Letters to editor: June 27

DEFICIT: Tea Party rants not grounded in fact

I found the rantings of Jack and Nineva Salley (June 20, 2010) both hilarious and sad. Hilarious because it is so far removed from reality and sad because people of their ilk actually believe this nonsense.

Facts show that when George II’s first budget was implemented in October 2001, the national debt was approximately $5.8 trillion (and George II quickly turned two years of budget surpluses from the Clinton administration into massive deficits). Eight years later George II’s final budget had increased the national debt to about $11.9 trillion. Even if you graduated from a Mesa public school, you can see that the national debt doubled in eight years of Republican leadership. And, it was actually higher than this because most of Bush’s war in Iraq was “off-budget” and not accounted for. Bush also signed the TARP bill in 2008 which provided over $700 billion in bailout money to the Wall Street fat cats who were directly responsible for our current recession. On Sept. 30, 2010, the end of Obama’s first budget, the national debt will be about $13.2 trillion. I’ll let the Salley’s do the math on that one.

The Salley’s say that “President Barack Obama’s spending in his first 100 days in office dwarfs all of President George W. Bush’s spending for his entire two terms...” Hmmmm. The reality is that the major bill passed in Obama’s first 100 days was the recovery/stimulus bill for $787 billion. This was designed to give some financial help to the innocent victims of the Wall Street excesses of the previous decade. I don’t see how anyone can imagine that $787 billion comes anywhere near the nearly $6 trillion spent by George II. The annual deficit so far this first year of an Obama budget is $51 billion less than the same period last year, George II’s final budget year.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts. It would be nice if the Tea Parties’ arguments were grounded in reality.

Edward F. Murphy, Mesa

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BREWER: Shame on her

Jan Brewer’s stirring of the immigration pot for political gain is both a moral and ethical violation of conscience. Americans need to see these behaviors for what they are. How stupid does she think we are, which begs the question, how stupid are we? We won’t really know until November, will we?

D.J. Diebold, Scottsdale/Mesa

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EDITORIAL: Hill offers no ideas

I have to take exception to Austin Hill’s opinion piece (June 16). It is precisely this kind of thinking which is so divisive to our country. All he, Rush, Sean and Glen do is spout what they perceive the Obama administration is doing wrong without offering any solutions.

In his article, Hill writes, “The president seems to naively assume...” Another quote: “... seems to presume” ... and another “This apparently was yet another attempt by the Obama administration to appear as though it was in control and handling things.” How can Mr. Hill possibly know what the president assumes or presumes or was apparently attempting? Testimony like this in a court of law would likely be thrown out as speculative or conjecture.

This country needs more open cooperation between the political parties. We need to set aside our petty differences and work together for solutions. Let’s not sit around pointing fingers blaming each other.

Lloyd Dickson, Queen Creek

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OIL SPILL: Support businesses in devastated Gulf

Incompetence created a longtime disaster with the BP oil spill. Do you really feel sorry for your fellow American victims in the Gulf states? If so and you were planning a vacation somewhere, why not book a room in their best (empty) hotels, support the restaurants and shops, get acquainted with history and put people back to work. Parks, museums and casinos are open. The sun is shining, the air is clean and the beach is open away from the water line for sun-lovers.

Americans always help each other in times of disaster. Why not now? This is an economic disaster damaging the nation.

C.L. Schrieks, Mesa

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