The Renton Reporter strongly encourages a yes vote on King County Proposition 1, the renewal of a property tax levy that supports our veterans and the county’s most vulnerable citizens.

It’s not surprising there’s little vocal opposition to the renewal of the levy. We can’t turn our backs on our veterans nor ignore those who for whatever reason need a helping hand.

Helping is what we should do as a collective society, through our votes and the actions of the governments we run. There should be no ideology at work here.

We’ve learned much about the needs of our veterans through the reporting for our Special Report: Taking Care of Those Who Serve. We hope that’s the case for our readers, too.

Even the headline on our first story was intended to make a point, “Our wars, our veterans.” We are responsible for the care of those men and women we send to fight for our causes.

It’s clear that some of the millions of dollars raised by the levy – and not just for veterans – is going to work right here in Renton. In 2010 those dollars provided counseling, medical care and even housing for about 1,300 people in the Renton area.

The cost to do so is minimal, just $17 a year for a home valued at $350,000.