Dear Editor: As a progressive, I feel I must speak out in opposition to positions I have seen advanced in The Covington News lately. The progressive believes that people are more important than money. This explains the progressive attitude toward the wealthiest individuals in our country. It also explains the incredulity this writer finds in the claim that we have a Christian nation.

With regard to the wealthiest in our country, they have created their extreme wealth, not through market forces, but by a cynical manipulation of our government. They have literally written the tax code and regulations to grab a disproportionate amount of wealth for themselves.

A progressive holds that, as billionaire Warren Buffet points out, the wealthiest have a proportionate duty to contribute to our society. An accurate picture disproves arguments that they already pay enough taxes. For one example, just the top 1 percent of earners take nearly a quarter of our country’s income. Also, biased views of tax burden omit the regressive payroll taxes paid by workers. Morally, this rule of proportionality applies to everyone.

With regard to the notion of a Christian nation, I do not see these Christians demanding our government apply Christ’s values. If they did, they would demand housing, clothing, and feeding the poor as our top national spending priority. They would demand, not fight, universal health care. They would march on Washington to prevent cutting education spending and not for selfish wealth. In other words, they would recognize the moral duty to accept less so we could care for the least among us.

One must conclude that avarice has become the top value espoused by our community. From recent letters, it is clear that facts and scholarship are not important to the conservatively correct politics in our community. Sadly, it is also true of our sense of morality.