When a businessperson looks at their financial status and realizes that there is more money going out than coming in, what do they do? They take a two-pronged approach.
One, they look for ways to cut costs. Two, they develop plans to generate more revenue.
Most recognize that our federal government finances are out of whack. We have been spending more money than we are taking in. We hear a bold chorus that we need to cut costs.
Yet on the second necessary step of finding revenue, our elected representatives are silent. There is no call to generate more revenue.
Why? Because generating more revenue means increased taxes. It’s a difficult message that no one wants to hear. Beyond that, the IRS has been chronically underfunded. Our political leaders have consistently underfunded the government arm that makes certain that everyone is paying their fair share.
Imagine your house catches fire. Your trusty fire department is on the scene in minutes. When the firefighters arrive, they put all their effort into pulling your furniture and personal effects out of your house. But they don’t throw water to tamp down the fire.
The fire, like our national debt, will grow and grow. It is all-consuming. Washington’s plan to severely cut costs and at the same time renew a $4.6 trillion tax cut is like the business owner deciding to scour their enterprise in search of cuts and savings, then turning around and giving themselves a big fat raise.
It is foolhardy, self-defeating and irresponsible. Our representatives will claim that these tax cuts will pay for themselves by juicing the economy.
They never do. These tax cuts will increase the deficit, as tax cuts have been doing for the last 45 years. That’s how we got into this mess. There is no free lunch, folks.
CHARLIE CONTANT, Springfield
‘Vets for Trump’ signs puzzle me
While driving around on Memorial Day, I noted several lawn signs reading “Veterans for Trump.” This implied to me that these homeowners support Donald Trump and his policies, not just as an individual, but in their special status as veterans.
Having emigrated from Germany in 1938, my father and uncle both served this country in World War II as members of the Ritchie Boys (Google that if you’ve never heard of it – it’s worth the read).
Although not a veteran myself, I have the utmost respect and appreciation for all that veterans have done to protect our country. Thus, I feel compelled to ask why it is that the people who post these lawn signs feel Donald Trump is worthy of your support.
It couldn’t be his use of “bone spurs” to avoid military service. They seem not to have impacted the many thousands of rounds of golf that he has played.
I can’t imagine it is the denigration of the late Sen. John McCain’s military service (one of our true American heroes), criticizing him for having been captured.
It’s certainly not his labeling of those who lost their lives defending this country as “suckers” and “losers.”
Could it be his appointment of a man totally unqualified for the position of Secretary of Defense, a man who has already compromised classified information on multiple occasions? I doubt it.
How about the reduction of funding for research on veterans’ health issues, particularly depression, substance abuse and suicide?
It’s unlikely support stems from the president’s decimation of the federal workforce, 30% of whom are veterans.
I refuse to believe that it’s his incitement of a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol in order to overturn the results of a fair election (as confirmed by 60 court decisions).
That brings us to his Memorial Day tweet to the nation that referenced the “scum” that ran the country for the past four years, the “warped radical minds” and the “USA hating judges” – but never once made mention of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this country.
So the way I see it, Donald Trump likes to wrap himself in the flag that veterans so valiantly defended, but chooses to ignore most of what that flag represents.
Given the signs, many clearly feel otherwise. So I ask these veterans to please educate me and other readers of The Republican as to how they, as veterans, can support a man that I see as totally unworthy of being Commander-in-Chief. I promise to at least consider your argument, even if I disagree with it.
Many thanks for your service.
RON BERGER, East Longmeadow