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Sunday's letters: Democrats will have to earn my vote

 
Published March 29, 2019

As a Democrat who is unabashedly pro-American, I do take comfort in the Mueller report's conclusion that this administration did not collude with the Russians in the last election. I also fully agree with your position that it is now up to the voters to decide on whether or not the president obstructed justice. The only way to do that, thoughtfully, is through a full release of the report. There are, however, limits on how much time I expect Democrats to spend on this issue.

To be completely honest, there is no chance that I will vote for the incumbent in the next election. I consider him totally unfit to be our president, and I believe that history will judge him in that vein.

The Democratic Party, however, should take no solace in that statement as there is not a corresponding 100 percent chance that I will vote for the Democratic nominee. Whether or not I cast any vote, or waste it on a third party, will depend on Democrats in the House demonstrating an ability to govern from the center left through attempts at bipartisanship, civility and compromise.

If the Democrats continue their rabid march to the far left, if they waste valuable time trying to remove the president through any means other than an election, if they cannot offer workable solutions other than simply opposing the president at every turn, then I'll sit out the next election. The Democrats must offer fiscally sound, center-left alternatives to earn my vote. In short, they must show me they can govern, responsibly, and eschew some of the wild rhetoric from some in Congress who are looking foolish. Being anti-Trump is not enough. I'd rather endure four more years of this baloney than install a government that will bankrupt America.

Charles Nelson, Apollo Beach

We all pay when IRS loses its fangs | Column, March 24

IRS pays for itself

Kudos to columnist Graham Brink for bringing to light the magnitude of perennial income tax fraud in our country. An astounding $600 billion a year is not being paid by citizens and businesses. If that amount were collected, the 2018 U.S. budget deficit would be reduced by more than 75 percent. Meanwhile, honest taxpayers must pay more taxes to make up for what others do not pay. We hear a lot about welfare fraud. But estimated welfare fraud is by comparison much less, only $78 billion a year in 2016. That $78 billion is the total amount of fraud for all 14 welfare programs, including Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), housing assistance, child nutrition, child care, Pell grants, Head Start, etc. Obviously, we should try to eliminate all fraud. But rather than focusing on poor people "ripping off" the system, we would be wiser to direct our attention to much richer people and businesses that are "ripping off" a heck of lot more money.

Why has Congress cut IRS funding for income tax fraud investigations? It's especially disturbing because each dollar spent on enforcement generates much more in tax revenue collected. Could it be because some of the powerful people influencing those decisions are trying to protect tax cheats? The prosecution of Paul Manafort (former Trump campaign adviser) and Michael Cohen (former Trump lawyer) for tax fraud suggests as much. It is difficult not to be cynical, given this information.

William Sacco, Tampa

Boeing safety feature was an extra for 737 Max | March 22

Safety as a surcharge

The airlines have been nickel-and-diming the public for years with tighter seating and carry-on fees, etc. However, it is over the line when Boeing charges extra for an important safety feature in the plane itself. What extra charges are next? Coin-operated seat belts and oxygen masks?

Steve Wilson, Safety Harbor

Extreme rudeness reaches new heights | Connie Schultz column, March 24

Move victim to first class

Kudos to the flight attendant who refused to reward a passenger's boorish behavior by not moving him to first class as he demanded and away from, in his mind, the undesirable passenger seated next to him. I only wish that the flight attendant had taken the next obvious step: Move the obese gentleman to first class. Now that would be justice.

William Mumbauer, Brandon

College cheats: parents | March 13

Devaluing a diploma

The scandal involving wealthy parents accused of paying bribes to get their children into prestigious universities would not be so shocking if we seriously considered how higher education has been diminished, especially at the state colleges and universities, by replacing scholarly administrators with business men who weigh almost all human activity in terms of immediate, visible profit. To them, education is a business, selling and requiring of their students only what is necessary to retain national accreditation. This has resulted in eviscerating or de-emphasizing many of the liberal arts and even a few science courses as impediments to getting into the job market. There is an irony in the way the promoters of this "streamlined" education and their clients still believe in the importance of the college degree in obtaining a job. De-emphasizing the intellectually more strenuous courses from the curriculum reduces a diploma to the level of a vocational certificate. In that way, like the people bribing the administrators in the new scandal, the value of a college degree is only in the paper on which it is written, not in the substance nor in the individual's aptitude.

Rodger Lewis, Crawfordville

Mueller: No conspiracy | March 25

Stop Russian interference

President Donald Trump eagerly adopted the Mueller report summary that there was insufficient evidence of collusion to warrant criminal charges. Can we expect that he will be just as eager to adopt Mueller's other finding: That Russia did, indeed, actively attempt to subvert the American political process? And what will he do about it?

Steven Shepard, Clearwater