Readers write

Culture shifts from work to entitlement

A socialist is the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, promising lots of free stuff paid for by rich people. President Donald Trump’s one “big, beautiful bill” implements work requirements for certain types of federal aid, and the left goes crazy.

Too many young people today expect a work-life balance from the start of their careers, with no decade of hard work required to pay their dues. What is going on? We are seeing a cultural shift away from work and toward entitlement. Let someone else do the heavy lifting, and I will simply take a slice of the output. The word “work” seems to have become unpopular, if not toxic. However, without work and purpose lives crumble, and society falls apart.

What are the solutions? First, we need to evaluate every policy through a simple lens: “Will this enhance the incentive to work?” If yes, then it’s probably a good policy.

Second, we need to address the view of work in our culture. People need to understand that work represents purpose, opportunity, growth and autonomy, not burden or exploitation. Work is not evil.

Let’s get to work.

DANA R. HERMANSON, MARIETTA

Dooley’s not qualified for Senate seat

I sincerely hope former football coach Derek Dooley has learned that a U.S. Senate candidate’s answers to a respected journalist’s questions will likely appear in the next day’s newspaper.

After recently admitting to politics reporter Greg Bluestein that he failed to vote in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, Dooley tried to explain it away by saying (twice) that he did vote for Trump in 2024 — as if that made up for his prior failures. Then, in an afterthought, what was a good reason for his missing the previous two elections? “I was overly focused on my job and my family.”

Funny, I’ve always believed that the president has a substantial impact on my job and my family, so I’ve never missed a single election since turning 21, nearly 60 years ago, including an absentee ballot from my U.S. Navy ship in the Far East.

I’m sure Dooley is a very nice man with a very nice family, but he’s no more qualified to be a United States senator than Jon Ossoff is to be a college football coach.

DAVID HORGAN, KENNESAW

‘Bout time someone stood up to Trump

Kudos to Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. It’s about time somebody had the guts to stand up to Trump’s bullying and lack of respect for the law.

If Trump’s letter to Cook said that “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter” gives him leeway to remove her, then he should remove himself. His conduct in a financial matter was not potentially criminal but proved to be criminal in a court of law.

She is a good example for us all to follow.