggle to make up deficits caused because of the COVID shutdown. Voting for a change made sense to many, especially when the Democrats failed to craft an effective message.

Two months into the President’s term, it is clear my neighbors made a bad bet. I am an everyday senior citizen who paid taxes, worked at the local community college, and raised a family here. I rely on Social Security and Medicare. This is what members of my extended family have experienced in the past two months. Because of cuts to the VA, my purple heart recipient brother-in-law faces delays accessing health care. My nephew, a naval engineer working in a shipyard servicing a submarine class vital to national security, might lose his job. The economic turmoil spawned by tariffs decimated my retirement nest egg.

I also am caregiver for my husband who has Alzheimer’s. He is happy and safe. We manage. Still, I would not wish our situation on anyone. Two weeks ago, Elon Musk and his minions fired 10% of the staff at the NIH Blount Institute that performs innovative research on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. There is no cure for my husband, but any lag in research means that a cure for my children or grandchildren remains further in the future. This feckless action was like a dagger to my heart.

Over the past few weeks I have contacted dozens of Republican congresspeople asking them to speak out against the cuts in Alzheimer’s research. I received only polite thanks.

The same response greeted my request that they speak out against a new rule that all Social Security recipients register in person.  Do these folks not know what a struggle it is for many elderly and disabled people to leave their homes? What can I expect when Elon Musk, who is managing these cuts, refers to people on government programs as “parasites”  on X.

As for the Republican Congresspeople who blew off my calls and remain silent while Musk ravages the services we need. What do I say? I say I am a senior citizen who has done my part to make my community a better place. Millions of us observe Republicans remain silent while Musk dismantles Social Security and other services on which we depend. We are not parasites. We are citizens. And we vote.

-Ann Sullivan, Ithaca