Stop asking. Start fixing.
I am sick of the endless asks for money because the other side has so much more in their war chest. They will never catch up with self-funded billionaires.
I am so much more interested in what politicians plan to do to fix the myriad problems in this country. It’s about 40 years since I opined, “I think I’m watching the decline of the American Empire,” based on my observation that basic education in poor districts was failing miserably. We can’t have a vibrant democracy without a well-educated public.
How about we all start working on a couple of very important constitutional amendments, which will take a long time?
1. Term limits for the Supreme Court.
2. No gerrymandering.
Until we accomplish this, we are digging ourselves into a deeper and deeper hole. And by the way, we can learn a lot from European countries about health care, education, criminal justice, taxes and on and on, but this takes some humility.
Judy Box, Columbus
Disagreement isn’t bigotry
Re “Jewish hate rising in Ohio; silence of activists unmatched,” May 24: I am not the first to suggest that the Dispatch discontinue Philip Derrow’s column, and I doubt I will be the last.
His latest column compels me to respond with two rebukes: One, that being pro-Palestinian does NOT inescapably translate to being pro-Hamas, and two, anti-Zionism does NOT necessarily infer antisemitism.
Derrow, put down the broad brush with which you choose to paint everyone else. You are personifying what you yourself call “the inadequacies of the hater.”
By claiming that opinions different than your own reflect textbook antisemitism, your narrow-minded views are just one more splash of gasoline on the spiteful fire that’s already burning.
Sheila Zirkle, Columbus
Facts matter on federal debt
Re “Is there anyone out there for me?” (May 24): In his letter to the editor, Robert P. Hoffman incorrectly alleges that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are the “biggest drivers” of growing federal debt.
Per socialsecurityworks.org, “Social Security has its own dedicated revenue stream … so it does not contribute a penny to the federal deficit. In fact, it currently enjoys a $2.7 trillion surplus. And Social Security is forbidden by law from borrowing, so it cannot deficit spend.”
That surplus is invested in U.S. securities and earns interest. Social security has no impact on the growing federal debt.
Ed Sweeney, Columbus
Playground insults at National Prayer Breakfast
To Sen. Jon Husted and Sen. Bernie Moreno,
President Donald Trump referred to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., as a “moron” at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on May 21. Really? The National Prayer Breakfast? Yes, really!
Here’s what he said referring to Massie: “He’s an automatic no. No matter what. If we did welfare reform, if we did the greatest thing in the history for religion, no matter what we did, no matter how good it is. No matter what we do, this moron, no matter what it is.”
Trump is no Christian. He has no idea how to behave like one, and this was a good example of his cruel, clueless, inappropriate and narcissistic behavior.
And yet, despite his increasingly bizarre and hurtful behavior, both of you continue to support him. Shame on you.
The Rev. Bruce Smith, Columbus
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Money can’t fix what’s broken with our politicians | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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