Yet another fiscal showdown is about to begin and Republicans are bent on holding the economy hostage again, like they did last summer, to get their way.

Republicans want to bully us into believing cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits and other dangerous budget cuts — such as those that would take food aid from hungry children, weaken education and food safety and let our bridges and roads crumble — are the only thing we should be talking about.

It’s time to stand up to their bullying. We can’t let them take our economy hostage by threatening to drive it into the ground.

Working families shouldn’t take the hit again so we can maintain expensive tax loopholes for Wall Street, drug companies, corporations that outsource jobs and the richest 2 percent of Americans. The most serious economic challenge facing America is the continuing jobs crisis, not the deficit or the national debt.

Our priorities should be creating jobs by investing in infrastructure and education, raising wages, reducing inequality and increasing economic security for working people. And we can do it by first ending tax giveaways for Wall Street and the richest 2 percent.

Ciara Gremillion

Florence