Letter writers: We’re not dumb about tax cuts, wages

We’re not dumb

Political ad writers apparently think we’re stupid. They insist that the tax cut went to the middle class. Who is getting a $39.40 tax reduction in their paycheck? Instead, take all the tax savings for the rich, divide that by the number of taxpayers and call it the average tax cut. One ad states that a candidate is pro-abortion because she supports womens’ rights. Another says a candidate who taught government at one of the nation’s prestigious colleges isn’t qualified. Just how stupid do they think we are? How honest are the people who approve of these, probably without even seeing them?

Believe your eyes

It’s not a hallucination that wages haven’t increased substantially, that the plentiful jobs are low-skill and low-wage, that nearly everything is now more expensive and less obtainable, including health care. Many local and state taxes have increased and there are fewer federal deductions.

President Trump may say the economy is booming, and it is for those already in the stratosphere of wealth. To those of us on earth or barely holding our heads above water, all that resounded was a thud, like a mike drop, telling us, “Yeah, like you thought you mattered,”

If you think it’s going to get magically better under Trump, you won’t be prepared for the continuing economic fraud. Our economy is being primed to implode. Don’t let yourself be conned.

Put best selves forward

For decades we gave money and spirit to win the Cold War. With the Soviet Union’s collapse, we put our opponent down, but not out.

Russia came off the mat just as determined and a lot wiser. Now we face an enemy whose leader-for-life has accurately concluded our biggest weakness was the growing divide within our own population.

A few phone calls, empty meetings and garden-variety hacking were able to split our nation more effectively than nuclear warheads. Our response has been to claw at each others’ throats like two angry dogs. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin continues to poke a stick through the bars and goad us on.

Humans are capable of unspeakable violence and cruelty. We are our own worst enemies, but also our own best friends. That should always be in the forefront of our dreams.

Borders history

I laugh when I hear people talk about open borders. As a Native American, let me give a little history lesson.

Six hundred years ago, my ancestors had an “open border” policy. To make a long story short, the U.S. government committed mass genocide. The survivors were rounded up like animals and placed in concentration camps called reservations. I’d say Adolf Hitler saw this and picked up some tips.

Be careful what you ask for. History has a very nasty way of repeating itself.

Obamacare undercut

The Republican tax cut repealed the Obamacare “individual mandate” that required health insurance or to pay a penalty, starting in 2019. The impact is that young and healthy participants will choose not to buy insurance, Obamacare will lose billions of dollars and13 million people could lose coverage. For insurance pools to succeed there must be a balance between healthy participants and sicker ones, including those with pre-existing conditions. If you don’t have the former, then premiums for the latter will soar.

In an effort to sabotage Obamacare, the Trump administration is changing rules for two health plan types, including extending the duration of short-term insurance and expanding the use of existing association health plans that allow small businesses to band together. Neither would comply with Obamacare requirements. The goal is to peel off Obamacare customers with reduced plans that cost less.

This story was originally published September 28, 2018 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Letter writers: We’re not dumb about tax cuts, wages."