To the editor:

Congratulations to the Lawrence Journal-World for printing the Dec. 19 article, “Elderly lives less valuable, White House analysis says,” on its front page. It is astounding that the national news media has not given the matter far more attention.

In keeping with Bush environmental policies, the Office of Management and Budget rationalized its relaxed environmental standards for snowmobiles and power plant pollution. It enacted an outdated and unproven rule that compares the value of the potential extension of an older person’s life to the cost a polluter incurs to comply with environmental regulations. The article states, “Saving the life of someone 70 or older may be worth only 63 percent as much as saving the life of someone younger, according to Bush administration regulators.”

My 94-year-old mother responded to this news by stating that she then should only have to pay 63 percent of the taxes she owes. This is an egregious example of the Bush administration devaluing the lives of our seniors (and eventually all of us) in favor of the potential profits of its campaign contributors in the fossil fuel industries. This policy should be thoroughly investigated along with the accompanying motivational factors. Compassionate conservatism, indeed.

Helen D. Hansen,

Lawrence