Protect the Legal Services Corporation

We all have our favorite attorney jokes. There seems to be no easier politically correct target as the one who takes your money with the promise of victory when their chance is just a good as if predicting the weather. That’s the punchline of about every lawyer joke I have ever heard. However, in all seriousness, lawyers are a vital necessity of our society which is governed by the U.S. Constitution and our laws, based upon those most basic rights that make us Americans.

What if justice was out of your reach? What if you didn’t have the means to hire counsel or ask your attorney, golfing buddy, or church member a legal question and the system was seemingly stacked against you? That is the reality for a large group of our fellow Americans, who have been able to utilize the Legal Services Corporation for many years.

Veterans, victims of domestic violence, seniors who receive remedies from financial fraud, and those who gained affordable housing are simply a few examples of those helped by this vital system.

Funded by the federal government, the LSC is on the chopping block, as proposed by the Trump administration. While draining the swamp has been the motto, creating a deeper one by leaving hundreds of thousands at the mercy of the greedy, the angry, the bully, and the opportunist is not my kind of America. The Legal Services Corporation, and the legal aid it funds, has long enjoyed bipartisan support because Americans believe in justice for all, not justice for those who can afford it. If there was ever a chance to stand up for the working people of America, this is surely it.

The economic argument is actually the strongest, if you don’t believe that the meek shall inherit the earth (Mathew 5:5). Two-thirds of legal funding in Ohio comes from our state in the forms of filing fees, interest earned (not much lately) on lawyers trust accounts, civil filing fees, and private donations.

This combined investment helps break the cycle of poverty by putting Ohioans back on their feet and on the road to self-sufficiency. More than 112,000 Ohioans were helped last year alone, including 5,226 veterans, 16,156 seniors, and 44,509 children, saving taxpayers an estimated $126 million in resources.

At a state budget of $39.9 million last year, that’s $355 per participant, a pretty darn good deal if you ask me, not to mention justice was served, the bad guys lost, and people were helped in their time of need by the system some risked their lives to defend.

Legal Aid helps the forgotten in our society and also makes so much financial sense. Besides, it’s the right thing to do. President Donald Trump must remember the Pledge of Allegiance and protect justice for all.

G. Scott McComb Chairman, president & CEO Heartland Bank Gahanna

Carl Miller Columbus