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DEFICIT HISTORY
Jeff Winchell writes in IT, “The government is going broke, thanks to the Democrats” (Letters to the editor, April 10). He includes no statistics or proof of his statement, so I will try to help him.
President Ronald Reagan took the deficit from $70 billion to $175 billion. President George Bush took it to $300 billion. President Bill Clinton got it to zero and left office with a $86.4 billion surplus. President George W. Bush took it from zero to $1.2 trillion. President Barack Obama halved it to $600 billion. President Donald Trump added $7.8 trillion during his first term, the largest peacetime budget deficit in American history and a national debt exceeding 100% of the economy for the first time since World War II. President Joe Biden reduced the deficit by $1.4 trillion by his second year in office.
I hope this helps.
Sarah Thomas
Springfield
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NOT TRADITIONAL
In his article entitled “Illinois Republicans explain support for Trump,” Logan Bricker writes, “Trump’s focus on traditional conservative issues such as immigrants, government spending, anti-wokeness and less federal oversight also has reinvigorated right-leaning, rural communities” (April 10).
What is “anti-wokeness,” and how is it traditional? That word has only been around for a few years. Regarding immigration, all of us who are not Native American are descendants of immigrants.
Actually, there is nothing traditional about the Trump administration. They are ruling by executive order without congressional approval in violation of our Constitution and the separation of powers. Trump said that he would only be a dictator on Day One, but it’s been a mighty long day.
With regard to those “right-leaning” rural communities, they, too, stand to lose as Trump’s tariffs threaten to cripple agricultural exports. We all should be paying attention.
Marty Celnick
Springfield
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FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION
You can see in many of the online responses (to this article) the issue we have in America and Illinois. Saying “fixation on immigration” twists the narrative in order to denigrate those who support controlling our borders. The “fixation” is on illegal immigration.
We are seeing the courts uphold the ability of the executive branch to deal with people here illegally. The other issue is those who have come here temporarily, on a student visa or with other plans. Since when is it acceptable for visitors to inject themselves in our politics and internal affairs?
President Trump has been issuing EOs to set the government on the right course while allowing Congress time to pass legislation that will put those EOs into law. If you think protecting girls and women from biological males in their safe spaces and sports is punishing his enemies, OK. If you think closing the border is punishing his enemies, OK. If you think putting an end to “sanctuary cities and states” in order to get illegals out of our country is…you get my point.
It still is a conservative idea to believe the Constitution should be followed. The Democrats have trashed the Constitution with their attacks on free speech, the Second Amendment and the 14th Amendment. They have weaponized the justice system and prosecuted their enemies over the last four years without regard to the Constitution.
Dan Caulkins
Decatur
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GOP DOESN’T GET IT
It’s amazing some of the most prominent Republicans in the state of Illinois still don’t understand why Trump got elected. Looks like another election cycle of losses for Republicans is coming to Illinois. They’ll just pretend to like Trump while doing everything behind the scenes to undermine his presidency.
Terry Blakeman
Illinoistimes.com
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NATURE IS CHANGING
I grew up in Laketown, way back when it was still called Southlawn. I remember two tornadoes. My mother took me and my two little sisters to the basement and gave us coloring books and crayons. Afterward, my father got all of us in the car and drove around to see the damage. I don’t remember anybody complaining about global warming back then. It was simply a price we paid for living near tornado alley.
Recently, once more, the president denied that global warming exists. Most of us know that’s at least an exaggeration. Something scary is happening. Today, it’s more than bad weather. It’s more than tornadoes. Although they’ve been hitting the Midwest recently with deadly results, something else has shifted.
Spring has had a consistent and certain order in this part of the country, yet this year the grass turned green overnight. Some things that blossom around here include lilacs, red buds, plum trees, magnolias, daffodils and dogwoods. Instead of blooming gradually over a couple of months, everything burst out in the third week of March, all at once. Even pelicans who migrate back and forth to the Great Lakes twice a year are at least two weeks early.
I tell myself that Mother Nature is making a correction that we can’t seem to make for ourselves. At least, I hope that’s it.
Martha Miller, with Cara Baker (plant and pelican expert)
Springfield