This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re "Utah refuses to extend jobless benefits" (Tribune, April 3):
Since King — whoops! — Sen. Michael Waddoups will receive his government-provided retirement health care for life after ruling in the Utah Senate for 10 years, his hypocritical statement regarding Utah's unemployed made me snort with disgust.
"People need to be weaned off of the government" is what he said when he informed his peasants — whoops! — his constituents that Utah would not accept an additional 13 weeks of unemployment funds from the federal government.
Perhaps Waddoups is unaware that Utah's unemployed use their unemployment benefits to pay child support and buy groceries, all while frantically looking for a job, any job, to support themselves and their families. But royalty rarely knows how the public is suffering, so I'm not surprised at Waddoups' comments. Disgusted, yes; surprised, no.
Teri Harrison
Salt Lake City