To the editor:

According to a recent article at Bloomberg.com, Virginia is, by far, the state most seriously affected by sequestration furloughs.

In addition to the furloughs, sequestration is affecting the most vulnerable members of our population, who will lose services and food because of the sequester. Many of those, more than 40 percent, are in working households. Many others recently held jobs. Additionally, educational programs such as Head Start are being curtailed.

All of this is happening to protect tax loopholes for wealthiest Americans and big corporations. By closing these loopholes, we can put Americans back to work.

Nobody likes paying taxes, but when we have good educational systems, a working infrastructure and a strong defense, as well as safety nets for economic downturns, it’s good for us all.

Benjamin Goldberg

Suffolk