I really liked the comparison of Donald Trump to Archie Bunker (“The White House as 1970s sitcom,” page A4, Jan. 5 North Kitsap Herald).
The show, including the theme-song lyrics, was an allegory used to make us look at ourselves and our society and frequently resulted in attitude change in the main character (and perhaps the viewing audience) as well as humorous dialogue with his liberal son-in-law, “Meathead.” I suppose in today’s political soap opera one could say, “Donald Trump is to Archie Bunker as Nancy Pelosi is to ‘Meathead.’”
What is not humorous today is the hysterical attempts by the “Progressive Left” at manipulating the results from the Change Agent in the White House and declaring that the sky is falling and Armageddon is upon us.
The idea that working-class voters were “punked” into more taxpayer-supported corporate welfare is ludicrous. Who do you think are the recipients of benefits earned by corporations? It is not just the CEOs but also millions of people employed by the corporations who not only receive salary but also health insurance and retirement benefits. Keeping those corporations healthy and prosperous allows the dollars to flow to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.
Since the election, 1.7 million jobs have been created, unemployment is at 4.1 percent (lowest in 17 years), illegal border crossings are at a 45-year low, and food stamp rolls declined by 2 million in 2017.
The New York Times said, “A wave of optimism has swept over American business leaders and it is beginning to translate into the sort of investment in new plants, equipment and factory upgrades that bolster economic growth, spurs job creation — and may finally raise wages significantly.”
President Kennedy said in 1963, “It is increasingly clear that no matter which party is in power … an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits.”
It is great that we can celebrate significant positive change and not just listen to whining and moaning from those who did not get to maintain the status quo.
Robert Bethel
Kingston
