Editor, Times-Union:

Shell Oil has reported profits of nine and a half billion dollars for the third quarter. Same quarter last year? Four point one billion! I doubt that Shell’s owners are feeling the pain of inflation like the rest of us. Shell is not the only mega company profiting from Americans’ pain. According to a prominent economics expert, the biggest driver of inflation is corporate profits. This is fact not fiction. Democrats tried to pass legislation to stop price gouging; guess who voted it down?

Now consider this: Democrats have passed legislation requiring big corporations and billionaires to begin paying their fair share of income taxes … instead of paying nothing. Would it not make sense then that these entities would do all they could to keep prices high, make the current administration look bad, and urge Republicans to blame Biden for the high cost of goods and services so that maybe people who are not paying attention will vote for Republicans who plan to reverse those new tax laws? If those tax laws are reversed, guess whose taxes will increase to make up the difference?

Do you realize that another Republican “plan” involves the annual review and possible reduction or even elimination of Social Security and Medicare in order to further reduce the federal deficit? Do you realize Biden has already reduced that deficit by over a trillion dollars — in contrast to Trump’s $7.5 trillion increase during his term? Do you realize that inflation is a global problem, we are not alone, and Joe Biden did not create or cause inflation ….. but that he is doing everything he can to cut our costs in other ways until inflation abates (health care, prescription drugs, student debt reduction, veterans health care, etc.)? Did you know Turkey’s inflation rate is 83.45%; Argentina 83%; Netherlands 14.5%; Russia 14.7%; U.K. 10.1%; Germany 10%; Europe 9.9%; Spain 8.9%; Italy 8.9%; Mexico 8.7%; U.S. 8.2%. Do Republicans think Joe Biden caused the high inflation rates globally? Could it be that a global epidemic might have contributed to the upheaval of the world’s economies and that we are all struggling to make a comeback? (Some of us are even coming back quicker than others.)

Regardless of inflation, and maybe even in spite of it, our actual economy is the best it has been since before the pandemic. Over ten million jobs have been created, unemployment is the lowest in decades, and thanks to infrastructure and inflation reduction bills passed overwhelmingly by Democrats, inflation will hopefully be drastically reduced very soon … especially if big corporations and billionaires cooperate — and we all vote wisely.

Will you vote for the autocratic party that wants to turn back the clock on human rights and economic growth? Or will you vote for the party that rejects conspiracy theories, bullying and violent threats and looks toward the future with real plans for maintaining democracy, individual liberties, and prosperity?

Jeanne Schutz

Winona Lake, via email