Preschool, family planning fight poverty

Regarding a recent Associated Press article, “More Iowa children living in poverty”: When I found out that kids and their parents are in increasingly bad shape, I thought of two hot-button issues that would undoubtedly help.

The first is obvious: preschool. The fact that those on the political right are even discussing getting rid of preschool shows that they don't understand how important it is, especially for kids who don't have food in their home or who are the victims of abuse.

The second one is family planning. Time and again - the article mentions this - we see the cycle of poverty continue because parents may not have access to birth control and other family planning resources.

So I encourage legislators and Governor-elect Terry Branstad to fund preschool and family planning. They're good for kids, and they're two keys to getting out of this economic slump.

Patricia Albin

Cedar Rapids