Editor, Times-Union:
Throughout our lives most of us have worked, been paid wages for that work, and in turn paid out taxes — lots of taxes: federal taxes, state taxes, local taxes, sales taxes, etc. We knew those taxes were/are necessary for the upkeep and maintenance of our lives’ necessities (transportation, education, national defense, health care, law enforcement, and so much more). We can all agree that there should be periodic scrutiny of all of the agencies controlling this money in order to make sure our hard-earned and paid tax dollars are not wasted or fraudulently spent. We also would hope that informed, knowledgeable, experienced “watch dogs” would be the folks doing the scrutinizing. Well, let me be the first to make you aware that the “fox is now in the hen house,” the “crazies are now running the asylum,” the “clowns are now in charge of the circus.”
The taxes withheld from our lifetime of earnings are now being squandered shamelessly, our hard-earned benefits and perks and our very jobs in some cases are disappearing, and our plans for a future life of relative ease and good health are going up in smoke. While these hopes and dreams are being “chainsawed” away, the folks doing the sawing are wearing their golden crowns while lining their pockets with the tax dollars we provided.
For starters: The Department of Homeland Security, under the inept control of one Kristi Noem, has been granted a $200 million budget (Trump’s idea) to star this wannabe Barbie in a series of anti-immigration media ads, complete with stunning costumes.
Next: Donald Trump and team spent around $5 million to attend the Daytona 500 Nascar race and to actually take a run around the track with his “entourage.”
Also: Donald Trump has spent around $10.7 million in order to play golf about a third of the time he has been in office — a little over one month.
One More: As of February 5, six huge military aircraft, each capable of transporting hundreds of “passengers” have flown many fewer deportees out of the country at a cost five times more than flying first class on commercial airlines. The cost so far has been around $852,000 for every 80 migrants. As of February 27, just under 39,000 have been deported. You do the math.
Meanwhile: Elon Musk is now “one of the greatest beneficiaries” of our tax dollars. He has already “received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits … with “nearly two thirds of that promised in the past five years …. an additional 52 ongoing contracts with seven government agencies — like NASA, Department of Defense, and the General Services Administration — are on track to potentially pay him an additional $11.8 billion over the next few years”…. all while he is “pushing to cut subsidies across all industries and strangling a potential lifeline for smaller companies — and his competitors.” – The Dispatch, 2/27
Tip of the iceberg ...
Jeanne Tuka Schutz
Winona Lake, via email