dojA002136.xml

dojA002136.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2001-12-17

Monday, December 17, 2001 8:51 PM
income disparity in compensation

To Whom It May Concern:

I implore you to ensure that all who lost loved ones in the World Trade
Center, Pentagon, and Pennsylvania be entitled to at least a generous minimum
compensation level. Under traditional rules, the survivors of a bond trader
earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much
compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants
destroyed. I believe that justice requires looking far beyond the last
paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum
compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double
blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of
the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first
place.

Folks with high level professional jobs most likely were well-insured and
left their family members with greater resources to fall back upon. Please
make every effort to ease the pain and hardship of working class families who
lost their breadwinners. Special consideration also should be given to the
immigrant parents who worked multiple jobs to create opportunities for their
children, then young professionals at the WTC. I've heard heartbreaking
stories of parents in Chinatown whose worlds were shattered after devoting
their whole lives to ensuring that their children were better off
financially. Don't let their struggle be forgotten as you allocate relief
dollars to all the survivors.

Thank you,
Individual Comment
Leicester, MA

2001-12-17