Trump bribes voters, raises national debt
Here comes the next President Donald Trump lie/falsehood — every adult will get $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the Senate and House of Representatives. Personally, I find the idea to be unlawful — interfering with the voting process, voter bribery, illegal use of taxpayer funds, etc. Call it what you will.
And then there’s the lies about how to pay for it — tariffs are bringing in hundreds of billions. These funds are not profits and don’t even come close to covering the estimated cost of $1.2 trillion anyway.
And then there’s the claim that the economy is doing so well. The national debt is currently over $40 trillion and is increasing $1 trillion every 5 months. That means the Trump administration, with the blessing of the Republican-controlled Congress, is spending $200 billion more each month than is coming in.
At a conservative interest rate of 3% that must be paid to finance the national debt, annual interest payments exceed $1 trillion. So, even if the budget were balanced tomorrow, the national debt would continue to cost over a trillion dollars a year.
DAVID PITTS, ATLANTA
Do we really want to return to the Biden years?
Things may not be perfect right now, but voters should carefully consider the consequences of returning to past policies.
Would a return to higher inflation and gas prices (yes, both were higher under President Joe Biden), along with policies that pressure people to switch exclusively to electric vehicles, weakened support for law enforcement, reduced border enforcement, and less secure elections truly improve our lives?
Would we want more government control over personal decisions, continued low performance in public schools, greater reliance on government to raise our children, and policies that discourage personal responsibility and financial success? What about renewed military weakness in the face of aggression from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea — or a foreign policy that fails to support Israel and confront terrorism?
These are serious questions, not slogans. Before casting a vote, we should consider whether the proposed alternative would actually make our communities safer, our schools stronger, our borders more secure, and our country more prosperous.
Things may not be perfect, but they are not so bad that we should risk making them significantly worse by returning to policies that have already produced disappointing results. I ask again: Why return to those policies and outcomes in our lives?
BOB GEORGE, ALPHARETTA