Where is this
great economy?
I get sick and tired of hearing about how great our economy is under the Greatest President that Ever Lived. I am a state retiree. I have not had a raise in my pension since 2007. My Social Security has risen only enough to barely cover the increased cost of Medicare.
I am 82 years old and disabled. Not much work available out there for me. Housing costs have increased by over 20% in this city with the second highest increase in housing costs in the country. Average rent is $1,295 a month. Health insurance has gone from $1,056 a month for a family to $1,168. Minimum wages, taxes, etc. deducted from your check nets about $1,600 a month. This does not include the increase in sales taxes.
Don’t tell me how great the economy is. Many of us can barely survive.
People are also reading…
Bette Bunker Richards
Northwest side
In the end, we got what we deserved
Donald Trump. You may like him, you may hate him or anything in between, but one thing for sure is you cannot ignore him. He is a looming presence, but he is one other thing. He is like a mirror reflecting what we Americans have become.
It is certain that we have become a divided nation but even more we have become a people that do not like or trust each other. Our lack of civility or even the ability to speak or recognize the truth is not wasted on the other countries of the world.
Many countries now believe that we are the biggest problem in the world. They too do not like or trust us.
So, I say we owe Trump a debt of gratitude for so accurately, and disturbingly, showing us up for what we are. We all can change this if we have the desire but one thing is for sure, we will surely get what we deserve.
Darel Mayo
East side
Truth and the patron saint of journalists
As long as Nancy Pelosi brought it up, I thought I might mention that the Catholic Church has a patron saint for journalists. He is St. Francois de Sales, who was the bishop of Geneva in the early 1600s. She might be interested.
Under his banner it reads as follows:
“Lord, you have called me to serve others by means of information. Grant that I may always work in obedience to the truth, with courage to pay a personal price so that truth will never be betrayed.
“Help me to join truth to charity, to never injure anyone’s dignity, and to promote in all, to the best of my ability, justice and peace.”
As long as Pelosi brought her faith up, we might as well highlight the responsibility that all journalists have been given with their chosen trade.
Be true to your trade folks.
Terry Hlivko
Northeast side
For Arizona senators,
a call to conscience
I read the Mueller report and some of the testimony of those interviewed by the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. I also listened to most of the witness testimony at the public hearings.
Mueller stopped his investigation short because the Justice Department ordered him to do so. His report indicated that it was now in the hands of the House of Representatives to provide the constitutional “check” of the executive branch.
Trump’s method is to do whatever serves his purposes and, if challenged, just say “so sue me,” knowing full well that the justice system works slowly and that he can continue to do as he pleases until his hand is slapped and he is assessed a fine.
This country cannot wait. An election is imminent and the issues being weighed now affect the legitimacy of the coming election.
I hope that both our senators will decide to analyze the facts and not follow their parties in lock-step.
Cindy Soffrin
Northeast side
Dems should get a clue; it’s just wasting money
As I sit and read the news I can’t help but wonder at the continuing and collective stupidity of our elected representatives in Washington.
During the Obama administration, the Republicans wasted millions of tax payer dollars seeking to destroy Hillary Clinton through the Benghazi fiasco. They ended up spending that money for nothing and it took Jim Comey’s last-minute email comments to sink any remote chance for the presidency for her.
Now it’s the Democrats turn for stupidity, seeking to impeach this President. Though they may be successful in the House, there is no way on God’s green earth that the Republicans in the Senate will convict this man. Millions more wasted.
They don’t like him, heck, I don’t like him, but I firmly believe that if anything should happen, it should be at the ballot box next year. And at this point in time I see absolutely no possibility of any of the Democratic hopefuls being able to accomplish that task.
Larry Huff
Midtown
Climate action
is better than inaction
Re: Dec. 6 letters to the editor “Reasons to believe we can adapt to warming” and “Give the gift of a clean future.”
The juxtaposition of these letters gives one hope. In the former, the writer believes the current climate instability is a natural cycle. The writer states that we would be wise not to try to “stop (warming),” and instead make efforts to adapt.
Until recently, arguments minimizing climate change concerned the causes of warming. Now more people are saying they acknowledge the problem, if unsure of solutions.
The second writer lists several concrete solutions to global climate change, e.g., giving the gift of a secure future. The letter exemplifies the human sensibility, the “vision” we will need to continue to coexist on our suffering planet.
I applaud both writers’ thoughtfulness. I exhort the first (who stresses adaptation) to take a look at the letter proposing appropriate behaviors: attending climate actions, pricing carbon and lobbying government.
If you’re worried about the coming climate, you should be, especially for our descendants.
Gaye Adams
Midtown
Impeachment a family affair for McConnell
When President Trump chose Elaine Chao, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s wife, as Secretary of Transportation, he bought McConnell’s Senate seat.
Now, with impeachment looming, McConnell is not only protecting Trump, but his wife’s job as well when he came out on Fox and admitted his working with Trump’s lawyers to prevent Trump’s conviction. A rigged trial doesn’t clear Trump of his impeachable acts.
Franklin Utech
Northwest side
Salary comparison needs to have context
A recent letter complained that a baseball player had just signed a contract for $325 million dollars, compared to a starting salary of $40,000 for beginning teachers in TUSD. This was a false comparison.
Starting professional baseball players make $6,500 per year. Since each was a superb local athlete, the salary seems inconsequential. There is no guarantee for continued employment. The majority never reach the major leagues.
In comparison the graduate with a teaching degree is an average student, yet receives six times the salary of the ball player. Once tenure is achieved, job security is guaranteed. As in baseball, the most talented rise to the top. Some make over $1 million per year.
Comparing the very best in one job to the beginner in another, makes no sense. The discussion of teacher pay is entirely another matter. Let’s not confuse the two.
Al Westerfield
Southwest side
