Student loan debt relief
I don’t have any student loan debt. Still, it’s in my interest for the government to write off some of that $1.5 trillion. Obama bailed out Citibank and General Motors. Trump bailed out the airlines. Biden sent checks to everyone. Those were practical decisions. Americans under 40 have been blasted by events and poor government policies for the last 20 years. America needs that group to catch a wave. They’re the future. I have to invest in the future. Cut that debt load. Create some hope. Open up opportunity. It’s a practical decision.
Walter Ramsley
East side
Biden, Trump and immigration
Re: the March 3 article “Why is Biden reviving Trump’s immigration policies?”
People are also reading…
She hits the nail right on the head about how the Trump and Biden administrations handle our immigration policies — the main difference is in the rhetoric! Trump was always angry and scornful while Biden is consistently sympathetic and understanding.
But Biden clearly cares more about calming down the anti-immigrant extremists than actually living up to our treaty obligations to would-be immigrants.
So his immigration policies are not significantly different from Trump’s!
We don’t want Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity to get too mad at us, do we, Joe?
David Steinberg
Northwest side
Not a valid comparison
Re: the March 2 letter “Pedestrians and cars.”
This letter writer attempts, miserably, to make comparisons that simply aren’t valid. They start by pointing out, quite rightly, how wrong it is to suggest a woman is at fault for being raped, which is inherently an intentional act of incredible harm, based on what she wears.
However, the remainder of the letter quickly loses logic or critical/rational thinking by suggesting a driver, doing everything right, shouldn’t necessarily be at fault for hitting a pedestrian, by the simple act of being a driver. Each situation demands a careful assessment of all of the facts. It absolutely can be a tragic accident when a careful driver — completely aware of and sensitive to the two-ton vehicle they are using — accidentally hits a pedestrian who might not have been taking appropriate care by conforming to community and safe standards of where and when to cross a street in the dark. Tragic — yes. Necessarily the fault of the drive — no; maybe and maybe not depending on the facts of each specific instance.
Sonja Stupel
North side
Modern conservatism
I am always amused by conservatives who prate on how government should not be picking winners and losers as they bask in the economic, political, and cultural security of a government that has chosen them as winners for 250 years. Their conservatism boils down to simply preserving the advantages of being born in the right place at the right time of the right parents.
Rich Kiker
Tubac
American pharmacy thugs
Whatever happened to the practice of medicine in the United States when mere attorneys general can decide, without having to go to court no less, what a doctor may decide is appropriate for a patient or a prescription a patient may fill! Now Walgreens has caved to these Republican thugs who merely threatened a lawsuit if the pharmacy sells birth control in any form. Are men so afraid of women’s competence that they emulate the tactics of the Taliban and ISIS to render women mere chattel? The United States is in serious trouble if a return to the Middle Ages is permitted to continue.
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Medicare in trouble
Re: the March 2 article “Privatizing Medicare wrong way to go.”
Dr. Joshua Freeman advocates basically for socialized medicine when he says we need to eliminate profits in Medicare Advantage plans. Yet these plans generate just 3.6% in profits, far less that the 11% margin for all industries. These plans are wildly popular and grew by 10% between July 2020 and July 2021.
Dr. Freeman also advocates getting rid of the 20% cost of a supplement plan in original Medicare, saying that this could be funded by the “huge profits for private investors.” 14.6 million people have Medicare supplement plans, the average cost of a plan being $128, and since the Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund will run out of money in 2028, adding almost $2 billion a year to its cost is delusional.
Finally, Dr. Freeman should be aware that in the socialized medicine country of the United Kingdom, in 2020 — 153,008 deaths were considered avoidable.
David Pearse
Foothills
Golf course saguaros
Re: the March 5 article “Marana golf course under fire for removing saguaros.”
The Gallery Golf Club and LIV Golf are now on my boycott list, if I really ever had one. I was toying with the idea of attending the upcoming LIV Golf tournament in Marana, but now I don’t have to rethink it for too long. What the heck are they thinking cutting down saguaros with a what? A chainsaw! LIV Golf, bankrolled by the Saudis. I thought their weapon of choice was a bone saw.
Get out of our city. And find the hacker that operated the saw and escort him out, also.
Bill Smith
Vail
Diversity of thought
Lately, the Letters to the Editor have been dominated by four topics: Donald J. Trump, Jan. 6, the Republican U. S. House of Representatives and the Republican Arizona Legislature. These are some of the words that are prevalent in these Letters; vile, hate, liar(s), cult, racist and despicable. You don’t need much imagination to see what side of the above topics these Letters are on. Most of them are also tedious and boring. However, it goes without saying that at least some of these letters deserve a place in the Star, but they shouldn’t dominate every issue. You need to remember your motto: Diversity of thought is critical for democracy.
Douglas R. Holm
East side
Government can support citizens
Let’s talk about preferential tax rates and carnage. Ronald Reagan gave national voice to the concept that big government was untrustworthy and big business would take care of us through lower taxes — mostly, it turns out, for themselves. Curiously, the happiest countries in the world have higher but, unlike ours, equitable tax rates. These countries provide health insurance and strong social support networks. Their governments take care of any and all of their people when needed. Countries like ours, who don’t have such widespread systems, seem to have folks with unaddressed problems such as isolation and despair who exhibit their hopelessness through violent means, such as shooting up elementary schools. What if our government provided assistance for us whenever and wherever it was necessary? Instead of feeling like we were on our own how would it be to know that we were all in this together?
Merry Mungo
Green Valley
