Hornswoggled by Donald Trump ~ Echo from Iowa

Letter to the editor of the Iowan Global Gazette newspaper: 

Time is running out on Donald Trump

There is no longer any justification for being a Trump supporter. I could see during the campaign and election and Hillary's unpopularity that some could have been hornswoggled* by Trump's unconscionable lies, poor judgement, and lack of knowledge about most everything. But after a year and a half of "much worse than we could have ever imagined," it's time for a reality check.

Trump inherited a healthy and recovering economy, no wars, unemployment rate at 4.7 percent and dropping, and we had strong and healthy relations with our allies, while we were sanctioning foes like Russia and North Korea. The stock market had tripled over the last eight years. There was economic momentum, and Trump quickly started taking credit for it even before the inauguration.

There is not one positive action taken or positive result under Trump, and with all the executive orders and legislation that has occurred, there is only one direction for the country to go. Do you think if Trump could push a button and make himself "supreme ruler", he wouldn't do it?

Republicans are too gutless to take charge of their party and pay the price to do what is right for democracy and America's future. Now Trump wants to have his new friend "Kimmie" at the White House, along with Putin, for a dictator party. Kim is a psychotic killer of his own people, even his uncle and half-brother. Trump excuses it by saying ,"Well other countries have done bad stuff." Trump brags that he "did a hell of a job over there and that the nuclear threat is gone."

Really? I predict Mueller with have his ducks in a row, and Trump will be one of them. He is a consummate law-and-order professional, and Trump can only act guilty in the meantime.

Steve Epperly, Mason City

*get the better of (someone) by cheating or deception.

Echo opinion letter - immigrants pay taxes

We ought to remember that we are a nation of immigrants, even (or especially) at tax time.

Immigrants pay taxes, too ~ echo letter to the editor, published in the Iowa newspaper the Globe Gazette

“There are two things you can not avoid in life - death and taxes.” 

These were words from one of my father’s sermons when I was growing up. I think about them at this time of year as I am getting ready to file my own taxes and to prepare taxes for Spanish-speakers. 

It makes me think about the necessary services which are paid by our taxes.

With recent tax cuts, which are permanent for corporations and the rich, and temporary for the rest of us, some of us will pay more in other ways. The lowest income Americans will receive a tax cut of about $60 a year. However, they will pay in reductions in Medicaid, food assistance, and other programs that are their safety net and that they need to survive.

Neither party talks about the poor, but prefer to talk about the middle class. As we have increased national disasters and demands from the President and his party to build a border wall, our representatives voted to cut taxes, mainly on the rich. The poor will pay for “tax reform” the most.

There’s a misconception that undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes. As a tax preparer, I can attest that this is not true.

Taxes are withheld from everyone’s paychecks, regardless of immigration status. The difference is that illegal immigrants will never receive benefits for Social Security taxes of the approximately $13 billion paid each year into Social Security by the undocumented.

Many immigrants file taxes to obtain the amount of taxes they overpaid and receive a refund. However, there are others who do not file taxes or receive refunds due to fear that information will be shared with ICE.

We ought to remember that we are a nation of immigrants, even (or especially) at tax time.

Kris Gannett-Sanchez, Mason City