Gov’t spends every penny, whether needed or not
Anyone denying that there is waste in the federal government’s spending is delusional.
I worked in the aerospace industry for 40 years with commercial and national defense entities. The difference is stark. While the commercial side is vitally concerned with costs, which eventually fall to the shareholders, the government spends (and sometimes overspends) every penny allotted, whether needed or not, which is the taxpayer’s money.
The agencies that manage the contracts hire excessive numbers of people to monitor the work. On one contract, the work was staffed with 12 engineers, three of which did all the work. On another, while we, the contractor, had five engineers working on the contract, the agency sent 15 people to evaluate our progress.
I could go on for hours. Kudos to Musk and Trump for trimming the waste.
ROBERT STOCKDALE, CUMMING
GOP fails to understand basic math in budgeting
As Republicans pursue balancing the budget, they are failing at grade-school math. With the huge obligations to national defense, interest on the national debt, and Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, a balanced budget can never be achieved without more income, i.e., taxes.
One of the most revered presidents in history — Dwight Eisenhower — knew this when the upper tax rate on high-income individuals was over 90% and on business was over 50%.
It’s time for Republicans to act more like President Eisenhower than kids who haven’t learned how to add two plus two.
JOHN POOLER, DORAVILLE
Economy will be hit hard by ‘insane’ policies
At what point will the destruction of our institutions be enough for Donald Trump and Elon Musk? Rather than targeting “waste, fraud and abuse,” Musk is taking a hatchet to departments that provide essential services and protections to U.S. citizens.
Talk of “eliminating” Social Security and cutting Medicaid, which provides health care for 70 million Americans and covers 60% of nursing home residents, is crazy. Trade wars with our closest trading partners are crazy. Giving huge tax cuts to billionaires on the backs of the poor and middle class while increasing the debt is crazy.
The economy will be hard hit by these insane policy decisions. Crashing the economy to own the libs will hurt us all.
SUSAN VENEZIA, JOHNS CREEK
Remember My Lai massacre, so we don’t repeat it
Today marks the 57th anniversary of the incident that occurred at the small hamlet of My Lai during the Vietnam War. What happened there was nothing short of a massacre. Estimates vary from approximately 347 to 504 innocent individuals — mostly children, women and old men — who were killed, nay, murdered. And without the intervention of several brave soldiers, the number would have been even higher.
As a former U.S. Army officer, I served in the same area of My Lai two years after the event. We established a small compound directly across the dirt road from the ruins of My Lai. I even laid the floor of my hooch using bricks from what remained of the village.
I understand the mindset of a combat environment, especially considering the recent loss of fellow soldiers in the area. But I fail to understand how seemingly “normal” individuals can be so caught up in the moment to participate in such atrocities.
We can minimize such future tragedies by recognizing the reality of what transpired at My Lai and not just forgetting. At the time, the military tried to conceal what happened. Shame on those who attempted this cover-up. Let military leaders recognize the potential for phenomena similar to mass hysteria and train to curtail a repeat stain on the service.
MICHAEL L. SHAW, STONE MOUNTAIN
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