LETTER: We have a spending problem
We have a spending problem
This letter is in response to Gary Ford’s letter on June 6 and, for that matter, Oren Spiegler, who loves to skewer the Republican Party every chance he gets.
Ford speaks of government for the wealthy. He should take a look around. We have been hit hard with inflation over the last two years. Gas prices are well over $3 a gallon. Food prices remain high, as are prices on basically all other items we all use on a daily basis. Yet this government has no problem sending our tax dollars to Ukraine while we all suffer and struggle trying to make ends meet.
The government is not in business to make money. Ford makes mention of the budget surplus during the Clinton administration. Where did that money come from? Us. We paid the money in the form of our tax dollars. Money that would have been much better in our pockets.
Ford mentions tax cuts for the wealthy. Simple economics and simple math tell us that if one person makes $500,000 and one makes $50,000, the one making half-a-million is going to pay more in taxes. Is the middle class being squeezed? Of course it is. The middle class makes up the majority of this country.
When I see how many government agencies there are and what it takes to pay the bills, it is unfathomable. In state government alone, our representatives get paid a salary, vote themselves a cost-of-living adjustment, and have per diems. And what do we have to show for it? Nothing. I have been begging my representatives for years to have Route 519 between Houston and Hickory to be completely resurfaced. One of the natural gas hubs is on that road. And the road is in horrific condition. Yet nothing has been done.
Only during the Obama and Biden administrations have I heard about the debt ceiling. Have you seen how far this country is in debt? We don’t have a tax-cut problem. We have a government spending problem. I am an educator and it makes me ill to think my students are going to be saddled with this debt, as will their kids, and their kids, and so on.
It’s time for a reality check. My late dad used to say if you keep going to the well, eventually the well runs dry. Well, it’s dry alright. Bone dry. And yet the government keeps spending. And we are the ones who are struggling. It’s time for a wake up call in this country.
Rich Briggs
Houston