Presidential election awakens sleeping giant of discontent

Presidential election awakens
sleeping giant of discontent

EDITOR:

In the recently completed Iowa caucuses, it became apparent that voters are clearly unhappy about the direction of our nation. Although the caucuses represented a very small portion of the American electorate, one could almost hear an audible “amen” from the rest of the country.

News anchors and political pundits of every stripe seemed to be surprised by something resembling the awakening of a sleeping giant, the giant of discontent.

It’s hard to understand the surprise given the result of the most recent congressional elections. It would seem that the only ones failing to grasp the message of that election were those sent to Congress. Voters had clearly expected far better results.

Did they honestly think that they had been sent to join the Washington establishment, party hearty and accomplish nothing, all at taxpayers’ expense? Could they have thought that the American electorate would stand silently by while an inept president paired with an equally inept Congress did nothing more than send us rosy news releases punctuated with little smiley faces telling us what a great job they had done defending our freedom? All the while, that electorate was living with the harsh realities of six years of our country’s finest coming home in body bags, an economy strangling in endless war, a crumbling infrastructure, a burgeoning national debt, porous borders, skyrocketing energy prices, innumerable good jobs lost to unfair foreign competition, unaffordable health care and epidemic home foreclosures.

Mr. President and esteemed members of Congress, please don’t waste your breath telling us what a great job you’ve done protecting our freedom. All of that will be quite pointless once you’ve finished selling our independence.

MIKE HALCHUCK

Canfield

Schools ask for too much

EDITOR:

The 9.5 mill tax levy for Youngstown City Schools is asking too much. I know people, family and friends, who work one or two jobs at minimum wage. They have no health insurance and cannot see a doctor when they get sick. They cannot get $200, $300 or $400 every six months to pay their taxes. They will lose their homes. There are too many empty houses in Youngstown now. It is difficult for me to pay my property tax every six months. People who own a business in Youngstown cannot pay more taxes. Small business owners will lose their businesses. The landlords will have to raise the rent to help pay their taxes. There will be more homeless people in Youngstown.

Youngstown schools pay over $5,000 a year for each child to go to a school out of town. I know people who have four or more children or grandchildren going to other schools. Do you know anyone who sends their child to the Youngstown schools from another place and gives us $5,000 in the open enrollment? Why don’t they? We have the newest schools.

There is one school administrator making $122,500 and another one who makes over $95,000. How many others are making that kind of money? If they would take a cut in pay, that would be thousands of dollars more a year for the schools. Then try a 2 mill levy, and then maybe it will pass. I know the children need an education. They need to find another way to raise money. Most people in Youngstown do not make much money. We are the poor people.

LULU ANN BERNARDICH

Youngstown