In his May 15 letter, “Budget cut isn’t deep enough,” Robert Wassman declared that entitlements “must be drastically reduced.” Correct, although his targets are laughably inaccurate.
For decades, corporate subsidies have been driving up the deficit. Additionally, General Electric and the oil companies make huge fortunes but pay little in taxes. Other “entitlements” we taxpayers shell out? The bloated military budget. Our war machine pours our national treasure into the black hole of two or three simultaneous wars while our infrastructure crumbles here at home. And millionaires and billionaires pay an effective tax rate of only 15 percent. Who subsidizes all this? You and me.
In the same edition, Mike Goodpaster’s letter, “Progressives’ policies hypocritical,” exhibited serious confusion about such terms as “communism” and “socialism.” I’m happy to clear things up for him. Except for, primarily, Red China, communism is dead. Democracy and capitalism kept it from getting a foothold here.
One of Christianity’s central tenets, socialism, has been a solid cornerstone of our nation since the Great Depression — Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, etc. This is how a great country cares for its needy, its children, and its elderly.
