During the recent budget discussions in Olympia, attack ads were ongoing on YouTube to discredit the tough decisions forced on this and every state because of the mess called Project 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Bruce Peterson responded to my letter to the editor by name on April 14. It turns out that the Democrats are trying to leave the lights on, while blind faith in what is going on in D.C. is turning the lights off and ignoring the U.S. Constitution.
Tariffs are a tax on the American consumer. The tariff “plan” was derived and, miraculously, a simple worded query using artificial intelligence. The consequences of Trump’s disastrous tariff agenda are real; scope and damage are done right here at home.
Everything is costing more now. I find it odd that Bruce Peterson isn’t complaining about Trump’s tariff tax.
Project 2025 is a conservative effort to weaken our government and create an authoritarian agenda. It can be tracked at https://www.project2025.observer/.
Trump has no intention of paying down the nation’s debt. While the federal government will collect the tax revenue to the extent that American consumers can afford to pay it or are trading partners continue to send products, what is the point of Trump’s regime raising additional revenue if the federal government will not exist as Americans have known it?
On the other hand, anyone can be a king for a day. Burger King hands crowns out at the drive-through.
Trump advocated for the elimination of the debt ceiling and, therefore, must intend to keep borrowing. By a magic wand, Trump eliminated the LIHEAP program that keeps low-income Americans’ home lights on; Trump eliminated funding for Meals-on-Wheels, a food program to help elderly Americans who are otherwise homebound get a warm meal. Then there is the elimination of federal funding for food banks and public schools.
The list of “rejection” goes on and on. After repeated unnatural disasters, states can no longer rely on FEMA assistance, as Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders found out recently.
While Americans get the shaft, Donald Trump is acquiring a $400 million luxury Boeing 747 gold-lined jet formerly owned by the country of Qatar. Then there is the over-budget for any U.S. president for golfing trips (over $140 million that taxpayers spent on golfing within 100 days and Mar-a-Lago “resort,” well paid).
There has been no evidence that DOGE saved anything significant. DOGE only says it saved money. Where are those alleged savings going? The debt isn’t paid off, nor going down. DOGE is code for forced austerity for “you” and savings for “me.”
Anti-tax rhetoric is driven by wealthy billionaires like those in Trump’s cabinet and peddled by some in the working class. Trump wants to dump taxes that American consumers are expected to pay into the Department of Defense and create a $1 trillion annual budget for war.
Yes, anyone who needs community must have a concern for keeping the lights on for each other.
Helen Nowlin
Glenoma
