On May 9, it will be crucial for everyone in Peterborough to cast their votes.
Articles 9, 10 and 11 are raising the question of whether Peterborough should become a sanctuary city. Wikipedia’s definition of a sanctuary city is “a city that limits its cooperation with the national government in order to help people who are in the country illegally avoid deportation.” When I think of our town as a sanctuary city, I cannot picture many residents of Peterborough being in support of intentionally breaking federal law.
We have enough economic challenges in the years ahead and if we become a sanctuary city there will be even more uncertainty in our economic future. Imagine the drain on the budget if we lose federal funds! This would be disastrous. Also, some of our older adults may have to leave Peterborough due to their limited income and inability to afford property tax hikes. Taxes will likely skyrocket if there is litigation filed against the town due to being a sanctuary city.
In the past 20 years wages have continued to decline with the biggest negative impact on the middle-class. Wages will likely decline further if illegal immigrants compete for jobs and accept lower wages. Imagine the trades and landscaping companies! Cheap labor! Other immigrants work very hard and wait a long time just to become United States citizens and live and work in America. I don’t see the fairness to them.
In conclusion, Peterborough has always been a fine community. It welcomes diversity but let’s make it legal. We don’t need to add to our possible perfect storm. One tip of the economic scale in 2017 could lead to future struggles. Vote No and oppose Peterborough becoming a sanctuary city!
Gary Carpenter lives in Peterborough.